The Solar System

Our solar system consists of the sun, nine planets (and their
moons), an asteroid belt, and many comets and meteors.
The sun is the centre of our solar system; the planets, over
61 moons, the asteroids, comets, meteoroids and other
rocks and gas all orbit the Sun.

The Planets
The nine planets that orbit the sun are (in order from the Sun): Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter (the biggest planet in our Solar System),
Saturn (with large, orbiting rings), Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. A belt of
asteroids (minor planets made of rock and metal) orbits between Mars
and Jupiter. These objects all orbit the sun in roughly circular orbits that
lie in the same plane, the ecliptic (Pluto is an exception; it has an elliptical
orbit tilted over 17° from the ecliptic).

The inner planets (those planets that orbit close to the Sun) are quite
different from the outer planets (those planets that orbit far from the
Sun).
• The inner planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They are
relatively small, composed mostly of rock, and have few or no
moons.
• The outer planets include: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and
Pluto. They are mostly huge, mostly gaseous, ringed, and have
many moons (again, the exception is Pluto which is small, rocky, and
has one moon).

Small Bodies
There are other smaller object that orbit the Sun, including asteroids,
comets, and meteoroids.

• Asteroids (also called minor planets) are rocky or metallic objects,

most of which orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and
Jupiter.
• Comets are small, icy bodies that orbit the sun. They have very long
tails.
• Meteoroids are small bodies that travel through space. They are stony
and/or metallic and are smaller than asteroids. Most are very tiny.
 THE MOON

The moon is Earth's only natural satellite. The moon is a cold, dry orb whose
surface is studded with craters and strewn with rocks and dust . The moon has no
atmosphere. Recent lunar missions indicate that there might be some frozen ice at
the poles.

The same side of the moon always faces the Earth. The far side of the moon was
first observed by humans in 1959 when the unmanned Soviet Luna 3 mission
orbited the moon and photographed it. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (on NASA's
Apollo 11 mission, which also included Michael Collins) were the first people to walk
on the moon, on July 20, 1969.

If you were standing on the moon, the sky would always appear dark, even during
the daytime. Also, from any spot on the moon (except on the far side of the moon
where you cannot see the Earth), the Earth would always be in the same place in
the sky; the phase of the Earth changes and the Earth rotates, displaying various
continents.

THE MOON'S ORBIT

The moon is about 238,900 miles (384,000 km) from Earth on average. At its
closest approach (the lunar perigee) the moon is 221,460 miles (356,410 km) from
the Earth. At its farthest approach (its apogee) the moon is 252,700 miles (406,700
km) from the Earth.

The moon revolves around the Earth in about one month (27 days 8 hours). It
rotates around its own axis in the same amount of time. The same side of the
moon always faces the Earth; it is in a synchronous rotation with the Earth.

The Moon's orbit is expanding over time as it slows down (the Earth is also slowing
down as it loses energy). For example, a billion years ago, the Moon was much
closer to the Earth (roughly 200,000 kilometres) and took only 20 days to orbit the
Earth. Also, one Earth 'day' was about 18 hours long (instead of our 24 hour day).
The tides on Earth were also much stronger since the moon was closer to the Earth.
 The Phases Of the Moon

As the moon circles the Earth, the shape of the moon appears to change; this is
because different amounts of the illuminated part of the moon are facing us. The
shape varies from a full moon (when the Earth is between the sun and the moon)
to a new moon (when the moon is between the sun and the Earth).

STARS
Each star in the sky is an enormous glowing ball of gas. Our sun is a medium-sized
star.

Stars can live for billions of years. A star is born when an enormous cloud of
hydrogen gas collapses until it is hot enough to burn nuclear fuel (producing
tremendous amounts heat and radiation). As the nuclear fuel runs out (in about 5
billion years), the star expands and the core contracts, becoming a giant star,
which eventually explodes and turns into a dim, cool object (a black dwarf, neutron
star, or black hole, depending on its initial mass). The largest stars have the
shortest life span (still billions of years); more massive stars burn hotter and faster
than their smaller counterparts (like the Sun).