The Solar System The Solar System Composed of

The Solar System

The Solar System Ø Composed of the following l l l Sun Planets Moons Asteroids Comets Meteroids

General Information Ø The Sun takes up 99. 85% of the Mass of the Solar system Ø Each planet moves around the sun in an elliptical orbit

The Planets Ø Two Types of Planets l Terrestial • Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars • Small and rocky l Jovian • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune • Huge Gas Giants l Pluto does not fit neatly into either category

Comparisons Ø Size l l Inner Planets (Terrestial) smaller Earth is ¼ the size of smallest Jovian planet (Neptune) Ø Density l l The inner planets are more dense Differ because of chemical composition

Interiors of the Planets Ø 3 substances make up the interior of the planets l Gases • Hydrogen and Helium • Melting point is near absolute zero l Rocks • Mainly silicates and metallic irons • Melting points are above 700 degrees celcius l Ices • Ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide and water • They have intermediate melting points

Atmosphere Ø Why don’t the gases escape? l Gravity • Gases are held into our planets by gravity • In order for a gas to escape it has to travel at the planets escape velocity l l Earth 11 km/s Jupiter 60 km/s

The Inner Planets Ø Mecury Ø Venus Ø Earth Ø Mars Ø Moon

Mercury Size 1/3 of the Earth Orbital Period 87. 9 Days Length of Day 59 Days Avg. Temp 440 # Moons 0 Atmosphere O 2, Na and H 2 Color Dark grey Unique Facts Largest Night Day Temp. Change

Mercury Ø Innermost Planet Ø Second Smallest Ø Surface Features l l l Cratered highlands Smooth terrains Has scarps which shows signs of previously being tectonically active

Mercury Continued Ø Surface Temperature l l Revolves around sun quickly Rotates Slowly • One Night Takes 3 months l Avg. Daily temp • 427 o C l Avg. Nightly temp • -173 o C

Venus Size Orbital Period Length of Day Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere Color Unique Facts 1/1 224. 7 Days 243 Days 737 0 CO 2, O 2 and N 2 Dirty Yellow Highest Albedo and Hottest Planet

Venus Ø Second Planet Ø Earth’s Twin Ø Covered with thick clouds Ø Surface Features l l l Varied Topography much like Earth 80 % is covered by plains, created by lava Only 8% is the highlands (volcanoes)

Venus Ø Surface Temperature l Surface Temperature is approx. 475 o. C Ø Atmosphere l l 97% CO 2 Small Amounts of Water Vapor Small Amounts of Nitrogen Atmospheric Pressure is 90 x Greater than Earth’s

Mars Size Orbital Period Length of Day Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere Color Unique Facts ½ 686. 9 Days 24. 6 Hours 210 2 CO 2, Reddish Olympus Mons Water Ice Caps

Mars Ø The Red Planet Ø Has Brilliant White Polar Caps Ø Atmosphere l l 1% the Denisty of Earth’s Atmosphere Primarly made up of CO 2 Temperatures can Drop to -125 o. C Polar Caps are made of water ice covered by a thin layer of frozen CO 2

Mars Ø Surface Features l Olympus Mons • Volcano that is the size of Ohio and 23 km high • 2. 5 times taller than Mt. Everest l Valles Marineris • Largest Canyon • 5000 km Long and 8 km Deep • NO MARTIANS

Jupiter Size Orbital Period Length of Day Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere Color Unique Facts 11 x 12 Years 9. 925 hrs 129 16+ H 2 and He Red, Orange 70% all Planetary Mass

Jupiter: 5 th planet from the Sun Ø Largest planet in the SS, twice the combined mass of the eight other planets Ø Fastest rotating planet; causes it to slightly bulge at center Ø Great Red Spot is the universe’s largest storm & also has enormous lightning storms Ø Io, a moon of Jupiter, is the most volcanically active object in the SS

Saturn Size 9. 5 x Orbital Period 29 Years Length of Day 10. 656 hrs Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere 97 18 H 2, and He Color Unique Facts Bluish Yellow 7 Major Rings

Saturn: 6 th planet from the Sun Ø Also known as the Ringed Planet; rings composed of varying rock & ice fragments Ø 2 nd largest planet in our SS Ø Least dense planet; less dense than water Ø Rapid rotation causes bulge at equator & flattened poles

Uranus Size Orbital Period Length of Day Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere Color Unique Facts 4 x 84 Years 17. 24 Hrs 58 20+ H 2, He CH 4 Blue Accidentally Discovered

Uranus: 7 th planet from the Sun Ø 3 rd largest planet in our SS Ø Axis of rotation is tilted on its side; almost perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun = the Rolling Planet Ø Also has rings Ø Poles spend 42 years in darkness

Neptune Size Orbital Period Length of Day Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere Color Unique Facts 4 x 165 Years 16. 11 hrs 58 8 H 2, He and CH 4 Blue Existence was Predicted before discovery

Neptune: 8 th planet from the Sun Ø Sometimes is the 9 th planet from the Sun when it crosses Pluto’s orbit Ø Similar to Uranus; has several moons & rings Ø Existence was predicted before discovery Ø Great Dark Spot is an Earth size storm on Neptune that disappeared in 1994

Pluto Size Orbital Period Length of Day Avg. Temp # Moons Atmosphere Color Unique Facts 1/5 248 yrs 6. 3 days 50 1 N 2 and CH 4 Unknown Retrograde Highest eccentricity

Pluto: 9 th Planet from the Sun Ø Sometimes is the 8 th planet from the Sun when it crosses Neptune’s orbit Ø Also known as Planet X because it was not discovered until 1930 Ø Smallest planet in our SS Ø Sometimes referred to as double planet because of it’s moon Charon, which exhibits synchronous rotation with Pluto Ø Only outer planet to have solid, rocky surface, but is not dense enough to be considered a terrestrial planet Ø Was the 8 th planet between 78 - 98