Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Mercury Fast Facts: Questions Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature Answers 1 87.9 days 58.6 days 57 million Km 465 degrees celsius ­184 degrees celsius 179 degrees celsius More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons Terrestrial or Gaseous? Answers hydrogen and helium 4876 km 5% of Earth A 70 pound person would weigh 27 pounds on Mercury. None Terrestrial 1. What is Mercury named after? Mercury is the Roman version of the Greek God Hermes. 2. What is Mercury mostly made up of? Mercury has a large percent of heavier elements, mainly iron. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Venus Fast Facts: Questions Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons Answers 2 224.7 days ­243.16 days 107 million Km 449 degrees celsius Answers carbon dioxide and nitrogen 12,107 Km 81% of Earth Venus’s atmosphere would be toxic to humans. None 1. Why is Venus called Earth’s twin? Venus is called Earth’s twin because they are almost the same size, chemistry, gravity and density. 2. What is unusual about Venus’ rotation? Venus has retrograde rotation (it rotates opposite of most of the planets). 3. Why does Venus appear to be the brightest planet? Venus appears bright because it is so close to Earth. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Earth Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 3rd 365.3 days 23 hrs. 56 min. 150 million Km 7.2 degrees celsius (45 degrees fahrenheit) Answers nitrogen, oxygen, and argon 12,755 Km 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg Only planet with life 1 1. How much of Earth is water? How much of Earth is land? 70% of Earth is water. 30% of Earth is land. 2. Name 3 or 4 things that make Earth unique compared to other planets. Earth has humans, a breathable atmosphere, suitable temperature, and liquid water. 3. Why is Earth important when studying other planets? Earth is important when studying other planets because it is the only planet with life. Scientists use what we know about Earth to compare and guess what other planets must be like. It's called Comparative Planetology. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Mars Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 4th 686.98 days 24 hrs. 37 min. 229 million Km 36 degrees celsius (98 degrees fahrenheit) ­123 degrees celsius (­190 degrees fahrenheit) ­55 degrees celsius Answers carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon 6794 Km 10% of Earth Mars was the Roman god of war and agriculture 2 1. Why are scientists excited to study Mars? Scientists are excited to study Mars because they were able to land on the surface of the planet. 2. Why is Mars referred to as the Red Planet? What makes it red? Mars is referred to as the Red Planet because of the red dirt and rocks on the surface. High amounts of iron oxide make Mars red. 3. How many moons does Mars have? What are the names of its two most popular moons? Mars has 2 moons. Their names are Deimos and Phobos. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Jupiter Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 5th planet 4332.59 days 9 hours 55 mins 777 million km ­153 degrees C Answers hydrogen, helium, methane 142,983 km 317 x Earth ● Largest planet ● Spins so fast that it is fat in middle, its shape is called oblate spheroid. 62 1. What is Jupiter’s red spot? Giant storm 2. Why can’t we always see Jupiter’s rings? What are these rings called? Jupiters rings are so small we need the sunlight to reflect off them to see them. Rings are named Gossamer, Main, and Halo. 3. What Jupiter’s four main moons called? Why does Jupiter have so many moons? The moons are called Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto. Jupiter has so many moons because of it’s massive size and gravity. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Saturn Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 6th planet 10,759.2 days 10 hours, 13 mins 1,429 million km ­184 degree C Answers hydrogen, helium, methane 120,536 km 95 x Earth ● ring spaces from moons or their gravity ● lightest planet in solar system ● spins fast making a fat middle ● orbit twice as far as asteroid belt 53 1. What is so different about Saturn (focus on density)? Saturn is made mostly of hydrogen and helium making it the lightest planet. It is less dense than water, so it would float on water. 2. What are Saturn’s rings made of? How many rings does Saturn have? The rings are made mostly of ice dust. Saturn has 7 rings. 3. How many moons does Saturn have? What is its most popular moon? Saturn has 53 main moons, Titan is the most popular. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Uranus Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 7th Planet 30,684 days 17.2 hours 2,871 million km ­184 degrees C Answers hydrogen, helium, methane 51,117 km 14.6 x Earth ● ice giant ● rings rotate up and down ● possible hot ocean on its surface 27 1. Why is Uranus different from other planets and moons in our Solar System? How did it come to be different? It rotates on its side, possibly because an object hit in space, or one of its moons got pulled away from Uranus. 2. Why could there be large trillions of diamonds on Uranus? Diamonds could be present due to all the pressure on the planet. 3. What planet is almost identical to Uranus? Neptune 4. Does Uranus have a ring system? Yes, Uranus has rings made of black dust particles. Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Neptune Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 8th Planet 60,190 days 16 hours, 17 minutes 4,496 million km ­184 degrees C Answers hydrogen, helium, methane 49,527 km 17 x Earths mass ● Windiest planet ● Cloud called “scooter” orbits quickly ● Has had dark spots (storms) on and off 14 1. Describe the appearance of Neptune. Does it have a ring system? Blue with clouds floating in atmosphere. There are 6 rings, but not as developed as other planets 2. Why is it so difficult for astronomers to identify Neptune’s moons? Neptune is too far away to study its moons. 3. How many revolutions around the sun has Neptune made since its discovery in 1846? Once Name:______________________________________________ Date:_____________ Hour:___ Planet Exploration­ http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Use the above website and your Explore the Planets Packets to create a prezi for one planet. Pluto Fast Facts: Questions Answers Placement in the solar system Revolution Rotation Distance from Sun Maximum Temperature Minimum Temperature Average Temperature More: Questions Atmosphere Diameter Mass Fun Fact Moons 9th planet 90,465 Days 6 days, 9 hours 5869 million km ­234 degrees C Answers Methane, nitrogen 2390 km .02% of Earth ● Orbit is tilted ● Orbits inside Neptune in part of its orbit 5 1. Why was Pluto reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006? Pluto is super tiny, actually ⅔ size of our moon, so we call it a dwarf planet. 2. Since Pluto’s new classification, another category of planets has been named. What are planets in this category called? Planets small like Pluto are called Planetoids.