Mrs. Horn

5th Grade

Science

THE PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

• Space is full of natural objects- some close to Earth, others very far away

• Objects close to us are part of our solar system

• Main parts of our solar system: the sun and the 8 planets that orbit it

- planet- large round object that travels in a fixed path (orbits) around a star

• A star is a huge ball of hot gases that gives off its own light

• The sun is much closer to us than any other star

• Although the sun is far away, it is close enough for us to feel its heat

• It is also close enough for it to look round and bright

• Planets do not give off their own light; we see them because they reflect sunlight to your eyes

THE SUN- EARTH’S CLOSEST STAR

HOW ARE PLANETS DIFFERENT?• The 8 planets revolve around the sun at different distances

• Each planet takes a different amount of time to make one trip (revolve) around the sun

- Each planet’s year is a different length

- The farther the planet is from the sun, the longer its year

• Each planet takes a different amount of time to rotate on its axis

- Each planet’s day is a different length

• Planets have different amounts of moons

- moon- a natural object that revolves around a planet

- Some planets have no moons (Mercury & Venus); while Jupiter has 63 moons

THE INNER PLANETS

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars are known as the inner planets.

• They are small and rocky.

• Mercury is the first planet from the sun. (58 kilometers from the sun)

• Day length of 59 Earth days

• Year length of 88 Earth days

• 0 moons

• Mercury’s temperatures rise to 662 degrees F during the day and fall to -274 degrees F at night.

• Mercury has no liquid water and is covered with craters.

MERCURY

• Venus has an average surface temperature of 896 degrees F.

• Venus has no liquid water, and its surface consists of rolling plains and large highlands.

• Venus also has a few volcanoes.

• Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as thick as Earth’s and is made up almost completely of carbon dioxide.

• 108 kilometers from the sun

• Day length of 226 Earth days

• Year length of 243 Earth days

• O moons

VENUS

• Third planet from the sun

• 75 % of the planet is covered by water

• Its atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases.

• Earth’s average surface temperature is 68 degrees F.

• Earth is 150 kilometers from the sun.

• Day length is 24 hours

• Year length is 365 days

• 1 moon

EARTH

MARS• Fourth planet from the sun

• Surface temperature ranges from 68 degrees F to -220 degrees F

• Scientists have found some evidence of liquid water once flowing on its surface

• The only water now is frozen as ice near Mars’s poles

• Liquid water may be underground

• Its surface has mountains, valleys, extinct volcanoes, plains, and it spotted with craters

• Known as the Red Planet

- Red color comes from rust-like substances on its surface

- Atmosphere made of carbon dioxide

• 228 kilometers from the sun

• Day length is 24.7 Earth hours

• Year length is 687 Earth days

• 2 moons

MARS CONTD…..

THE OUTER PLANETS

• 4 planets farthest from the sun

• Large and made up mostly of gases

• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

• Largest planet

• Thick atmosphere made up mostly of hydrogen and some helium

• Huge red area called the “Great Red Spot”

- A storm that has been raging for hundreds of years

• Surrounded by a thin set of rings

• 779 kilometers from the sun

• Day length of 9.9 Earth hours

• Year length of 11.9 Earth years

• 63 moons

JUPITER

• Second largest planet

• Very thick atmosphere

• Largest set of rings that are made up of bits of ice and rock

• 1434 kilometers from the sun

• Day length of 10.7 Earth hours

• Year length of 29.5 Earth years

• 60 moons

SATURN

• Third largest planet

• Temperature of its clouds is -216 degrees F

• Large amounts of ice

• Set of rings

• Methane gas in its atmosphere give it a greenish color

• Planet’s axis is titled at a greater angle than any other planet

• 2873 kilometers from the sun

• Day length of 17.2 Earth hours

• Year length of 84 Earth years

• 27 moons

URANUS

• Temperature of clouds similar to that of Uranus

• Atmosphere also contains methane gas

• Winds speeds of up to 684 miles per hour

• Fewer rings than Uranus and Saturn

• 4495 kilometers from the sun

• Day length of 16.1 Earth hours

• Year length of 164.8 Earth years

• 13 moons

NEPTUNE