Malynda Chizek

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Travel Through the Solar System

• Malynda Chizek

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How Big is the Solar System?
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Lets take a trip

• The Space Shuttle travels at 17,000 miles per
  hour. How long would it take to cross the Solar
  System?

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Begin at the Sun

• Well start at the Sun, and find out how old we
  would be when we finally reach Pluto!
• The Sun lies almost at the center of our Solar
  System. Because Jupiter is so large, the center
  of the Solar System is not at the center of the
  Sun, but is still somewhere inside of the Sun.

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The Sun is actually just an average star, made
mostly of hydrogen and helium.
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On to Mercury

• Mercury is 35,964,590 miles from the Sun.
• Even traveling at 17,000 miles per hour, it still
  takes 3 months to reach Mercury!
• Mercury is a gray, rocky planet which always has
  one side facing the Sun.

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Mercury
Mercury travels around the Sun once every 87
days. The temperature on the daytime side reaches
806 degrees Fahrenheit, while the night side is a
chilly -130 degrees!! Mercury has no moons.
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Next Stop Venus

• The second planet is 67,200,000 miles from the
  Sun.
• It takes an additional 2 and a half months to get
  there. (Now you are 5 and a half months older!)
• Venus is yellow, almost the size of the Earth,
  and has a very thick, poisonous atmosphere.

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Venus
Venus year is 224 days, but its day is 243
days! Venus rotates backwards compared to all
other planets except Uranus. It is the hottest
planet almost 900 degrees!
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On to Earth!

• We live on the third planet in our Solar System,
  92,900,000 miles from the Sun.
• The trip from Venus would take 2 months, we have
  aged 7 and a half months since we left the Sun!
• Earth is the only planet in the Solar System to
  have liquid on its surface. It is also the
  largest rocky planet.

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Earth
Earths temperature ranges from -126 degrees to
135 degrees. Earth is the first planet we
encounter with a moon! Just for reference our
year is 365.26 days long, and our day is 23 hours
and 56 minutes long
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Next Mars

• The fourth planet in the Solar System is
  128,000,000 miles from the Sun.
• From Earth, it takes another 3 months of travel.
  Now weve aged 10 and a half months.
• Mars is well known for its reddish color, caused
  by the iron in the soil. (And by the rovers
  currently exploring the surface!)

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Mars

• Mars day is similar to ours 24 hours, 40
  minutes, but its year is 686 days (almost 2
  years!)
• Its temperatures range from -124 degrees to 23
  degrees.
• Mars also has two tiny moons

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On to Jupiter

• The fifth planet in the Solar System is
  483,000,000 miles from the Sun.
• This trip will take 2 years and 5 months! Weve
  aged 3 years and 3 months since we started at the
  Sun
• Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar
  System. Similar to the Sun, it is also mostly
  made of Hydrogen and Helium.

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Jupiter
Jupiter spins very quickly, its day is 10 hours
long. A year on Jupiter is 12 years on Earth It
is mostly made of gas, with a metallic
core. Jupiter has more than 60 moons counted so
far
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Next Stop, Saturn

• Our sixth planet lies 886,000,000 miles from the
  Sun!
• It takes 2 years and 9 months to travel this far.
  Now were 6 years older than we started as.
• Saturn is yellow, white, and brown. It is well
  known for its fantastic rings, first seen by
  Galileo in the 1600s.

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Saturn
Saturns day is also very short, 10 and a half
hours! A Saturn year is 30 years on Earth. At
last count, Saturn has 60 moons.
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On to Uranus

• Our seventh planet is 1,783,000,000 miles from
  the Sun.
• It will take another 6 years and 3 months to
  reach! (12 years and 3 months gone!)
• Uranus is greenish-blue. It was the first planet
  discovered with a telescope, in 1781.

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Uranus
Uranus is unique in the fact that it orbits on
its side, as well as backwards. A Uranian day is
17 hours an 15 monutes. A Uranian year is 84
years. Uranus has 27 known moons.
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Next, Neptune

• Neptune, the 8th planet in the Solar System is
  2,793,000,000 miles from the sun.
• It takes 6 years and 10 months to reach! (19
  years and one month older now!)
• Neptune is a bluish color. Similar to Jupiter, it
  also has a giant spot, but this one is dark blue.

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Neptune
Neptunes day is 16 hours long. A year on Neptune
is 165 years on Earth. Neptune has 13 known
moons. Neptune is the furthest planet from the
Sun.
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Last Stop, Pluto!

• Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet by the IAU in
  August, 2006, but its still worth a trip!
• Pluto is 3,670,000,000 miles from the Sun.
• This trip will take an additional 6 years.
• Overall, we have aged 25 years and one month
  since we left the Sun!

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Pluto
Plutos day is 6 days and 9 hours long. Its year
is 248 years long. Pluto has 3 known moons Its
surface temperature is -369 degrees!
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The Edge of the Solar System

• There are many other small, rocky dwarf planets
  out far beyond Plutos orbit. These extent out to
  21 trillion miles!
• A trip to the edge of our Solar System would take
  120 years and 6 months if we continued from
  Pluto.
• The Solar System is not a small place!

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How Big are the Planets?

• Imagine the Earth (which is really 7930 miles
  wide) is only 3 inches wide.
• The Sun (really 865,000 miles wide) would be 27
  feet, 3 inches
• Mercury (3030 miles) would be just over one inch!
• Venus (7520 miles) would be almost 3 inches

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• The Moon (1215 miles) is a little smaller than 1
  inch.
• Mars(4215 miles) is 1 and a half inches.
• Jupiter (88,210 miles) is 2 feet, nine inches
• Saturn (74,130 miles) is 2 feet, 4 inches
• Uranus (32,190 miles) is 1 foot
• Neptune (30,760 miles) is 11 and a half inches
• Pluto (1500 miles) is just over half an inch.
• The Solar System is 256 miles wide.

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Any Questions?