The Solar System
ORGANIZATION OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM
Claudis Ptolemy said the earth was the
center of the universe and the planets and
sun revolved around it.
Nicholas Copernicus said the sun was in
the center of the universe and the planets
rotated around it in a circular orbit.
Johannes Kepler published his laws of
planetary orbit stating the planets rotated in an
elliptical orbit.
Galileo used the newly invented telescope to
study the planets and say there were many
planets orbiting the sun.
Planetary system- a system of planets
revolving around the sun (a star).
Smaller bodies that orbit the sun include
asteroids, meteoroids, and comets.
Asteroid a chunk of rock and metal that
orbits the sun.
Asteroid belt – a large area of asteroids
located between Mars and Jupiter.
Meteroid- a rock that floats in space
Meteor- a streak of light produced by the
friction of the atmosphere rubbing against
the meteoroid.
Meteorite- when a meteor strikes the
earth’s surface it is called a meteorite.
Comet- a ball of ice, rock, and frozen gases
that orbits the sun.
All planets orbit the sun.
MERCURY
Rocky surface with craters
Thin atmosphere containing hydrogen and
helium
In sunlit areas the surface is hot enough to
melt lead
VENUS
Surface: Rocky
Atmosphere: thick, mostly carbon dioxide
and nitrogen
Fact: direction of rotation is opposite of all
other planets
EARTH
Surface: Mostly water with areas of soil
covered rock
Atmosphere: mostly nitrogen and Oxygen
Fact: has only known life in the solar
system
MARS
Surface: Rocky, Covered with dust
Atmosphere: thin mostly carbon dioxide
Fact: has largest volcano-Olympus Mons,
whose base is larger than the state of New
Mexico.
JUPITER
Surface: Gaseous planet, possibly with
liquid hydrogen surface
Atmosphere: mostly hydrogen and helium
Fact: Great Red Spot-huge storm that has
lasted since the time of Galileo
Great Red Spot
SATURN
Surface: Gaseous planet with no known
solid surface
Atmosphere: mostly hydrogen and helium
Fact: has wide, thin system of rings made
of small pieces of ice and rock
URANUS
Surface: Gaseous planet without a known
solid surface
Atmosphere: mostly hydrogen and helium
Fact: Possible collision with an earth sized
object may have knocked Uranus on it’s
side as a result, it roll around in an orbit.
NEPTUNE
Surface: Gaseous planet without a known
solid surface
Atmosphere: Mostly hydrogen, helium,
and methane
Fact: one of the windiest places in the
solar system. (1,000km per hr) 620 mph.
Pluto
Surface: Water and Methane Ice
Atmosphere: Mostly Methane
Fact: Usually 9th planet, but part of its
orbit is inside Neptune’s orbit, making
Pluto the 8th planet on occasion.
Astronomical Units/Light –Years
 Astronomical unit (A.U.)-the unit of
measurement astronomers use to measure
distances in the solar system.
 A.U.-equal to the average distance between the
Earth and the sun
 This distance is 150 million km or 93 million
miles.
 Light-year-equal to the distance light can travel
in a vacuum in one year. Used to measure
distances to the stars.
The Solar System