…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
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