Transcript Earth in the Solar System

THE SOLAR SYSTEM
The Solar System
WHAT IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
• Solar System- the Sun and all of the
bodies that revolve around it.
• Our Solar System is located in the Milky
Way Galaxy. It is composed of the Sun,
8 planets, dwarf planets, moons,
asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.
• The gravitational pull of the Sun keeps
all of the objects in our Solar System in
their orbits.
MOONS
• Earth’s satellite, the moon, is NOT the
only moon in the Solar System.
• Astronomers have discovered
approximately 150 other moons in our
Solar System.
• All of the moons are held in orbit by the
gravitational pull of their planets.
ASTEROIDS
• Asteroid – a small, rocky object that orbits
the Sun.
• Estimated that there are millions of asteroids
in the solar system.
• Most of them orbit in a band called the
asteroid belt, which is located between Mars
and Jupiter’s orbits.
• Asteroids can range in size and shape from
hundreds of miles in diameter to only a few
feet across.
COMETS
• Comet- A small, orbiting body made of dust, ice, and frozen
gases.
• The solid center of a comet is called its nucleus.
• Comets orbit the sun in a very long, elliptical path. As a comet
approaches the Sun, the frozen solids in its nucleus vaporize
and gases and dust are released. This causes a glowing region
called a coma. Energy from the Sun causes the coma to grow
and produces the glowing tail that trails behind it.
• Some comets can make one comlpete trip around the sun in
fewer than 200 years, others can take millions of years to
orbit.
• Estimated that there are a trillion comets in the solar system.
METEORS
• Meteor- Commonly called ‘shooting stars,’ a streak
of light caused by a chunk of matter that enters the
Earth’s atmosphere and heated by friction with the
air.
• Meteoroid- The actual chunks of matter that are
heated.
• Meteorite- Falling rocks that stay intact during their
trip into the Earth’s atmosphere that hit the
ground.
• Some meteoroids are the size of asteroids, but most
are much smaller. Many of them are smaller than a
grain of sand.
PLANETS
• Planets –
large bodies
that revolve
around the
Sun.
IT WOULDN’T BE SCIENCE
WITHOUT ANOTHER SONG! 
Have I mentioned that this guy is my HERO?
The Planets