Uranus
•The temperature in the atmosphere of
Uranus that was facing the sun was
nearly the same as the side that was not
•Uranus's atmosphere is made up of
hydrogen, helium and methane. The
methane forms into a layer of cloud
because the temperature is so cold in the
upper atmosphere (it is about two hundred
and twenty five degrees Celsius).
• The greenish color of Uranus is due to
the atmosphere being made up of large
amounts of methane gas.
Moons of Uranus
• Uranus has 5 moons: Titania, Oberon,
Umbriel, Ariel, and Miranda
• Titania has big valleys
• Oberon has craters that are over flooded with
dark material
• Umbriel has a very dark surface
• Miranda is the most interesting. Miranda
has grooves that are V-shaped and has ridges
in its surface
Mercury
• The atmosphere is not stable. Atoms are
continuously lost and replenished.
Mercury has a very thin atmosphere; it is
barely there.
• Water vapor is probably also present.
• Particles in the atmosphere move very
fast, allowing gases to escape into space
• Water is being brought to Mercury by
comets in space.
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Mercury’s Content
Potassium
Sodium
Oxygen
Argon
Helium
Nitrogen
Carbon dioxide
Water
Hydrogen
31.7%
24.9%
9.5%
7.0%
5.9%
5.2%
3.6%
3.4%
3.2%
Pluto
• Pluto has a thin atmosphere
• Pluto’s density suggests that it has a rocky
core. Above this rocky core is a layer of ice.
• Pluto contains Methane, Carbon Monixide
and Nitrogen.
• Pluto has solid nitrogen and carbon
monoxide ices on the surface
• As Pluto moves away from the sun, more of
its atmosphere freezes and falls to the
ground.
Pluto’s Moon
• Pluto’s moon is named Charon.
• It was discovered in 1978.
• Its diameter is about half the size of
Pluto’s.
• Due to the unusual similarity in size
between Charon and Pluto, they are
sometimes considered a double planet.
• Charon has no atmosphere.
• Charon and Pluto are to be visited by the
New Horizons mission in July 2015.
Saturn’s Atmosphere
• The surface of Saturn has colored
bands, just like Jupiter. These areas on
Saturn are rising and sinking gases
• Has a source of heat
• Saturn's upper atmosphere is less dense
and its core is a lot more dense than
water.
• Saturn is made mainly of sulfur.
Sulfur makes Saturn look yellow.
•Has 18 moons including the most interesting,
Titan
•Second largest moon in the solar system
•Density= 2g/cm3
•Titan is the only moon in our solar system to have
a dense atmosphere
•Titan is the only known moon with a fully
developed atmosphere
•The atmosphere is 98.4% nitrogen with the left over
1.6% containing of methane and a little bit of gases
such as hydrocarbons, propane, argon, carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, and helium.
Jupiter’s Atmosphere
• Has light and dark colored bands
• The light bands are areas of rising gases
• Dark bands are areas of sinking gases
• High velocity winds are between the bands
• Jupiter's atmosphere is composed of 90%
Hydrogen and 10% Helium and traces of
methane, water vapor and rock. There are
also traces of carbon, neon, oxygen, and
sulphur. The outermost layer of the
atmosphere contains crystals of frozen
ammonia
Jupiter's Moons
• Jupiter has 16 moons. The 4 largest moons are
Castillo, Europa, Io, Ganymede.
• Io has a yellow-orange-reddish color. Io has 10
active volcanoes. When the volcanoes erupts, the
materials go on the surface. This a cause for the
color on its surface.
• Europa’s core is made of rock. It has a smooth
and shiny surface. It is thought that Europa
has oceans under the layers of ice.
• Ganymede and Castillo have a rock and ice
interior. On the surface, there appears to be a
thick layer of rocks.
Venus
• Venus has pale yellow clouds in its atmosphere. The
clouds cover the planet completely
• Venus consists of carbon dioxide, which acts as a roof,
letting not that much heat escape.
• The temperature in its atmosphere is 482 degrees
Celsius
• Has no moon
• Venus’s atmosphere is 90 times more massive than ours
• There are 200 mph winds at the cloud tops. The clouds
are made up of sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid droplets.
Neptune
• Neptune has deep layers of low
density materials
• Neptune is made up of Hydrogen,
Helium and Methane (similar to
Uranus)
• Has faint dark colored bands
• The blue appearance is due to the
methane in its atmosphere
Neptune's Moon
• Neptune has eight moons, Triton being the
largest
• Triton has a diameter of 2,700 kilometers
(1,680 miles). It was discovered by William
Lassell, an astronomer, on October 10. Triton
is colder than any other measured object in the
Solar System with a surface temperature of 235° C.
• It has an extremely thin atmosphere
• The southern atmosphere of Triton has ice caps
• 95% carbon dioxide and 5% nitrogen & argon with
some other gases
• The atmospheric pressure is 150 times lower than
earth due to the atmosphere being thin
• Mars has polar caps- they are frozen with carbon
dioxide and water
• Mars’s northern atmosphere is a smooth lowland
volcanic material including some craters
• Has the largest volcano in the solar systemOlympus Mons. It is a shield volcano measuring
600 kilometers across and 25 kilometers high
• Mars does not have a moon
Interactive Sites
• http://janus.astro.umd.edu/javadir/orbits/ss
v.html
• http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/afoe/simulation
/e3.html
• http://www.nasa.gov/mov/116648main_Col
lidingWdwarves.mov
Bibliography
• "Black Hole." Wikipedia. 23 May 2006. 23 May
2006
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Holes#Form
ation>.
• "Saturn." Wikipedia. 24 May 2006
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn>.
• Seeds. Foundations of Astronomy. Belmont:
Wadsworth Publishing Company,1986. 423-450.
• Spaulding, Namowitz, and Nancy E. Earth
Science. Dallas: McDougal Littell, 1999. 385-423.