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Our Solar System

This document provides an overview of our solar system, including the Sun, planets from Mercury to Pluto, asteroids, and comets. It describes key features of each planet such as their size, composition, moons, and notable landmarks. For example, it notes that Mercury is the smallest planet and closest to the Sun, Venus is covered in volcanoes, and Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system called Olympus Mons. The document also discusses asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and describes comets as icy objects left over from the early formation of the solar system.

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Robert Ionut Pitian
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
198 views

Our Solar System

This document provides an overview of our solar system, including the Sun, planets from Mercury to Pluto, asteroids, and comets. It describes key features of each planet such as their size, composition, moons, and notable landmarks. For example, it notes that Mercury is the smallest planet and closest to the Sun, Venus is covered in volcanoes, and Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system called Olympus Mons. The document also discusses asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and describes comets as icy objects left over from the early formation of the solar system.

Uploaded by

Robert Ionut Pitian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Our Solar System

Dorian Janney
After School Astronomy Clubs

The Sun

solar flare

sun spots

solar wind

MERCURY
Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, is the second smallest planet in our solar system.
It is only slightly larger than the Earth's moon. The surface is covered with craters.
This tiny planet does not have any rings or moons.

evidence of
craters

VENUS
impact craters

lava flows
Venus is one of the brightest objects in our sky,
so it is clearly visible to the naked eye.
It can be tricky to spot because it is always
near the Sun.
It rises and sets with the Sun each day.
Ancient civilizations believed Venus was
actually two different objects,
so they called the one that rose the
Morning Star, and the one that set
the Evening Star.

EARTH and MOON


What similarities and
differences do you notice
between the Earth and the
Moon?
Why do they have such
different surface features?

MARS
Mars is very bright, which makes it easy to spot in the night sky. It was named after
the Roman god of war because its reddish color reminded the people of blood.
Olympus Mons
is the largest
volcano in our
solar system!
Although people have
never landed on Mars,
we have sent robotic
explorers there.

Martian crater

ASTEROID BELT
Most asteroids can be found in the Asteroid Belt, which is located between
Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids are rocky and metallic objects that orbit the Sun,
but are too small to be considered planets. They are known as minor planets.
Asteroids range in size from Ceres, which has a diameter of about 1000 km,
down to the size of pebbles.

JUPITER
Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, is the largest planet in our solar system.
Jupiter is so big that over 1,000 planets the size of Earth could fit into it.
It has over 60 moons and 2 rings. Can life exist on Jupiter's moon, Europa?

The Great Red Spot


Is actually a huge
Storm system!

Here are a few of Jupiters moons

SATURN
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the second largest planet in our solar system.
It is often called the ringed planet because many rings of dust and rocks surround it.
Saturn also has over 31 moons.
Saturn with some of
its moons

Some of Saturns rings

Titan is a moon of Saturn that may have some


Conditions necessary for life! The picture on
the right shows an artists drawing of how Titan
might have looked when the Cassini-Huygens
probe dropped into its atmosphere in Dec., 2004.

URANUS
Uranus is a very unusual planet because it sits on its side with north and south
poles sticking out the sides. It rotates around this axis, making it look like a ball
rolling around in a circle around the Sun.

some of Uranuss moons


Black rings

NEPTUNE
Neptune, usually the eighth planet from the Sun, is a very cold place.
Occasionally, Pluto crosses Neptunes orbit and becomes the eight planet.
Its bluish color comes from its atmosphere of methane gas.

Tiny Dark Moon

PLUTO
Pluto, usually the ninth planet from the Sun, is the smallest planet in our solar system.
Some scientists believe that Pluto once was one of Neptunes moons, and that it
pulled out away from Neptune and made its own orbit.

Clearest view to date


Of Pluto and Charon

COMETS
Comets are sometimes called dirty snowballs or "icy mudballs".
They are a mixture of ices (both water and frozen gases) and dust that for
some reason didn't get incorporated into planets when the solar system was formed.
This makes them very interesting as samples of the early history of the solar system.
Comets have
elliptical orbits.

Comet Halley in 1910

When we see a comet, we


are seeing the tail of the comet
as comes close to the Sun.

Credits include
http://kids.nineplanets.org/title.htm
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/pluto
.htm

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