Transcript Our Solar System!

Our Solar System!
Image credit: http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
Solar System Composition





Our sun, a star
Eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune (Pluto has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.)
An asteroid belt orbiting between Mars and Jupiter
Moons orbiting these six planets: Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune
Comets
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/sun/sun_index.html
Our Sun - A Star!
The sun, approximately 4.8 billion years old, is so
huge that approximately one million Earths could
fit into it! The sun is a gigantic ball of extremely
hot glowing gases. Its surface temperature is so
hot, nothing could live there. It sustains our life
here on Earth by sending us light and heat, and is
the source of energy for photosynthesis in plants.
Image credit: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18167
There are billions of stars in this universe!
Our sun is the star closest to Earth. It’s
made up of many layers of hot gases.
The diameter of the sun is about 86,000
miles, huge in comparison with the 7,900
mile diameter of Earth.
The photo on the right shows
a solar flare which is a tremendous
explosion on the surface of
the sun near a sunspot. The flare
itself is a brilliant cloud of gas
swiftly leaping from the surface
of the sun. Flares release energy
in different forms. Two of the forms
of energy are Gamma Rays and X-Rays.
Sun with solar flare
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/sun/sun_index.html
Where do planets get their light?
The planets in our solar system
do not have light of their own, they
reflect the light of the sun.
Want to know more about our sun?
The spacecraft SOHO has explored it
and released the photos!
Check out this website . . .
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/gallery/
Photo of the sun with a
flare taken from SOHO
Image credit: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov
The Inner Planets
The four planets closest to the sun are
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
These four planets are called the
terrestrial planets because they have a
rocky surface similar to the Earth.
Mercury has little atmosphere. In
contrast, the Earth, Venus and Mars
have significant atmospheres.
Image credit: bhc.edu
The Inner Planets
The approximate distance
between Mars and Jupiter is
many times farther than the
distance between the inner
planets. The Asteroid Belt lies
between Mars and Jupiter.
Image credit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfn?IM_ID=72
The Outer Planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune have surfaces made
up of gases. Rings that
consist of rock, ice and dust
orbit each of these planets.
Image credit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=175
Outer Planets
This diagram shows the relative positions of the orbits of the outer planets and the approximate
distances between the planets.
Image credit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=175
Rotating or Orbiting?
Which is it?
When a planet rotates, it turns on its axis. Six of the planets in our solar system
rotate counter-clockwise: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.
Two planets rotate clockwise: Venus and Uranus.
One rotation is equal to one day on a planet.
As a planet orbits, it travels in an elliptical path around the sun. A complete orbit
is equal to one of a planet’s year .
Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to the
sun. Named for the swift
messenger of the gods, Mercury orbits
the sun faster than any of the other
Planets. One orbit takes 88 days. Its day
is equal to 59 Earth days. Mercury has
a rocky surface with many craters. It has
a thin atmosphere containing oxygen,
sodium, hydrogen. Life could not survive
on its surface. The side facing the sun is
Approximately 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
The side facing away from the sun is approximately 290 degrees below
zero Fahrenheit.
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/planets_index.html-
Venus
Venus, second planet from the sun, is the
HOTTEST planet in our solar system.
Even hotter than Mercury? Oh, yes!
A very thick blanket of clouds holds in the
heat from the sun.
Could we live there? It’s way too hot; its
atmosphere contains poisonous sulfuric
acid; its winds are extremely high; and it
has extremely high surface pressure: 88
times the pressure we feel on Earth.
Venus is named for the goddess of beauty. The planet is beautiful when seen
in the sky. Venus is one of three planets in our solar system to rotate clockwise. A day on
Venus is 243 Earth days; a year is 225 days, a short year.
Image credit: http://ww.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/venus_index.html
Earth
Yes, we know the Earth. We live here!
Earth is the third planet from the sun,
Our orbit is 93 million miles from the
sun. Earth is the only planet in our
solar system that has water and an
atmosphere with the right amount
of gases to support people, animals and
plants.
Earth photo taken from Apollo 8
Earth rotates once every 24 hours, orbits the sun once every 365 1/4 days
and has one moon. If you live on the equator, you rotate with the Earth at a speed of 1,000
miles an hour. The farther you live from the equator, the slower the speed.
Image credit: http//grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2001-000009.html
Mars
Mars, the red planet, is named for the
god of war. Its red color comes from its red
surface and dust storms. The Hubble view
shows its two polar ice caps. Mars also has
clouds, seasons, craters and volcanoes.
We have explored Mars more than any planet.
It is the 4th planet from the sun.
A day on Mars is 24 1/2 hours, similar to
a day on Earth. It orbits the sun once every
687 days, so its year is almost twice as long
as an Earth year. Mars has a thin atmosphere
that may have oxygen and water vapor.
Hubble’s view of Mars
Mars has two small moons.
Image credit: http://mars4.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/global/PIA01249.html
Asteroid Belt
25,000 asteroids have been estimated to orbit the
sun in the Asteroid Belt, the huge space
between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids are difficult to see
in space because they are dark, and like the planets, they
have no light of their own.
Asteroids are made of chunks of rock and
metal. Scientists think asteroids may be pieces
of planets that never formed.
Photo of asteroids taken from
the Voyager spacecraft
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/asteroids_comets_index.html
Jupiter
Jupiter, the 5th planet from the sun, is the
largest gas planet in our solar system. Unseen in this
photo are the three rings orbiting Jupiter. More than
61 moons orbit Jupiter, so it is sometimes called
a“mini solar system.” Bands of color encircle the
gaseous surface of Jupiter. Its Great Red Spot,
shown by the green arrow, is a 300-year-old storm,
including hurricane force winds, that is almost the
size of three Earths! Its diameter is eleven times the
diameter of Earth.
True color photo of Jupiter taken
from the Cassini spacecraft
Jupiter has a short, 10-hour day because it rotates so fast, 29,000 mph at its equator. A
year on Jupiter is equal to 12 Earth years. Its atmosphere
is about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium.
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/jupiter_index.html
Saturn
Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun, the second largest
of the planets in our solar system. Saturn is called a gas
giant and is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. It
takes up 755 times as much space as Earth. It’s known
for its enormous, complex, ring system, made up of icy
particles that are held in orbit by Saturn’s magnetic
field. The width of Saturn with its rings would just fit in
the distance between Earth and our moon. 31 known
moons are also held in orbit around Saturn.
Clouds and haze in
Saturn’s Atmosphere
Winds five times faster than Earth’s fastest hurricane winds, along with heat rising from
Saturn, make the colored bands on Saturn visible. Saturn’s day is about 10 Earth hours; a
Saturn year is approximately 30 Earth years.
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/saturn_index.html
Rings of Saturn
This photo of the colorful rings
of Saturn was taken from Voyager 2.
The colors in the rings were
enhanced to show the possible
variations in the chemical composition
of its rings.
Image credit: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01486
Uranus
Eleven rings and 15 moons orbit the
smallest gas planet Uranus, the 7th
planet from the sun. Uranus seems to
rotate sideways because its axis is
tipped more than 90°. It rotates
clockwise, opposite from 6 other
planets. Methane gas above its layers
of clouds gives it a blue/green color.
A day on Uranus is 17 hours; a year is
about 84 Earth years.
Uranus with its four major
rings taken by the Hubble
infrared telescope
Image credit: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02963
Neptune
Neptune, the 8th planet from the sun, is the
3rd largest of the four giant gas planets
that have no solid surfaces. It takes up the
same amount of space as 44 Earths. Neptune
has two thin and two wider rings. Eight known
moons orbit Neptune. Its “Great Dark Spot,”
is thought to be a hurricane and is big enough
to contain Earth. Neptune has 8 moons, the
largest, Triton, orbits Neptune in the opposite
direction from Neptune’s orbit and is the
coldest known body in our solar system.
Neptune with dark
spot on left side
A day on Neptune is 19 Earth hours; its year 164 Earth years. Its atmosphere
contains hydrogen and helium. Methane gives Neptune its bluish color.
The winds on Neptune are faster than winds on any other planet.
Inage credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/neptune_index.html
Pluto - reclassified
Pluto is no longer considered to be the ninth planet in our
solar system, In 2006 it was reclassified as a dwarf planet.
It has one moon and is very cold and dark.
Pluto and moon, Charon
Image credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/pluto_index.html
Comets
Comets are infrequent and spectacular
sights. A comet’s
head is made up of rocks, dust
and frozen gases. Its tail appears as
the comet nears the
sun when the gases in its head
melt and change into water vapor. Its
tail can be thin and partially
transparent.
Comets travel through our solar
system in elliptical orbits,
curve around the sun, then go
back out through the solar system.
Image credit: http://www.fiz.uni-lj.si/astro/comets/
The Orbits of Comets
Many comets travel
in long, rather narrow
Ellipses, and may take
a thousand years or
so to come from the
outer solar system
to travel around the
sun.
Image credit: http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/orbits3.html
Credits
Welcome to the Planets
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
California Institute of Technology
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
Solar System
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
California Institute of Technology
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/
The Hubble Site
http://hubblesite.org/
NASA Planetary Photojournal
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html
SOHO Exploring the Sun
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Crni Vhr Observatory in Western Slovenia
Comets and Asteroids
http://www.fiz.uni-lj.si/astro/comets/
Deep Impact Comet Project
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/orbits3.html