The Solar System

Rotation vs.

Revolution

Comparing the Inner and Outer Solar System Inner Solar System

• Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars– Terrestrial planets

• Rocky

• Solid

• Dense

• Small diameters

– Close to the sun

– Few natural moons

– Many impact craters• scars on the surface of the

planets where they have been hit by objects such as meteors.

– Small orbits

Outer Solar System

• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto*– The Gas Giants

• Gas

• Less dense

• Large diameters

– Farther from the Sun

– Many natural moons

– No impact craters

– Large orbits

MercuryThe Winged Messenger

In Roman mythology Mercury is the god of commerce, travel, and thievery, the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the Gods.

The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.

Mercury Factoids

• You could fit 287 Mercury’s across the sun

• It orbits the sun every 88 days, and completes 1 rotation every 59 days

• Mercury has no moon

Why does it look so beat up????

• It has virtually no atmosphere because it is vaporized from the high surface temperature

• No atmosphere lets asteroids bombard surface without being burned up by the atmosphere

VenusThe Bringer of Peace

Venus (Greek: Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar) is the goddess of love and beauty.

The planet gets this name because it is the brightest of the planets known to the ancients.

Venus Factoids

Venus could fit across the Sun 115 times

It orbits the sun every 243 days, and completes 1 rotation every 226 days

Venus has no moon

Sunlight passes through the Venusian atmosphere.

The surface of Venus then absorbs the sunlight, which heats it up.

Since the atmosphere on Venus is mostly made up of carbon dioxide, the heat released from the planet get trapped in its lower atmosphere.

This makes the planet and its atmosphere very hot. The surface temperature is near

900°C, which is hot enough to melt lead.

If there were any oceans on Venus, they have all boiled up and evaporated.

The Runaway Greenhouse Effect of Venus

Earth

Earth Rise

                                                            

MarsThe Bringer of War

Mars (Greek: Ares) is the god of War.

The planet got this name due to its red color (Mars is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet).

The name of the month March derives from Mars.

Mars Factoids• Mars would span across the Sun 206 times

• Mars orbits the Sun every 686 days (1 year and 321 days), and completes one rotation every 24.62 hours.

• Mars has 2 moons

Mars MoonsPhobos and Deimos

Jupiter (a.k.a. Jove; Greek Zeus) was the King of the Gods, the ruler of Olympus. Zeus was the son of Cronus (Saturn).

9 1-2

• Jupiter takes 12 years to go around the Sun and rotates once every 9.8 hours

• To date Jupiter has about 60 known moons!

• Jupiter has one very small and faint ring system

• The planet is mainly composed of gas and is the largest body in the Solar System next to the Sun.

The GRS (Great Red Spot) is a giant storm two times the size of the Earth!

It is the most known storm on Jupiter.

The storm has lasted for over 300 years!

SaturnThe bringer of old age

In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture. The associated Greek god, Cronus, was the son of Uranus and Gaia and the father of Zeus (Jupiter). Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday"

General Information

• Most flattened Planet in the solar system

• Rotates once in 10.67 hours

• 29 ½ years to orbit the sun

• Its density is so small that it would float in water!

Although they look solid, Saturn's rings are probably less than 50 meters thick and consist of individually orbiting bits of rock covered in ice. These rocks can be anywhere from the size of a grain of sand, to the size of a house.

Saturn’s rings are made up of about 10,000 individual ringlets.

UranusThe Magician

Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god.

Uranus was the son and mate of Gaia the father of Cronus (Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and Titans.

• 27 Uranus’ would fit across the diameter of the Sun

• It takes 17.24 hours to rotate once on its axis and 84 years to go around the sun

• Uranus has 27 known moons and a few faint rings

What’s weird about Uranus

• Uranus is tipped on its side

• Thought to be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body, early in the solar system’s formation

NeptuneThe Mystic

In Roman mythology Neptune (Greek: Poseidon) was the God of the Sea.

A Few Ditties About Neptune

• Rotational Period17.24 hours

• Revolution Period 165 years

• Neptune has 13 knownmoons and a few faint rings

Triton is the largest moon of Neptune, it orbits Neptune in a direction opposite to the planet’s rotation, it is gradually getting closer until it will collide with the planet in about 10 to 100 million years

The Great Dark Spot

PlutoIn Roman mythology, Pluto (Greek:

Hades) is the god of the underworld.

Pluto Info

• It takes 248 years to revolve around the Sun and 6 days 10 hours to complete one rotation

• Has one moon