The solar system

Measuring the solar system

Miles and kilometers are too small to
measure it because the numbers become
very large and are difficult to deal
with.
For example, the width of our galaxy in
kilometers is

1,419,109,570,887,120,100 km across

 Large distances in space are measured by

light years.

Astronomical Units
An astronomical unit is the distance
from the Earth to the Sun.
1AU = 150 million km
AU is used to measure short distances
inside our solar system.

 Our nearest star, Proxima Centauri is

4.2 light years from our Sun.

Draw!

1 Astronomical Unit

Light Years
The light year measures DISTANCE, not
time
It is the distance light travels in one year.
Light years are used to measure long
distances between stars and galaxies.

One Light Year = 9,500,000,000,000km

Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt

Kuiper Belt

Oort Cloud

Icy objects found in a doughnut

shape outside Neptune's orbit
Includes some dwarf planets, ex.
Pluto
Some of these objects become
comets

Billions or trillions of Icy objects

found in sphere around the solar
system
Some of these objects become
comets

Gravity and Planets

The greater the mass, the greater the gravity.
Planet
Sun

Mass (Earths)
109

Rank by Gravity
1

Mercury
Venus

0.38
0.95

9
7

Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

1
0.53
11
9
4.1
4

6
8

2
3
4

 The Sun has the greatest gravity in our

solar system. Jupiter has the second
greatest gravity. Mercury has the
lowest gravity.

 All the planets are attracted to each

other by gravity and can affect each
others orbits.
Example:
Scientists predicted that Neptune existed before
anyone could see it. How?
Uranus orbit was different than predicted.
Scientists believe that an unknown planet was
affecting Uranus orbit.
Neptune was discovered a few years later exactly
where it was predicted.

Planets are tiny in comparison to the sun

The sun has a volume 1,300,000 times

larger than the earth.

Most Planets Have Natural Satellites

A satellite is an object that orbits something
else.

Planet
Mercury
Venus

Satellites
0
0

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

63+

Saturn

47+

Uranus

27+

Neptune

13+

 The inner planets have very few or no

satellites, while the outer planets have
many satellites.

 The greater the mass of the planet, the

more satellites it has.
Why?
Because large planets have lots of
gravity and can capture smaller
objects.

Terrestrial Planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

Gas Planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

 The planets vary from each other in

seven ways.
They vary in size, appearance, distance,
revolution, rotation, tilt of axis, and
composition.

Size
The gas planets are MUCH larger than the
terrestrial planets.

appearance

Name three ways that

the planets differ in
appearance.

distance from the sun

The inner planets are near to each other and
the sun.
The outer planets are very far from each other
and very, very far from the sun.

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es2701/es2701page01.cfm

Label the planets as outer and inner

planets.

Vary in their periods of revolution

Revolution is
when one object
moves around
another.

For example

Uranus takes 60,190 days (165 years).

Venus revolves once in 225 days.

period of rotation
Rotation is to spin

period of rotation
Jupiter

9.8 hours

Venus

243 days

Earth

24 hours

Tilt of axis

An axis is a straight
line about which a
planet rotates

Earths Tilt

23

Uranus Tilt
axis

97.9 degrees

composition
They are all made of different things.
None of them is exactly the same.

Inner Planets

Small
Made of mostly rock and metal
Have high densities and move slowly.
No rings and few moons

Outer Planets

Large
Made of mostly hydrogen and helium gases
Have low densities and move quickly
Have rings and lots of moons

See me for notes on Comets,

Asteroids, and Meteors