…and other cool space stuff!

The OUTER PLANETSM

erc

ur

yV

enu

s Eart

hM

ars

The Inner Planets

The Outer Planets

Jupite

r

Satu

rn

Uranu

s

Nep

tune

Asteroid Belt

~ These 4 planets are the FURTHEST from the Sun.

~ Outer Planets are called the “GAS GIANTS”.

~ very LARGE with very DENSE atmospheres

~ made almost entirely of GAS - mostly hydrogen (H) & helium (He) - like the Sun~ strong GRAVITATIONAL force keeps gases from escaping~ have RINGS

JUPITER “Just” LARGEST planet Greatest mass Many storms “Great Red Spot” - like a hurricane &

much larger than Earth! AT least 52 moons! Explored by unmanned space probes:

~Voyager I & II and Galileo

Second largest planet

HUNDREDS OF RINGS- ~ made of ice & rock

Explored by Voyager I & II

Less dense than water! (This planet would float in water!)

AT least 30 moons!

SATURN ~ “Served”

URANUS ~“Us” Rotates on its side! Blue - due to traces of methane gas in atmosphere

At least 21 moons!

Explored by Voyager II

NEPTUNE ~ “Nachos” Visible clouds & storms

Photographed by Voyager II & Hubble Space Telescope

At least 11 moons

PAST Neptune …so VERY FAR from our sun!

Smaller than Earth’s moon

Solid surface (NOT gassy!)

Photographed by Hubble Space Telescope

NOT a planet – NOW called a

“DWARF PLANET”

One moon? Or double planet?

MVEMJSUN My

Very Eager

Martian Just Served

Us Nachos

*Use this acronym to help you remember the ORDER of the planets!

Comets, Asteroids, & Meteors• COMETS - “Dirty snowballs” ~ chunks of ice & dust ~ travel in elliptical orbits around the sun!

• ASTEROIDS - objects in orbit around the sun that are too small to be called planets ~ MOST are in the “ASTEROID BELT” between Mars & Jupiter (separates the Inner and Outer planets)

• METEORS - chunks of rock & dust that enter Earth’s atmosphere (“shooting stars”)~ usually burn up~ ones that fall to earth are called “meteorites”

~ Some meteors come from random bits of dust that orbit the sun. ~ Meteor “showers” come from dust released by comets as they travel through our solar system and Earth travels through the bits and pieces left behind.

THE END