Transcript Inner solar system…

Solar System (Sizes to scale)
Inner solar system…
• Consists of:
–
–
–
–
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
• Moon
– Mars
– Asteroid
belt
• Ceres
– Other
debris
• Asteroids
Sun
• Contains
99.8% of all
the mass of
the solar
system
• Only star in
our solar
system
• 865,000
miles in
diameter
Mercury
• Closest planet
to the sun
• The smallest of
the 8 planets
• 2nd hottest
planet
• Very rocky…
like Earth
• No stable
atmosphere
View from Mariner 10 (1974) of Mercury
View from Messenger (2008) of Mercury
Venus
• 2nd closest planet
to the sun
• Hottest planet
– Reach 860
degrees Fahrenheit
• Dense atmosphere
– Mainly Carbon
Dioxide
– Greenhouse effect
• Why its so hot!
• Sister planet
Hot, rocky surface of Venus
Clouds of Venus
Mars
• 4th planet from
the sun
– After Earth
• Atmosphere
mainly Carbon
Dioxide
• Polar ice caps
– Frozen water
• Used to have
liquid water in
the past
Mars surface
Olympus Mons is the largest
mountain in the solar system
Asteroid
belt
• Rocks that
never
clumped
together to
form a planet
• Proto-planet
– Ceres
• Can
sometimes
make way
into inner
solar system
Gaspra- Asteroid found in the
Asteroid belt (1991)
Outer solar system…
• Consists
of:
–
–
–
–
–
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Kuiper
belt
• Pluto
– Scattered
disc
• Eris
Jupiter
• Largest planet in
solar system
• Mainly Hydrogen
and Helium
– Enough gravity to
hold onto these
light elements
• Not rocky… Gas
giant
• Has 63 moons…
47 of which are
named
Is Jupiter large?
Hurricane the size of Earth
Saturn
•
•
•
•
2nd largest planet
Known for its rings  debris orbiting the planet
Very similar to Jupiter
One of its moons, Ganymede, is larger than Mercury…
and is the only moon to possess an atmosphere
Is Saturn large?
Voyager image of Saturn’s rings
Uranus
• 7th planet from
the sun
• Completely
tilted on its axis
– 97.77 degrees
• Winds can
reach up to 560
mph
• Many
poisonous
gases in the
atmosphere
Neptune
• Farthest
planet from
the sun
• Fastest winds
in the solar
system
– 1300 mph
• Methane
atmosphere
• Dark spots are
huge
hurricanes
Kuiper belt
• This is
where Pluto
is found
• Similar to
the asteroid
belt
– Contains
debris that
didn’t
become
part of a
planet
Largest objects found in the Kuiper belt
Put it all together…
Mercury-Venus-Earth-Mars-Asteroid belt-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune-Kuiper belt (Pluto)-Scattered disc (Eris)