ACLERA, KIM B.

BSED BIOL SCI 3

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY 2 3:00-4:00 TThS

SOLAR SYSTEM: The Sun and the Eight Planets

Solar System consists of an average star we call the Sun, the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune It includes: the satellites of the planets; numerous comets, asteroids, and meteoroids; and the interplanetary medium

The Sun is the richest source of electromagnetic energy (mostly in the form of heat and light) in the solar system. It is the center of the solar system contains 99.85% of all the matter in the Solar System. The planets contain only 0.135% of the mass of the solar system.

The Eight known planets:

I.

The Terrestrial Planets The terrestrial planets are the four innermost planets in the solar system, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. They are called terrestrial because they have a compact, rocky surface like the Earth's.

i. -

Mercury The closest planet to the sun. Its day side is scorched by the sun and can reach 840 degrees F (450 degrees C), but on the night side, temperatures drop to hundreds of degrees below freezing.

Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to absorb meteor impacts, so its surface is pockmarked with craters, just like the moon. Mercury Facts: Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Messenger of the Roman gods Diameter: 3,031 miles (4,878 km) Orbit: 88 Earth days Day: 58.6 Earth days

ii. -

Venus The second planet from the sun Venus is terribly hot. The atmosphere is toxic. Scientists describe Venus situation as a runaway greenhouse effect. Its size and structure are similar to Earth, Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway "greenhouse effect."

it spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets. Venus Facts: Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty Diameter: 7,521 miles (12,104 km) Orbit: 225 Earth days Day: 241 Earth days

iii. -

Earth The third planet from the sun Earth is a waterworld, with two-thirds of the planet covered by ocean. Its the only world known to harbor life. Earths atmosphere is rich in life-sustaining nitrogen and oxygen. Earth's surface rotates about its axis at 1,532 feet per second slightly more than 1,000 mph at the equator. The planet zips around the sun at more than 18 miles per second.

More Facts about Earth: Diameter: 7,926 miles (12,760 km) Orbit: 365.24 days Day: 23 hours, 56 minutes

iv. -

Mars The fourth planet from the sun, is a cold, dusty place. The dust, an iron oxide, gives the planet its reddish cast.

Mars shares similarities with Earth: It is rocky, has mountains and valleys, and storm systems ranging from localized tornadolike dust devils to planet-engulfing dust storms

Mars Facts: Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Roman god of war Diameter: 4,217 miles (6,787 km) Orbit: 687 Earth days Day: Just more than one Earth day (24 hours, 37 minutes)

II.

The Jovian Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are known as the Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets, because they are all gigantic compared with Earth, and they have a gaseous nature like Jupiter's. The Jovian planets are also referred to as the gas giants, although some or all of them might have small solid cores.

i. -

Jupiter The fifth planet from the sun Jupiter is huge and is the most massive planet in our solar system. Its a mostly gaseous world, mostly hydrogen and helium. . A big feature is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm which has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter has a strong magnetic field, and with dozens of moons, it looks a bit like a miniature solar system. Jupiter Facts: Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Ruler of the Roman gods Diameter: 88,730 miles (428,400 km) Orbit: 11.9 Earth years Day: 9.8 Earth hours

ii. -

Saturn The sixth planet from the sun is known most for its rings. Galileo Galilei first studied Saturn in the early 1600s Christiaan Huygens proposed that rings of Saturn are seen in the telescope. The rings are made of ice and rock. It has numerous moons.

Saturn Facts: Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Roman god of agriculture Diameter: 74,900 miles (120,500 km) Orbit: 29.5 Earth years Day: About 10.5 Earth hours

iii. -

Uranus The seventh planet from the sun. Its the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit it basically orbits on its side. The tilt of Uranus causes extreme seasons that last 20+ years, and the sun beats down on one pole or the other for 84 Earth-years.

Methane in the atmosphere gives Uranus its blue-green tint Facts about Uranus: Discovery: 1781 by William Herschel (was thought previously to be a star) Named for: Personification of heaven in ancient myth Diameter: 31,763 miles (51,120 km) Orbit: 84 Earth years Day: 18 Earth hours

iv. -

Neptune The eighth planet from the sun Neptune is known for strong winds sometimes faster than the speed of sound The planet is more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth. Neptune was the first planet to be predicted to exist by using math, before it was detected. German astronomer Johann Galle used calculations to help find Neptune in a telescope. Neptune is about 17 times as massive as Earth. Neptune Facts: Discovery: 1846 Named for: Roman god of water Diameter: 30,775 miles (49,530 km) Orbit: 165 Earth years Day: 19 Earth hours

The Sun and Eight Planets in Picture:

The planets of the solar system as depicted by a NASA computer illustration. Orbits and sizes are not shown to scale.

CREDIT: NASA

Sun and Planet Summary

Distance Radius Mass Rotation # Orbital Orbital Obliquity (AU) (Earth's) (Earth's) (Earth's) Moons Inclination Eccentricity Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto 0 0.39 0.72 1.0 1.5 5.2 9.5 19.2 30.1 39.5 109 0.38 0.95 1.00 0.53 11 9 4 4 0.18 332,8 00 0.05 0.89 1.00 0.11 318 95 17 17 0.002 25-36* 58.8 244 1.00 1.029 0.411 0.428 0.748 0.802 0.267 9 0 0 1 2 16 18 15 8 1 --7 3.394 0.000 1.850 1.308 2.488 0.774 1.774 17.15 --0.2056 0.0068 0.0167 0.0934 0.0483 0.0560 0.0461 0.0097 0.2482 --0.1 177.4 23.45 25.19 3.12 26.73 97.86 29.56 119.6

Density (g/cm3) 1.410 5.43 5.25 5.52 3.95 1.33 0.69 1.29 1.64 2.03