The Planets
Mrs. Cothery’s 7th grade class
The Solar System
 Our
solar system is made up of eight
individual and unique planets and is nearly
five billion years old.
 There are over 170 moons, thousands of
asteroids and many dwarf planets.
 Everything orbits around the sun.
 The four planets closest to the sun are called
terrestrial planets because they have solid
rocky surfaces.
 The four planets beyond mars are called the
gas planets.
The Sun
The Sun
 The
Sun is the largest star in the solar
system.
 It is about 333,000 times the size of earth.
 It contains 99.8% of all the mass in the
solar system.
 It is 1.4 million kilometers wide.
 The sun is filled with scorching hot gases.
 The temperature is about 10,000 degrees
Fahrenheit at the core.
 The sun holds the solar system together,
and gives it light, heat and energy.
Mercury
Mercury
 Mercury
is the closest planet to the sun, and
can reach temperatures of 801 degrees
Fahrenheit.
 It has very little atmosphere to trap heat, so
the temperatures at night can plummet to 279 degree Fahrenheit.
 The sun looks up to three times larger on
Mercury than in does on Earth.
 It is the second smallest planet in the solar
system.
Venus
Venus
 From
Earth, Venus is the brightest object in
the night sky.
 Venus is similar to Earth’s size.
 It has a think, rapidly spinning
atmosphere.
 The surface pressure is 90 times of the
pressure on Earth.
 The atmosphere consists mainly of carbon
dioxide.
 The surface temperature can be over 880
degree Fahrenheit.
 One day on Venus is equally to 117 Earth
days.
Earth
Earth
 The
only known planet to support life.
 Has a thin atmosphere that protects us.
 We are about 93,000,000 miles away from
the sun.
 Our atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen,
21% oxygen and 1% other ingredients.
 Our atmosphere shields us from the
harmful sun’s rays.
 Our molten nickel-iron core gives us our
magnetic field.
 Our oceans are at least 2.5 miles deep.
Mars
Mars
 Known
as the red planet
 Made up of a rocky surface
 The surface is covered in volcano's,
shifting tectonic plates and meteor
impacts.
 It has seasons that change it polar ice
caps.
 Mars often has large dust storms.
 It is believed that 3.5 billion years ago
Mars experienced great flooding.
Jupiter
Jupiter
 The
solar systems largest planet.
 Jupiter atmosphere is made up of
hydrogen and helium.
 Jupiter has four planet size moons.
 It is very similar to a large star.
 Its four moons are called Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Callisto.
 It has clouds made of ammonia.
 Jupiter's surface does contain water.
 It is famous for its great red spot, which is a
huge storm that has been around for over
300 years.
Saturn
Saturn
 It
is one of the large gas giants.
 It is made up of mostly hydrogen and
helium.
 The yellow and gold banding is made by
fast winds in the upper atmosphere.
 Galileo was the first person to see Saturn.
 Saturn's volume is 755 times greater that
Earth.
 Saturn’s rings are the most complex and
extensive in the solar system.
 Saturn has 52 known moons.
Uranus
Uranus
 Spins
on an axis that mostly faces the sun.
 The large amount of methane gas in its
atmosphere give it the distinct bright blue
color.
 Uranus has 11rings
 It is one of the large gas planets.
 It atmosphere is made up of hydrogen
and helium.
 It magnetic field is tipped over.
 Uranus has 27 known moons.
Neptune
Neptune
 The
furthest planet in our solar system.
 It also gets it blue coloring from the
methane gas in its atmosphere.
 Large storms are are common
occurrence on Neptune.
 It is nearly 2.8 billion miles away from the
sun.
 Its atmosphere extends to great depths,
gradually merging into water and other
melted ices.
 The axis of Neptune’s magnetic field is
tipped over bout 47 degrees.
References
“Mars”, www.blogs.smithsonianmag.com, May 4, 2013
“Mercury”, www.solrsystem.nasa.gov, May 4, 2013
“NASA- Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare”, www.nasa.org,
May 4, 2013.
“Neptune”, www.solarsystem.nasa.gov. May 4, 2013
"Nine Planets." The Solar System Tour. May 4, 2013.
“The Planets”, www.solarsystem.nasa.gov, May 4, 2013
“Saturn”, www.nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov, May 4, 2013
"Science." National Geographic. May 4, 2013.
“Uranus Fact Sheet”, www.nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov, May 4,
2013
“Venus”, nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. May 4, 2013
“Visible Earth”, visibleearth.nasa.gov. May 4, 2013