Transcript Slide 1
The Planets and the Solar System The solar system was born about 4.5 billion years ago, when something disturbed and compressed a vast cloud of cold gas and dust. The disturbance may have been a collision with another cloud, or a shock wave from an exploding star. Inner (terrestrial) planets Mercury Venus Mars Earth All of the inner planets have: •Rocky crusts •Dense mantle layers •Very dense cores Mercury •Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. •It has a surface covered in craters •Magnetic field is about one percent as strong as Earth’s. Mercury •A year on Mercury lasts for only 88 Earth days. •Temperature can reach up to 400°c on its sunlit side and nearly -200°c on its dark side. Venus •Is considered Earth’s sister planet •Landscape dominated by volcanic features, faulting, and craters. •Weak or nonexistent magnetic field Venus •A year on Venus is 225 Earth days long. •A day on Venus is 243 Earth days long •Temperatures can reach up to 475°c because the sun’s heat cannot escape through the thick atmosphere, which acts like a greenhouse covering the entire planet. Earth •Volcanoes, earthquakes, oceans, and weather still form and reform Earths surface. •Earth has a strong magnetic field. •365.25 days for it to complete one revolution around the Sun. •23 hours and 56 minutes for a day Earth •Earth’s temperature can range from about 55°c (130 °F) to -90°c (-130°F). •only planet in the Solar System known to contain life. •Earth is the only planet to contain water in all three forms. Mars •The planet has a rusty surface and a pink sky. It is covered in rocks and impact craters, and the solar system's biggest volcano, Olympus Mons. •Weak or nonexistent magnetic field •A year on Mars is 687 Earth days. •A day on Mars is 24 hours and 37 minutes Mars •Temperatures range from 25°c to -125°c. •It once had flowing water. •A small red planet with a very thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide. Asteroid Belt is between Mars and Jupiter The Outer Planets And Pluto (Gas Giants) Uranus Saturn Jupiter Neptune Uranus Neptune Saturn Jupiter The Gas Giants: 1. Are much larger. 2. Do not have solid surfaces. 3. Are composed mainly of the light elements hydrogen and helium (gaseous planets). 4. All have a three-layered structure. 5. All have ring systems. Jupiter •No solid surface •Colored zones and belts •11.9 Earth years for one complete orbit. •Strongest magnetic field Jupiter •Temperature increases with depth. •Largest planet in the solar system with over twice the mass of all other planets combined. •Great Red Spot: a giant storm about twice the size of Earth. Saturn •No solid surface •Colored zones and belts •30 Earth years for one complete orbit. •Weaker magnetic field than Jupiter, but still stronger than Earth Saturn •Temperature increases with depth. •Most visible ring system in the solar system •Very low density; could float on water. Uranus •No solid surface •It is tipped almost completely over on its side. •Magnetic field is not aligned with its poles, but is off by about 60 degrees; almost as though it was upright. Uranus •84 Earth years for one orbit. •Average surface temperature is -200°c and increases with depth. Neptune •No solid surface •Magnetic field is tipped 47 degrees in relation to its axis of rotation. •165 Earth years for one orbit. Neptune •Average surface temperature is -225°c and increases with depth. •Winds have been clocked up to 2,000 kilometers an hour. Pluto •Reclassified as a dwarf planet or minor planet. •Rocky surface is covered with methane ice. •Debate whether or not a magnetic field exists on Pluto. •248 Earth years for one orbit. Pluto •Temperatures range between -210°c to -235°c. •Pluto is smaller than our moon. •Its moon Charon is half its size. •Axis is on its side and it rotates backwards. •The sun appears as only a very bright star due to its average distance of 39.5 astronomical units.