Inner Planets-Rocky Planets (Terrestrial Planets)
Mercury
Named for the Roman god of commerce, travel and thievery
Physical Features
 Very small- a little larger than Earth’s moon.
 Many craters
 Caloris Basin-an area has many craters
Place in Space
 Oval shaped orbit-more elliptical than most other planets
 1 day = 59 Earth days
 1 year = 88 Earth days
Climate
 Very thin atmosphere-allowing a lot of heat to be absorbed during the
day.
 Very hot days- 350◦ C (660◦F)
 Cold Nights- -170◦ C (270◦ F)
How does it compare to other planets?
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Inner Planets-Rocky Planets (Terrestrial Planets)
Venus
Named for the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty
Physical Description
 About the same size as Earth
 Thick cloud layer reflects the sun which makes it look bright in the night
sky
 Has mountains, valleys, plains, continents and even areas where
oceans could be if there was water
 Huge volcanoes
Place in Space
 Rotates in the opposite direction as the Earth
 1 Day = 243 Earth days
 1 year = 225 Earth days
Climate
 Very thick atmosphere
 Atmosphere made of carbon dioxide
 Temp 400◦ C (800◦ F)
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Inner Planets-Rocky Planets (Terrestrial Planets)
Earth
Named for Greek Goddess Gaea-Mother of the Titans
Physical Description
 ¾ of the surface of the planet is covered with water
 From space-looks mostly blue with green/brown continents and white
capped mountains.
 Highest point-Mt. Everest 5.5 miles above sea level
 Lowest Point-Dead Sea-395 meters below sea level
Place in Space
 Tilted on its axis-this allows for seasons.
 (Rotation) 1 day-23 hrs. 56 min.
 (Revolution) 1 year-365.3 days
Climate
 Atmosphere covered with clouds protects it from extreme heat.
 The clouds also hold in heat so that it does not become to cold during
the night.
 Atmosphere gases-78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other gases
 Temperature varies with location.
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The Moon
Physical Description
 About ¼ the size of Earth
 No air or food
 No liquid water…Ice has been found near the poles
 Weak gravity
 ¾ covered with mountains and craters-some as large as 620 miles
across others as small as dots.
 ¼ is smooth and dark-known as “seas”
Place in Space
 Earth’s only natural satellite
 Rotates and revolves at the same rate about 28 days…same side
always faces the Earth.
Climate
 Temp-Day 240◦F; Night -290◦C
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Inner Planets-Rocky Planets (Terrestrial Planets)
Mars
Named for the Roman god of War
Physical Description
 Much smaller and colder than Earth
 Known as the “Red Planet”-large amount of iron gives it its reddish
color.
 Mountains, volcanoes, and canyons-largest named Valles Marinerisstretches 2500mi.
 2 moons
Place in Space
 (Rotation) 1 day-24 hrs. 40 min.
 (Revolution) 1 year-687 Earth days
Climate
 Too cold for liquid water
 Thin layer of ice at the poles
 Temp. -53◦C to -128◦C
 Dust storms in Summer
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Outer Planets-Gas Giants (Jovian Planets)
Jupiter
Named for the Roman Supreme God of the Heavens
Physical Description
 Largest of all the planets-could fit all other planets inside it
 Made up of gases-hydrogen and helium
 The gases become liquid ¼ of the way to the core.
 62 known moons
Place in Space
 (Rotation) 1 day-9 hrs. 40 min.
 (Revolution) 1 year-11.9 Earth Years
Climate
 3 thick layers of clouds-19 miles above the surface
 Temp. -130◦C at the top of the cloud cover
 White spots-Many storms
 Great Red Spot-a giant storm that has raged for over 300 years.
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Outer Planets-Gas Giants (Jovian Planets)
Saturn
Named for the Roman God of Agriculture and Strength.
Physical Description
 No solid surface
 Quick rotation because it looks flattened at the poles and wider at the
equator
 Huge ring system-they extend about the same distance as our Earth is
from the moon
 Rings are composed of ice and rock particles
 62 moons
Place in Space
 (Rotation) 1 day-10 hrs. 40 min.
 (Revolution) 1 year-29.5 Earth years
Climate
 Atmosphere-hydrogen and helium
 2 wind systems working the opposite directions.
 Temp. -176◦C at the top of the cloud cover
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Outer Planets-Gas Giants (Jovian Planets)
Uranus
Named after the Roman God of the Sky
Physical Description
 No solid surface
 Bluish-green in color
 Rings
 15 moons
Place in Space
 7th planet from the sun
 (Rotation) 1 day-17.3 hrs.
 Rotates on its side
 (Revolution) 1 year-84 Earth years
Climate
 Atmosphere-hydrogen and helium
 Great Dark Spot
 Temp. -234◦C at the top of the cloud cover
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Outer Planets-Gas Giants (Jovian Planets)
Neptune
Named for the Roman God of the Sea
Physical Description
 No solid surface
 Appears blue because of methane gas
 Rings
 8 moons-Triton one of its larger moons, rotates backwards
Place in Space
 (Rotation) 1 day-16 hrs.
 (Revolution) 1 year-165 Earth years
Climate
 Atmosphere-hydrogen, helium and methane
 Great Dark Spot
 Scooter a smaller storm-has bright interior
 Temp. -214◦C at the top of the cloud cover
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Dwarf PlanetsPluto
Named after the Roman God of the Underworld
 Very similar to planets but smaller-round
 Main reason they are not planets---they have not “cleared the
neighborhood” around its orbit-it shares orbital space with other objects of
about the same size.
 Most orbit in an area called the Kuiper belt
 Dwarf planets-Eris, Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, and Ceres
Pluto-made of frozen gases (methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide)
-It is smaller than several moons in our solar system
-Has 3 moons. The biggest called Charon.
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Black Holes
Physical Features
 Cold leftovers of giant stars
 Final stage of a giant star’s life
 Very dense- its gravity is so strong that no matter can escape its pull-not
even light
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Asteroids
Physical Features
 Rock
 They are remains from the formation of the solar system.
 Most orbit in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
 Can be several feet to several miles in diameter.
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Meteoroids/Meteors/Meteorites
Depends on its location.
 Meteoroids-in space
 Meteors-in our atmosphere
 Meteorite-piece that land on the Earth
Description
 Pieces of rock or metal
 Millions of meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere every day. Most disintegrate
in atmosphere
 Most are the size of pebble
 Meteor showers are when many meteors occur at certain times every
year. They are believed to be fragments of comets
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Stars
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Are classified by size and color
Color indicates how hot and how old it is
Some Types
 Red Dwarf
 White Dwarf
 Yellow Star
 Blue Giant
 Red Giant
Color
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Blue stars are the hottest
White stars next
Yellow Stars next
Red stars are the coolest
Life Cycle
 Start as a Nebula-a swirling cloud of gas
 As the matter in the nebula gets more packed together, a protostar is
born.
 Pressure and mass causes Nuclear Fusion-this creates energy-a star.
 At the end of its life the star expands and the core gets more packed
together, becoming a giant star
 It eventually uses up its energy and shrinks.
 Very hot stars expand and then explode (supernova) and turn into a
dim, cool object
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