The Solar System

1. The Solar System Created by Mrs. Chavez 3 - 4

2. What is the Solar System? It is our Sun and everything that travels around it.

3. What do I find in the Solar System? • Eight (8) Planets • Moons and Rings • Asteroids • Comets • Gas and Dust • Lots of SPACE

4. The Sun • Medium sized star • Made of Hydrogen Gas • Produces Heat and Light • Center is the hottest part • 93 Million Miles away from the Earth

5. Mercury Inner Planets Earth’s Moon Venus Earth Characteristics: • Rocky • Small • Dense Mars

6. Mercury • The closest planet to the Sun • The smallest planet in the Solar System • During the day, the temperature is hotter than an oven • During the night, the temperature is colder than a freezer • Surface is very rocky and heavily cratered • One day lasts 59 Earth days • Has no moons

7. Venus • The hottest planet • Second planet from the Sun • Atmosphere consists mostly of carbon dioxide • Visible and bright during dawn and dusk • One day last 243 Earth days • Has no moons

8. EARTH • The fifth largest planet • The third planet from the Sun • The only planet to support life • Atmosphere is a thin layer of gases • One year lasts 365 days • One day lasts 24 hours • Has 1 moon

9. Mars • Dry, rocky surface • The ground is frozen • Fourth planet from the Sun • One year lasts 687 Earth days • One day lasts 25 Earth hours • Much colder than Earth • Has 2 tiny moons

10. Neptune Outer Planets Uranus Saturn Jupiter Characteristics: • Known as gas giants • Poisonous atmospheres • No solid surfaces • Moons or rings or both

11. Jupiter • It is fifth to the Sun • It is the largest planet • Has a barely-visible ring • Has an extremely strong magnetic field • Composed mostly of gas • 1 year lasts 12 Earth years • 1 day lasts 10 Earth hours • Has 39 moons

12. Saturn • Second largest planet • Sixth planet from the Sun • Beautiful rings made of ice chunks • Made mostly of hydrogen & helium gas • Visible without using a telescope • 1 year lasts 30 Earth years • 1 day lasts 10 Earth hours • Has 33 moons

13. Seventh planet from the Sun • Huge and icy covered with clouds • Has a belt of 11 rings of rock and dust • 1 year lasts 84 Earth years • 1 day lasts 18 Earth hours • Has 22 moons Uranus

14. Neptune • The eighth planet from the Sun • Has a hazy atmosphere and strong winds • Has narrow, faint rings arranged in clumps • 1 year lasts 165 Earth years • 1 day lasts 19 Earth hours • Has 8 moons

15. Peanut shaped • Up to 600 miles across • They circle the Sun between Mars and Jupiter • Can find hundreds of thousands of them in space Asteroids

16. COMETS • Head is up to 15 miles long • Bright tails that are millions of miles long • Light comes from reflection of the Sun • Haley’s Comet is the closest to the Earth and can be seen from Earth every 76 years

17. Meteorites • Piece of stone-like or metal-like debris • Some are no bigger than a pebble • Some are very large • When they fall into Earth, they heat up and start to glow. • When you see a falling star, you’re actually seeing a meteor.

18. Exploring the Solar System The Solar System is our Sun and everything that travels around it. It is a simple yet complex structure. It is always in motion and it will always capture the interest not only of scientists, but of everyone who looks up into the sky.

19. Useful Links • The Planets • Exploring the Planets • Planet • Views of the Solar System • Jet Propulsion Laboratory • Our Solar System