Transcript The Nine Planets

The Nine Planets
The Inner Planets
• The four planets closest to the Sun are
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. All four
of these planets are made up of a rocky
material and therefore are called the
terrestrial planets. These planets are
also known as the inner planets.
Mercury
• Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun,
and therefore it gets sunlight that is 10
times brighter than the Earth. Mercury
does not have an atmosphere to help trap
the heat it receives from the Sun, so it
loses all of its heat at night dropping to –
180 degrees Celsius. Mercury’s daytime
temperature is at a sweltering 400 degrees
Celsius.
• Mercury is
rarely seen in
our night sky
because it is so
close to the
Sun. When we
do see Mercury
it is generally at
sunset and at
sunrise.
Venus
• After the Sun and the Moon,
Venus is the brightest object
that we can see in the sky
because it is so close to our
planet Earth. Also, the
atmosphere on Venus is
very thick and light it
receives from the Sun is
reflected to us. Venus’s
atmosphere is made up from
mainly carbon dioxide. This
gas acts like glass of a
greenhouse and keeps the
surface of the planet hot
enough to melt lead.
Earth
• Life has grown on Earth because the
atmosphere on this planet is perfect for
beings to have evolved. Earth’s
atmosphere is mainly made up of nitrogen,
oxygen, and water vapour. There is a
small amount of ozone in our atmosphere
and this is what filters some of the
damaging radiation from the Sun.
• Water from lakes, oceans
and rivers covers
approximately 70% of
planet Earth. The rest of
the Earth’s surface is
covered by soil, which
allows for the growth of
vegetations and habitat
from land creatures.
Earth is changing every
day by several
environmental factors,
such as volcanoes,
earthquakes and
pollution.
Mars
• Mars is one of the
brightest planets in the sky
and is sometimes referred
to the RED Planet
because of the reddish
ting it casts. This reddish
colour is caused by the
rust coloured soil.
• Mars is very dry and
barren but there is
evidence that Mars was
once covered with
volcanoes, glaciers, and
flood waters.
The Outer Planets
• The remaining 5 planets in our solar
system are known as the outer planets;
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto. The first 4 of these planets are also
known as the Gas Giants. Their
atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen
and helium. These planets appear to lack
solid surfaces. The outer most planet,
Pluto, is unique among the outer planets.
Jupiter
• Jupiter is the largest
planet of all of the
planets. Its diameter
is 11 times larger than
Earth’s diameter. As
well, its mass is
greater than the
masses of all the
other planets
combined.
• Jupiter is also a very bright object in the
night sky because of its size and the large
amount of light reflected by its clouds.
Jupiter’s most interesting features are the
coloured bands and the Great Red Spot.
Jupiter has approximately 16 moons and
sometimes you are able to see 4 of these
moons by using binoculars.
Saturn
• Saturn is the second
largest planet but it is
the least dense of all
the planets with a
possibility of no core.
Saturn’s atmosphere
is cloudy and windy .
Saturn’s average
temperature is – 180
degrees Celsius.
Uranus
• Uranus’s diameter is
4 times larger than
Earth. Its atmosphere
is made up of mostly
hydrogen, with some
helium and methane.
This planet has winds
that blow up to 500
km/h. In our night sky
Uranus looks like an
extremely faint star.
Neptune
• From Earth Neptune is
barely visible with the
use of a telescope.
Neptune has bright blue
and white clouds and a
dark region – the Great
Dark Spot – that appears
to be the center of a
storm. Neptune has at
least 8 moons and thin
rings orbiting around it.
Pluto
• Pluto is unusual
because it is not a gas
giant and it does not
seem to be terrestrial.
The motion of Pluto’s
orbit suggests that
Pluto may have been
one of Neptune’s
moons at one time.
Pluto has a moon
itself, called Charon.