Transcript What is the solar system?

The three
brighter objects
are Venus
(center),
Mercury (below)
and Saturn
(left).
What is the difference between stars and planets?
What is the solar system?
The sun is at the
center of the solar
system.
The word solar
means “of the
sun.”
The solar system is the
objects of, or around, the
Sun.
Besides the sun,
the objects in
the solar system
include 8 planets
and their moons:
Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and
Neptune.
The solar system also contains several dwarf
planets. These include Pluto, Eris, and Ceres.
How do we know all of this information
about our solar system?
Scientists created
the telescope, which
uses lenses to see
distant objects.
This telescope is designed after
Galileo Galilei’s—a 1610
astronomer who discovered
moons revolving around Jupiter.
Today, we have
more advanced
telescopes.
Telescopes take
pictures of and
collect data about
objects in the
solar system.
The Hubble
space telescope
is probably the
most famous.
The reason the Hubble gets such excellent
pictures is because it is outside of the
Earth’s atmosphere. It is the atmosphere
that distorts the images made by ground
telescopes.
This is a Hubble
ultra deep field
infrared view of
countless
“entire” galaxies
billions of lightyears away.
They
zoomed
in. This
is a close
up of one
of the
darkest
regions
of the
first
photo.
What is the solar system?
Solar system = the
objects of or around the
sun
How do scientists study
the solar system?
Scientists study the solar system using
telescopes.
What is a moon?
A moon is an object
that circles around a
planet.
Different planets
have different
numbers and sizes
of moons.
Mercury and Venus do
not have moons.
Earth has one moon.
Mars has two moons.
Jupiter has at least 63
moons.
Saturn has 49 moons.
Astronomers have
discovered at least 27
moons around Uranus and
13 moons orbiting
Neptune.
The sizes of the moons vary. Some are very
small, while 7 are actually bigger than Pluto
(Jupiter’s Ganymede—the largest; and Earth’s)
Moon are also called satellites. A satellite
is an object in space that circles another
object.
Moon are
natural
satellites.
Man has also created their own
satellites and put them into space.
These provide weather information,
data about the solar system, and are
part of communication systems.
Why doesn’t Earth look like
the moon?
We’ve already learned
about Earth’s
atmosphere. Well, the
moon doesn’t have an
atmosphere. So, when
objects collide with it,
they form a crater.
Therefore, the moon has
more craters than Earth.
What is a moon?
Moon = an object
that circles around
a planet
What is a satellite?
Satellite = an object that circles
another object
*natural: moons
*man-made: TV, weather
What are the smaller objects in the
solar system?
1. asteroids
2. comets
3. meteors
An asteroid is a
rock that
revolves around
the Sun.
Most asteroids are located between Mars
and Jupiter in the asteroid belt.
A comet is a mixture
of frozen gases, ice,
dust, and rock that
moves in an irregular
circle around the sun.
Comets seem to have tails.
As a comet gets closer
to the sun, it warms
up. It becomes a
glowing ball of gas.
The energy from the
sun pushes the gas
outward, causing the
tails that we see.
There are sand to boulder-sized
particles also floating around in the
solar system. These are called
meteoroids.
As soon as the meteoroid enters the
Earth’s atmosphere it is called a
meteor.
Once the meteor reaches the ground
it is called a meteorite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meteoroid_meteor_meteorite.gif
Lesson Review
1. How have telescopes improved our
knowledge of the solar system?
Telescopes let us see objects that are
farther away.
2. Describe Earth’s moon.
Earth’s moon is a natural satellite.
There is no atmosphere so it is covered with
craters.
3. What is the difference between a moon
and a satellite?
Moons are natural satellites. There are satellites
that aren’t moons.
Moons have to circle a planet. Satellites could
circle anything.
4. What does the solar system include?
It includes the Sun, the planets, their moons,
and smaller objects such as asteroids,
meteoroids, and comets.
5. Mars and Mercury are alike EXCEPT
A. they both have rocky surfaces.
B. they both are far from the Sun.
C. they both have moons.
D. they both have oxygen.
C. They both have moons.
Mars has 2 moons, but Mercury doesn’t
have any.