Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus

Planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune Lunar and Solar Eclipses

Planets

Planet Groups • The Inner Planets – Planets closest to the Sun • • Mercury Venus Earth Mars Pluto? ? ? The Outer Planets far from the Sun § Jupiter § Saturn § Uranus § Neptune

Mercury • • Planet closest to the Sun Smallest Terrestrial Planet Has no moons of its own Why would it have extreme temperatures ? It is very close to the Sun • 1) ______________ It has NO atmosphere • 2) ____________

Venus • Can be seen in the west just after sunset or in the morning sometimes. • Is also called the “evening or morning star” even though it is not a star. • Similar to Earth in size and mass and is called the Earth’s twin • Has the hottest surface of all the planets because of the greenhouse effect

Mars • Called the “Red planet” due to the iron rich rock (Rusty) • Mars is quite cold due to – 1) Its thin atmosphere – 2) Its distance from the Sun

Planets

Outer Planets – The gas giants • All the gas giants have thick atmospheres • Outer layers of the gas giants are extremely cold due to the distance from the Sun • All the gas giants have moons • They also have RINGS – thin disks of small particles of ice and rock.

Jupiter and Saturn • Jupiter • The largest and most massive planet • Has 4 moons • Saturn • The 2 nd largest planet • Has the most spectacular rings around it

Uranus , Neptune & Pluto? ? ? • Uranus • Looks blue-green in color because of the methane in the atmosphere • Neptune • Is a cold, blue planet • Its atmosphere contains visible clouds. Pluto – A Dwarf Planet Because it has not cleared out the neighborhood around its orbit. Has a solid surface Is smaller & denser than the outer planets

Eclipses – Where R U ? • Eclipses occur when the shadow of an object in the sky (ex. Moon, Earth) falls on another object • Two types of Total Eclipses: – Lunar Eclipse – Moon is hidden – Solar Eclipse – Sun is hidden

Lunar Eclipse – Moon is hidden – Occurs when the Moon passes through a part of the Earth’s shadow. – The shadow caused by an eclipse is an UMBRA – The moon appears red as it receives some light reflected off the Earth. – Happens at night

Next Lunar eclipse in US • April 14 -15 th in 2014

Solar Eclipse – Sun is hidden Next in US on August 17 th, 2017 • Occurs at New moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth • Happens during the day.

Corona • The outer atmosphere of the Sun is called the Corona. • It is the only part of the Sun seen during a total eclipse. • Solar eclipses can cause serious damage to the eyes if observed directly.

Answer these questions Astronomy Test next class • • 1) Which planets make up the inner planets? 2) Which planets make up the outer planets? 3) Name 4 characteristics of the outer planets? 4) Give two differences between rotation and revolution. • 5) Name the different phases of the moon and write a sentence on each. • 6) What is the order of planets? • 7) Come up with an acronym for YOU to remember the order of the planets.