The Solar System
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Transcript The Solar System
The Solar System
ORGANIZATION OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM
Claudis Ptolemy said the earth was the
center of the universe and the planets and
sun revolved around it.
Nicholas Copernicus said the sun was in
the center of the universe and the planets
rotated around it in a circular orbit.
Johannes Kepler published his laws of
planetary orbit stating the planets rotated in an
elliptical orbit.
Galileo used the newly invented telescope to
study the planets and say there were many
planets orbiting the sun.
Planetary system- a system of planets
revolving around the sun (a star).
Smaller bodies that orbit the sun include
asteroids, meteoroids, and comets.
Asteroid a chunk of rock and metal that
orbits the sun.
Asteroid belt – a large area of asteroids
located between Mars and Jupiter.
Meteroid- a rock that floats in space
Meteor- a streak of light produced by the
friction of the atmosphere rubbing against
the meteoroid.
Meteorite- when a meteor strikes the
earth’s surface it is called a meteorite.
Comet- a ball of ice, rock, and frozen gases
that orbits the sun.
All planets orbit the sun.
MERCURY
Rocky surface with craters
Thin atmosphere containing hydrogen and
helium
In sunlit areas the surface is hot enough to
melt lead
VENUS
Surface: Rocky
Atmosphere: thick, mostly carbon dioxide
and nitrogen
Fact: direction of rotation is opposite of all
other planets
EARTH
Surface: Mostly water with areas of soil
covered rock
Atmosphere: mostly nitrogen and Oxygen
Fact: has only known life in the solar
system
MARS
Surface: Rocky, Covered with dust
Atmosphere: thin mostly carbon dioxide
Fact: has largest volcano-Olympus Mons,
whose base is larger than the state of New
Mexico.
JUPITER
Surface: Gaseous planet, possibly with
liquid hydrogen surface
Atmosphere: mostly hydrogen and helium
Fact: Great Red Spot-huge storm that has
lasted since the time of Galileo
Great Red Spot
SATURN
Surface: Gaseous planet with no known
solid surface
Atmosphere: mostly hydrogen and helium
Fact: has wide, thin system of rings made
of small pieces of ice and rock
URANUS
Surface: Gaseous planet without a known
solid surface
Atmosphere: mostly hydrogen and helium
Fact: Possible collision with an earth sized
object may have knocked Uranus on it’s
side as a result, it roll around in an orbit.
NEPTUNE
Surface: Gaseous planet without a known
solid surface
Atmosphere: Mostly hydrogen, helium,
and methane
Fact: one of the windiest places in the
solar system. (1,000km per hr) 620 mph.
Pluto
Surface: Water and Methane Ice
Atmosphere: Mostly Methane
Fact: Usually 9th planet, but part of its
orbit is inside Neptune’s orbit, making
Pluto the 8th planet on occasion.
Astronomical Units/Light –Years
Astronomical unit (A.U.)-the unit of
measurement astronomers use to measure
distances in the solar system.
A.U.-equal to the average distance between the
Earth and the sun
This distance is 150 million km or 93 million
miles.
Light-year-equal to the distance light can travel
in a vacuum in one year. Used to measure
distances to the stars.
The Solar System