Transcript Little Speedy

Our neighbors, the Planets
Little Speedy: Mercury
• The closest planet to the sun
• Orbits the sun in only 88 days!
• Was named after the Roman god messenger
and god of the wind.
• Has a rocky surface with plains, craters, and
cliffs
• Has a very thin atmosphere
• Is extremely hot during the “day” and
extremely cold during the “night”
• Slow spinner: it takes 59 Earth days to rotate
once.
• A little more than one-third the size of Earth.
• Doesn’t have a moon
Great Beauty: Venus
• Sometimes called Earth’s twin because they are
close in size.
• Second planet from the sun
• Has a thick, poisonous atmosphere.
• Is the hottest planet in the solar system –
temperatures reach as high as 864°F…that could
melt some metals!
• Was named after the Roman goddess of love and
beauty.
• Sometimes called the “evening star” or “morning
star” because it is viewable with your eyes.
• Its land has mountains, canyons, plains, is rocky
and dusty, and has a 200-mile lava river
• It takes 225 Earth days to go around the sun but
243 days for one Venus day!
• Also has no moon.
• Rotates backward!
Our Home: Earth
• The only planet known to have water and
life
• Third planet from the sun
• It takes 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds
for one day
• 365.2 days to go around the sun (the .2 is
why we have to have a Leap Day on
February 29)
• One moon
• Is named after the Roman term for
ground, soil, and dirt
• In some other languages it is called terra,
like terra cotta clay pots for flowers!
The Warrior: Mars
• The fourth planet from the sun, last of the
inner planets
• You can see this planet without a telescope;
it looks red because of the iron-rich soil on its
surface.
• One day on Mars takes 24 hours, 37
minutes, 23 seconds…very similar to Earth!
• It takes 687 days to go around the sun!
• Has polar water/carbon dioxide ice caps
• It has seasons where for a period of time it is
hotter, others colder. The ice caps get larger
and smaller because of these seasons.
• Has two moons: Phobos and Demos
• Has canyons, dunes, and volcanoes.
• Water on Mars? Why’s that important?
Olympus Mons, the solar system’s largest volcano is located on Mars!
THE ASTEROID BELT
• This is a rock-filled region
between Mars and Jupiter.
• Some scientists believe it to
have been a planet that never
formed or was pulled apart.
• Some of the asteroids are so
large they’re called minor
planets or planetoids.
• The largest is Ceres and it is
nearly bigger than the state of
Florida!
The Big One: Jupiter
• The largest planet in the solar system
• The fifth planet from the sun
• Fastest spinner – one day takes only 10
hours! But, it takes 12 Earth years to go
around the sun.
• 1,300 Earths would fit into Jupiter!
• Its surface is a hot ball of gas and liquid.
• One small ring surrounds Jupiter.
• To the ancient Romans, Jupiter was the
king of the gods.
• It has 67 known moons.
• THE GREAT RED SPOT!
• Can we fly through Jupiter?
• Jupiter would float?!
Jupiter's moons
The Unique One: Saturn
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God of harvest
10 times bigger than Earth
The sixth planet from the sun
Its surface is made of liquid and gas.
Rotates every 10 ½ hours!
Takes 29 ½ years to orbit the sun
62 known moons
Has over 1,000 rings that are made of
frozen gasses, rocks, and dust.
• Brrr! It’s cold there: -288 degrees!
• Saturn’s Moons
Uranus: The Odd One
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The seventh planet from the sun
God of the Heavens
Has 11 rings
Scientists don’t really know what its surface
is like!
• 27 moons
• It rotates on its SIDE!!!
• It only takes four Earths to fit inside Uranus
Neptune: The Twin
• God of the sea
• The eighth planet from the sun
• God of the Oceans
• Often called a twin to Uranus because they
are nearly the same size.
• Now considered the farthest “planet”
• It takes 165 years for Neptune to go around
the sun ONE time!
• Its surface is liquid but it is surrounded by
thick clouds that contain tremendous
storms.
• 14 moons
• Four rings
Pluto: The Dwarf
• God of the sea
• God of the Underworld
• Now considered a dwarf planet because of
its non-planet-like qualities such as its
small size and thin atmosphere.
• Sometimes switches orbits with Neptune
• Many scientists believe it was a moon of
Neptune that “escaped”
• Its moon, Charon, is nearly the same size
as Pluto. Nix and Hydra are also its
moons. Other dwarfs include Eris and
Make-make
• 248 years to go around the Sun.
• It is considered a giant snowball – it is
made of methane, water, and rock.
• Smaller than our moon!