Our Solar System

Sun Facts

Diameter: ~870,000 miles Rotation: 25-36 days Temperature:

Sunspots 6,700F Surface 10,000F Core 27,000,000F

Facts Contains ~98% of our Solar System’s mass Could hold 1.3 million Earths Fusion of hydrogen atoms produces light & heat

Sun

Planet

A large body orbiting a central star. ‘Planetes’ is the Greek word for wanderer. New International Astronomical Union (IAU)

Definition A planet is a celestial body that

Is in orbit around the Sun, Is nearly round, Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and Is not a satellite (moon).

Examples Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, &

Neptune

Other Bodies

Dwarf Planet is a celestial body that Is in orbit around the Sun, Is nearly round in shape, Has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, And is not a satellite. Examples – Ceres, Pluto, & Eris (2003 UB 313)

Small Solar System Bodies All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun. Examples – Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Kuiper

Belt Objects etc.

Inner Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars Also known as the “Terrestrial

Planets” Tend to be smaller, denser, &

rockier.

Inner Planets

Mercury Data

Distance from the Sun: 36 million miles Diameter: ~3,000 miles Temperature: -280F to 800F Moons: zero Facts:

No atmosphere Craters & Cliffs Rotation perpendicular to its orbital path

Mercury

Venus Data

Distance from the Sun: 67 million miles Diameter: ~7,500 miles Temperature: 900 F (greenhouse effect) Moons: zero Facts:

Rotates from east to west A day is longer than a year! CO2 atmosphere & sulfuric acid clouds Craters & Volcanic Rock

Venus

Earth Data

Distance from the Sun: 93 million miles Diameter: ~8,000miles Temperature: -128F to 140F Moons: One Facts:

Life! Water in all 3 States Atmosphere (Nitrogen, Oxygen, & other

gases)

Earth

Mars Data

Distance from the Sun: 142 million miles Diameter: ~4,200 miles Temperature: -184F to 59F Moons: 2 Facts:

Atmosphere (CO2 & other gases)

Polar Ice Caps (frozen CO2) Olympus Mons (largest volcano)

Mars

Asteroid Belt

Asteroid Facts

Rocky, Metallic objects Orbit the sun in a “belt” Known as “minor planets” Range in size

From pebbles to Ceres formerly considered an asteroid has been

reclassified as a “Dwarf Planet” (~600 miles) Theories

Remains of a destroyed planet Planet never formed

Asteroids

Meteoroids

Small bodies that travel through SPACE.

Nasa.gov

Meteors

Meteors which enter earth’s atmosphere and burn up.

Nasa.gov

Meteorites

If meteor does not completely vaporize, it lands on earth as a meteorite.

Barringer Meteorite Crater

Outer Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune

Also known as “Gas Giants” or the “Jovian Planets”

Tend to be much larger & most are made up of gases.

Jupiter Data

Distance from the Sun: 484 million miles Diameter: ~89,000 miles Temperature:

Surface -163F Core 54,000F

Moons: 63 Facts:

Largest Planet Faint Ring System Atmospheric Clouds & Storms (Red Spot)

Jupiter

Saturn Data

Distance from the Sun: 886 million miles

Diameter: ~74,000 miles Temperature:

Surface -219F Core 27,000F

Moons: 58 Facts:

Flat at the poles Less dense than water Ring System

Saturn

Uranus Data

Distance from the Sun: 1.8 billion miles Diameter: ~32,000 miles Temperature: -330F Moons: at least 22 Facts:

Gaseous Planet (H, He, Methane) Bluish Color Orbits on its Side Faint Ring System

Uranus

Neptune Data

Distance from the Sun: 2.8 billion miles Diameter: ~30,000 miles Temperature: -330F Moons: 8 Facts:

Great dark spot Strongest winds in the solar system (1,200mph) Orbital path crosses Pluto’s Faint rings made of dust particles Composed of H, He, & Methane & a core of molten

rock

Neptune

Pluto Data

Distance from the Sun: ~4 billion miles Diameter: ~1,400 miles Temperature: -390F Moons: 3 – Charon, Hydra, Nix Facts:

Thin atmosphere freezes & falls to the surface Orbits almost on its side Orbital path crosses Neptune’s Newly defined as a “Dwarf Planet”

Dwarf Planet Pluto

Orbits of Pluto & Eris (aka 2003 UB 313)

Kuiper Belt

Kuiper Belt

Disk-shaped region past the orbit of Neptune Contains icy “Small Solar System Objects” &

“Dwarf Planets” that orbit the Sun Contains over 35,000 objects over 100 km (62

miles) in diameter Possibly where Short-Period Comets Originate Orbits of Kuiper Belt Objects may be affected

by interactions with the Gas Giants Examples – Pluto & Eris

Eris (2003 UB 313)

Discovered: July-August, 2005 Distance: >8 billion miles Diameter: At least as large as Pluto Dwarf Planet

Eris

Comet Facts

Small, fragile, irregularly shaped bodies Made of ice, dust, and gases (“dirty

snowballs”) Highly elliptical orbits around the sun Coma – surrounding cloud which grows in

size & brightness as it approaches the Sun (& melts)

Comets

Sedna

Sedna Data

Distance from the Sun: ~12 billion miles Diameter: 800-1,100 miles Discovered in 2004 Facts:

Moon? Rocky? Highly Elliptical Orbit (10,000 years to orbit

the Sun)

Sedna Size Comparison

View from Sedna

Oort Cloud

In 1950, Jan Oort proposed that comets reside in a vast could at the outer reaches of the solar system.

No direct evidence of an Oort Cloud Possibly where Long-Period Comets Originate Possibly extends halfway to the next known star Recent discoveries (such as Sedna) indicate

that the Oort Cloud might contain more objects than originally thought

Pluto’s Other Satellites?

Centaurs

Nine known “Small Solar System Objects,” orbiting between Jupiter & Neptune

Unstable orbits Thought to have been part of the Kuiper

Belt at one time Examples

Chiron & Pholus