Planets

Our Solar System

Asteroid Belt

Mercury

VenusEarth

MarsJupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Sun

Inner and Outer planetsInner planets Inner planets are between

the sun and asteroid belt and the planets are

constantly being hit by asteroids (at the beginning,

on their first 600 million years)

Inner planets were made of sphere shaped rocks while Outer

planets are gaseous spheres.

Outer planets Outer planets are outside

the asteroid belt

Outer planets have rings.

MercuryMercury’s extra-thin atmosphere of helium and sodium is caused because Mercury is very close to the sun and most of the gases get boiled down. Thin gas will make Mercury cooler since it traps less heat.

Two elemenets in Mercury’s atmosphere are sodium and helium

Mercury’s surface is shaped by: Other objects crashing into Mercury

(causing craters) Lava flooding on its surface Crusts moving (tectonic movement)

VenusVenus is also called the Evening Star because it

appears very bright in the sky when seen from earthIts atmosphere contains carbon dioxide and sulfuric

acidRetrograde rotation: Rotating clockwise on axis

(opposite to every other planet)A day in Venus = 225 earth daysA year in Venus = 243 earth days

A day > A yearIf you were on Venus, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east. This is because Venus

rotates clockwise, so the sun appears from the west side first.

Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system because it’s atmosphere acts like a greenhouse and

traps all the heat from the sun.

EarthEarth’s atmosphere is made out of:

78% Nitrogen21% Oxygen0.9% Argon0.1% water vapor, carbon dioxide, neon, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen, helium...

Our atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation from the sun and meteors.

Rotational tilt: 23.5 DegreesSpinning of Earth’s liquid iron core

produces a magnetic field around Earth.

One natural satellite of Earth is the Moon.

MarsSome meteors that crash on Earth are pieces of Mars, and there may have been ancient bacteria on it, signaling life on MarsMars’s atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide.It appears red because it has soil rich in ironOlympus Mons is a volcano, 600km wide and 26km tall.Mars’s two natural satellites are Phobos and Deimos

JupiterJupiter is bulged at the equator and

flattened at the poles like Earth. This is because Jupiter spins so fast.

Hydrogen, Helium, Sulfer and Nitrogen make up Jupiter’s atmosphere.

The Great Red Spot is a circular hurricane wind

Jupiter has about 50 named natural satellites and 13 other ones.

Io, one of Jupiter’s natural satellites happens to be the hottest celestial body in our solar

system! It has volcanic eruptions very frequently too.

SaturnSaturn’s atmosphere is made of

helium and hydrogen.Saturn’s rings may have been caused by natural satellites breaking down

The rings are made of water, ice and dust.

Saturn could float in water because its density is so low!

Seasons in Saturn last for 7 earth years!

UranusUranus’s rotation looks like it is rotating on its side because its tilt is 98 degrees!

Hydrogen, Helium and Methane make up Uranus’s atmosphere (Methane gives it

its blue-green color).Uranus has 27 known natural occurring

satellites.

NeptuneAmmonia, Helium and Methane make up Neptune’s atmosphereNeptune has 13 known natural

satellites!Triton is the largest satellite of

Neptune. Scientists think that Triton used to be another body, but it was captured by Neptune’s gravitational

pull and became a satellite.