The Solar System The Milky Way Galaxy Our solar system is part of a family of stars called a...
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Transcript of The Solar System The Milky Way Galaxy Our solar system is part of a family of stars called a...
The Solar System
The Milky Way Galaxy
Our solar system is part of a family
of stars called a “galaxy.” Our
galaxy is called the Milky Way. Our
sun is only one of about 100 billion
stars in the Milky Way Galaxy!
The Milky Way is a giant spiral of stars with arms that curve
outward. Our solar system lives in one of these arms.
The following picture is what the Milky
Way Galaxy looks like…
Interesting Fact
The Milky Way is shaped like a
pancake. From the side, it looks
like a flat tire. You can sometimes
see its shape in the night sky.
The Solar System
The solar system is made up of the
sun and all of the different bodies
that travel, or revolve, around it.
This includes asteroids, comets,
meteors, moons, and planets.
The Sun
The sun is a star. It is a hot ball of
fiery gas that is very big. The sun is
the largest object in our solar system.
The following are pictures of what the
sun looks like…
Interesting Fact
The sun is so large one million
Earths could fit inside of it.
Asteroids
Asteroids are relatively small, rocky and
metal objects that orbit the sun.
Asteroids are made up of left over
materials from the formation of the solar
system. Millions of asteroids exist in the
solar system.
The following are examples of asteroids…
Most of the asteroids in the solar
system are found in the asteroid belt.
The asteroid belt is made up of millions
of asteroids that continuously revolve
around the sun. The asteroid belt is
located between the planets Mars and
Jupiter.
The asteroid belt is divided into an inner belt and an outer belt. The inner belt, which is made up of asteroids that are within 250 million miles of the sun, contains asteroids that are made of metals.
The outer belt, which includes asteroids 250 million miles beyond the sun, consists of rocky asteroids. These asteroids appear darker than the asteroids of the inner belt, and are rich in carbon.
The following is a picture of the
asteroid belt…
Interesting Fact
The asteroid Ida is as long as Manhattan
Island and moves within the asteroid belt.
Comets
Comets are small, orbiting bodies
that are made of dust, ice, and
frozen gases.
The following are examples of comets…
Interesting Fact
As comets move within the
solar system, they have
flashing tails.
Meteors
Meteors are chunks of matter that
enter Earth’s atmosphere and are
heated by friction with the air. For
a few moments, these chunks burn
as they fall, appearing as streaks
of light across the dark sky.
The following are examples of meteors…
Interesting Fact
Many people think that the dinosaurs died out as a
result of an enormous meteor hitting the Earth
about 65 million years ago.
Planets
A planet is a large body that
revolves around the sun. There are
eight planets in our solar system.
They are Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune.
The first four planets from the sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These planets are called the
inner planets because they are closer to the sun than the other planets are. The inner planets have
certain characteristics in common. They are rocky and much smaller than most of the other planets.
Mercury
Mercury is the smallest of the inner
planets. It is 36 million miles from
the sun, making it the closest planet
to the sun. It can reach
temperatures of over 800° F!
Mercury is a rocky planet that is covered in huge dents, called craters. Craters are made when asteroids crash into a planet or other celestial body.
The following are pictures of the planet
Mercury…
Interesting Fact
The hottest surface temperature
on Mercury is 801° F.
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the
sun and the planet that is nearest to
Earth. It is 67 million miles from the
sun, yet it is hotter than Mercury is.
Venus can reach temperatures of
over 900° F.
The following are pictures of the planet
Venus…
Interesting Fact
The planet Venus was named
after the Roman goddess of love.
Earth
The third planet from the sun is Earth.
Earth is approximately 93 million miles
from the sun. It is the only planet we
know of that has life on it.
The following are pictures of what
planet Earth looks like from outer
space…
Interesting Fact
In the center of the Earth is a iron
core where temperatures reach up
to 10,832 ° F! This is as hot as the
surface of the sun.
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the
sun and is nicknamed “The Red
Planet.” It is orangey-red in color
because of rusty iron in the huge
rocks that cover it.
Mars is 141 million miles from the sun. It has
canyons, which may have once been rivers. It also
has the biggest volcano ever found in space,
Olympus Mons. The volcano is the size of Texas!
The following are pictures of what
planet Mars looks like…
Interesting Fact
You can spot Mars in the night sky
because it shines a slightly red color.
The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These planets are called the outer planets because they are farther away from the sun than the inner planets are. The outer planets are larger than
the inner planets and made up mostly of gas.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in the
solar system. It is so big that all the
other planets could fit inside of it.
Jupiter is approximately 483 million
miles from the sun and has 63 rocky
moons that orbit it.
Jupiter is well known for its Great Red
Spot. This gigantic storm is visible on
the surface of the planet. Jupiter is the
first of the gas planets, and has bright
yellow and red clouds that swirl around
it. Jupiter has no surface at all! If you
were to fly to Jupiter, you would have
nowhere to land.
The following are pictures of what the
planet Jupiter looks like…
Interesting Fact
Jupiter was the king of the Roman Gods
and is 11 times bigger than Earth.
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the
sun and is 890 million miles from
Earth. It is a huge ball of gas that
has no hard surface. Saturn has 62
moons and is famous for the
amazing rings that surround it.
The rings of Saturn are made up of billions of pieces of ice. Some are the size of a tiny speck of dust while others are as big as a car!
The following are pictures of what the
planet Saturn looks like…
Interesting Fact
Saturn’s rings are only about ½ mile thick,
but they are approximately 180 miles wide.
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the
sun. It is 1.784 billion miles from the
sun, 19 times farther away from the
sun than Earth is. Like Saturn,
Uranus has a band of rings around it.
Uranus is known as the “Blue Planet.” It is a giant ball of gas and liquid. One of the gases is methane, which makes the planet look blue. Uranus has a total of 27 different moons.
The following are pictures of what the
planet Uranus looks like…
Interesting Fact
Scientists think the rings around
Uranus could have once been
moons that were smashed to
pieces by huge falling asteroids.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest
planet in the solar system. It is
2.792 billion miles from the sun.
Neptune is a giant ball of liquid and
gas. Neptune has 13 moons.
Neptune also has the most violent weather in the solar
system. Storms the size of Earth swirl around at huge
speeds ten times faster than our worse hurricanes.
The following are pictures of what the
planet Neptune looks like…
Interesting Fact
Neptune was discovered when a
scientist figured out that Uranus was
being gravitationally pulled by
another object, which turned out to
be Neptune.
Kuiper Belt & Pluto
Beyond Neptune is an area known as
the Kuiper Belt. Millions of icy bits
and pieces float together around the
sun. The dwarf planet Pluto lies in
the Kuiper Belt. Pluto is the largest
object in the belt, but is smaller than
our moon.
The following are pictures of what the
dwarf planet Pluto looks like…
Interesting Fact
Pluto has a moon called Charon.
Pluto and Charon always face each
other. It appears as if they are
dancing through space together.
Our solar system is a beautiful place. I
hope you enjoy looking at the following
pictures of it…
The End