The Solar System
The Solar System
 Composed






Sun
Planets
Moons
Asteroids
Comets
Meteroids
of the following
General Information
 The
Sun takes up 99.85% of the Mass of
the Solar system
 Each planet moves around the sun in an
elliptical orbit
The Planets
 Two

Types of Planets
Terrestial
• Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
• Small and rocky

Jovian
• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
• Huge Gas Giants

Pluto does not fit neatly into either category
Comparisons
 Size


Inner Planets (Terrestial) smaller
Earth is ¼ the size of smallest Jovian planet
(Neptune)
 Density


The inner planets are more dense
Differ because of chemical composition
Interiors of the Planets

3 substances make up the interior of the
planets

Gases
• Hydrogen and Helium
• Melting point is near absolute zero

Rocks
• Mainly silicates and metallic irons
• Melting points are above 700 degrees celcius

Ices
• Ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide and water
• They have intermediate melting points
Atmosphere
 Why

don’t the gases escape?
Gravity
• Gases are held into our planets by gravity
• In order for a gas to escape it has to travel at the
planets escape velocity


Earth 11 km/s
Jupiter 60km/s
The Inner Planets
 Mecury
 Venus
 Earth
 Mars
 Moon
Mercury
Size
1/3 of the Earth
Orbital Period
87.9 Days
Length of Day
59 Days
Avg. Temp
440
# Moons
0
Atmosphere
O2, Na and H2
Color
Dark grey
Unique Facts
Largest Night
Day Temp.
Change
Mercury
 Innermost
Planet
 Second Smallest
 Surface Features



Cratered highlands
Smooth terrains
Has scarps which shows signs of previously
being tectonically active
Mercury Continued
 Surface


Temperature
Revolves around sun quickly
Rotates Slowly
• One Night Takes 3 months

Avg. Daily temp
• 427 o C

Avg. Nightly temp
• -173 o C
Venus
Size
Orbital Period
Length of Day
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
Color
Unique Facts
1/1
224.7 Days
243 Days
737
0
CO2, O2and N2
Dirty Yellow
Highest Albedo
and Hottest
Planet
Venus
 Second
Planet
 Earth’s Twin
 Covered with thick clouds
 Surface Features



Varied Topography much like Earth
80 % is covered by plains, created by lava
Only 8% is the highlands (volcanoes)
Venus
 Surface

Temperature
Surface Temperature is approx. 475oC
 Atmosphere




97% CO2
Small Amounts of Water Vapor
Small Amounts of Nitrogen
Atmospheric Pressure is 90x Greater than
Earth’s
Mars
Size
Orbital Period
Length of Day
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
Color
Unique Facts
½
686.9 Days
24.6 Hours
210
2
CO2,
Reddish
Olympus Mons
Water Ice Caps
Mars
 The
Red Planet
 Has Brilliant White Polar Caps
 Atmosphere




1% the Denisty of Earth’s Atmosphere
Primarly made up of CO2
Temperatures can Drop to -125oC
Polar Caps are made of water ice covered by
a thin layer of frozen CO2
Mars
 Surface

Features
Olympus Mons
• Volcano that is the size of Ohio and 23 km high
• 2.5 times taller than Mt. Everest

Valles Marineris
• Largest Canyon
• 5000km Long and 8km Deep
• NO MARTIANS
Jupiter
Size
Orbital Period
Length of Day
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
Color
Unique Facts
11x
12 Years
9.925 hrs
129
16+
H2 and He
Red, Orange
70% all
Planetary
Mass
Jupiter
Jupiter: 5th planet from the Sun
 Largest planet in the SS, twice the combined
mass of the eight other planets
 Fastest rotating planet; causes it to slightly
bulge at center
 Great Red Spot is the universe’s largest storm
& also has enormous lightning storms
 Io, a moon of Jupiter, is the most volcanically
active object in the SS
Saturn
Size
9.5 x
Orbital Period
29 Years
Length of Day
10.656 hrs
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
97
18
H2, and He
Color
Unique Facts
Bluish Yellow
7 Major Rings
Saturn
Saturn: 6th planet from the Sun
 Also known as the Ringed Planet; rings
composed of varying rock & ice
fragments
 2nd largest planet in our SS
 Least dense planet; less dense than
water
 Rapid rotation causes bulge at equator &
flattened poles
Uranus
Size
Orbital Period
Length of Day
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
Color
Unique Facts
4x
84 Years
17.24 Hrs
58
20+
H2, He CH4
Blue
Accidentally
Discovered
Uranus
Uranus: 7th planet from the Sun
 3rd largest planet in our SS
 Axis of rotation is tilted on its side; almost
perpendicular to its orbital plane around
the Sun = the Rolling Planet
 Also has rings
 Poles spend 42 years in darkness
Neptune
Size
Orbital Period
Length of Day
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
Color
Unique Facts
4x
165 Years
16.11 hrs
58
8
H2, He and CH4
Blue
Existence was
Predicted before
discovery
Neptune
Neptune: 8th planet from the Sun
 Sometimes is the 9th planet from the
Sun when it crosses Pluto’s orbit
 Similar to Uranus; has several moons &
rings
 Existence was predicted before
discovery
 Great Dark Spot is an Earth size storm
on Neptune that disappeared in 1994
Pluto
Size
Orbital Period
Length of Day
Avg. Temp
# Moons
Atmosphere
Color
Unique Facts
1/5
248 yrs
6.3 days
50
1
N2 and CH4
Unknown
Retrograde
Highest
eccentricity
Pluto
Pluto: 9th Planet from the Sun

Sometimes is the 8th planet from the Sun when it
crosses Neptune’s orbit

Also known as Planet X because it was not discovered
until 1930

Smallest planet in our SS

Sometimes referred to as double planet because of it’s
moon Charon, which exhibits synchronous rotation
with Pluto

Only outer planet to have solid, rocky surface, but is
not dense enough to be considered a terrestrial planet

Was the 8th planet between 78 - 98