The Solar System
A Brief Tour
By students of Fiona and Mark
Introduction to the Solar
System
Mercury
•
•
•
•
•
•
Closest to the Sun
Small planet
No atmosphere
Huge temperature differences
Many craters
Mercury has been known about since before
Christ was born (3rd millenium BC)
• Has been visited by ONE spacecraft only
Venus
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sister to Earth
Evening Star
Deadly planet
Thick clouds
Known about since pre-historic times
Visited by more than 20 spacecraft
Earth and the Moon
•
•
•
•
•
Water world
Rich ecosystem
Large moon
Earth third planet from the sun
Moon known about since pre-historic
times
• Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite
Mars
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Half the size of Earth
Thin atmosphere
Rusty rocks
2 tiny moons
Life on Mars?
Fourth planet from the sun
Fifth largest planet
Known since pre-historic times
Very interesting terrain
Jupiter
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Biggest planet
Gas giant
Great Red Spot
60 moons
Fourth brightest object in the sky
Known since pre-historic times
Visited by 6 spacecraft
Regularly observed by the Hubble Space
Telescope
Saturn
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Second largest planet
Gas giant
Ring system
Biggest moon – Titan
Sixth planet from the Sun
Known since pre-historic times
Visited by four spacecraft
Uranus and Neptune
• Uranus – no visible features
• Seventh planet from the Sun and third
largest
• Discovered by telescope in 1781
• Neptune – Great Dark Spot
• Eigthth planet from the Sun and fourth
largest
• First observed in 1846
Pluto
•
•
•
•
•
•
Smallest planet
Very distant
No spacecraft have visited
One moon – Charon
Discovered in 1930 by accident
Surface temperature varies between
-235 c and -210 c
Planets and their Moons
Planets closest to
the Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
No Moon
No Moon
The Moon
Phobos and Deimos
Planets and their Moons
Planets furthest from
the sun
Saturn
Uranus
Titan
Ophelia
Rhea
Cordelia
Pluto
Charon
Neptun
Jupiter
Europa
Triton
Ganymede
Naiad
Bibliography
• www.nineplanets.org/ “The nine planets
of the Solar System Tour”
• www.solarviews.com/eng/homepage.
htm “Views of the Solar System”
• www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/our_
solar_system/solar_system.html
• Google.’Solar System’ News results for
Solar System – view today’s top stories
Credits
• Individual images from
– National Space Science Data Center
– NASA