What is it?
The Solar System
• Order the planets:
VENUS
MERCURY
MARS
NEPTUNE
EARTH
URANUS
JUPITER
SATURN
Correct answer
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Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
What are the
inner and outer
planets?
THE SUN
• The Sun is a star found at the center of
the Solar System.
• The Sun’s diameter is about 110 times
wider than Earth’s.
• 74% = hydrogen. 24% = helium, 2%
oxygen, carbon, iron and neon
• Light from the Sun reaches Earth in
around 8 minutes.
MERCURY
• Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. (58
million kilometres away)
• Like all the other planets Mercury orbits round
the Sun, but its orbit of the Sun lasts for only
88 days.
• Because Mercury goes round the Sun so
quickly, the planet was called after the
messenger of the Roman Gods.
• Mercury has no moons.
VENUS
• Venus is the brightest planet in the Solar
System and can be seen even in daylight if
you know where to look.
• Venus is called after the Roman Goddess of
love and beauty.
• Venus has no moons.
• Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar
System, even hotter than Mercury, which is
closer to the Sun.
EARTH
• It is the only planet that has an atmosphere
containing 21 percent oxygen.
• It is the only planet that has liquid water on its
surface. It is the only planet in the solar
system that has life.
• The Earth takes 365¼ days to complete its
orbit round the Sun.
• The Earth is 150 million kilometres from the
Sun.
• It has got one Moon.
MARS
• Mars is often called the Red Planet, This is
due to a mineral called iron oxide that is very
common on the planet’s surface.
• Mars has two moons Phobos and Deimos .
• Mars doesn’t have a protective layer
of atmosphere like Earth, so it cannot store
heat from the sun. As a result, the
temperature on Mars often drops to -82
degrees C in the winter and only rises to -5
degrees C in the summer.
JUPITER
• Jupiter is the giant of the Solar System, with a
mass more than 300 times the mass of the
Earth and is called after the ancient Roman
sky-god, Jupiter, known to the Greeks as
Zeus.
• Jupiter is the stormiest planet in the Solar
System.
• Jupiter is the first of the “gas giants” ,
entirely composed of dense layers of gas.
SATURN
• The bright globe of Saturn is surrounded by
rings which may be composed of ice.
• Saturn is the last planet that can be seen
without using a telescope or binoculars.
• Saturn has at least 18 moons, satellites which
orbit round the planet attracted to it by the
planet’s gravity.
• The weather on Saturn is also very stormy.
URANUS
• Uranus cannot be seen from the Earth
without a telescope.
• Uranus has a total of 27 moons, most of
whom are named after characters in
Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
• Most of the centre of Uranus is a frozen mass
of ammonia and methane, which gives it the
blue-green colour.
NEPTUNE
• It is one of the four “gas giants”. Like Jupiter,
Saturn and Uranus, it is composed only of
gas. Neptune is a great ball of hydrogen and
helium.
• We now know that Neptune has 13 moons in
total. One of them, Triton, is the most unusual
moon since it orbits Neptune in the opposite
direction of Neptune’s own rotation on its
axis.
• Neptune was the God of the Sea.
PLUTO
• According to new rules adopted by the International
Astronomical Union, acelestial body must meet the following
criteria in order to qualify as a planet:
• A planet must be round.
• A planet must orbit the sun.
• A planet must have “cleared the neighborhood”
of its orbit. This means that as a planet travels,
its gravity sweeps and clears the space around it
of other objects.
• Pluto follows the first two rules: It is round,
and it orbits the sun. It does not, however,
follow the third rule. Don’t feel too sad
for Pluto, though. It has a new title — “dwarf
planet.”
CREATE YOUR OWN PLANET
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- Is it an inner or outer planet?
- How far is it from the Sun?
- What is the colour of the planet and why?
- What is the population/surface/weather of the
planet?
• - What langugage do they speak?
• - How many moons has the planet got?
• - one more extra information of your choice