The Solar System

1
The Solar System

2
The Sun

• Largest object in solar system
• Contains more than 99.8 of total mass of solar
  system.
• 75 hydrogen, 25 helium.
• A temperature of 15.6 million.
• 4.5 billion years old.

3
The Nine Planets
Mercury- closest planet to the sun Venus Earth Mar
s Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto- furthest
planet from the sun My Very Excellent Mother Just
Served Us Nine Pizzas
4
Mercury

• Closest planet to the sun
• 8th largest planet
• In Roman mythology Mercury is the God of travel
  and thievery.
• Has a surface that is very similar to the moon.
• Visited by only one spacecraft 3 times in 1974
  and 1975.

5
Venus

• Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
• Has a temperature of 900 degrees F.
• Appears to have been resurfaced 300 to 500
  million years ago.
• Referred to as the jewel in the sky
• The planet is veiled by thick swirling cloud
  cover.

6
Earth

• 3rd planet from the sun (93.2 million miles
  away).
• Travels at the speed of 67,000 miles an hour.
• It takes 365 days to travel around the sun.
• The only planet known to harbor life.
• Atmosphere made up of 78 nitrogen, 21 oxygen,
  1 other.

7
Mars

• Commonly refered to as the red planet because
  the rocks/soil/ and sky have a red or pink hue.
• Named after the Roman god of war.
• The average temperature is -81 degrees F. The
  minimum temperature is -220 degrees F, and the
  maximum is 68 degrees F.
• Until 1976, before a shuttle landed on Mars,
  scientists believed there could be life on Mars.
  Some still believe today.

8
Jupiter

• The largest planet in the solar system, if it
  were hollow, more than 1,000 earths could fit
  inside.
• There are 2 dark rings (one embedded in the
  other) surrounding the planet.
• Named after Zeus- the king of the Roman gods.
• In the nighttime, Jupiter is often the brightest
  star in the sky.

9
Saturn

• 2nd largest planet
• Has such low density (.7g, less than water) that
  it would float if there was a body of water big
  enough to hold it!
• The ring system makes the planet one of the most
  beautiful.
• Visibly flattened at the poles because of the
  very fast rotation.
• In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of
  agriculture.

10
Uranus

• Uranus is an ancient Greek god of the heavens,
  the earliest supreme god.
• From what is thought to be the result of a
  collision with a planet-sized body early in the
  solar system history, Uranus is tipped on its
  side.
• First planet discovered in modern times (1781).
• Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red
  light, giving Uranus its blue-green color.

11
Neptune

• In Roman mythology- god of the sea.
• Voyager 2 did a flyby in 1989, marking the only
  spacecraft to visit the planet.
• Because Plutos orbit is so eccentric, it
  sometimes crosses the orbit of Neptune, making
  Neptune the most distant planet from the sun for
  periods of time.

12
Pluto

• Farthest planet from the sun.
• By far, the smallest of the 9 planets.
• In Roman mythology, Pluto is the god of the
  underworld.
• Discovered in 1930 by accident.
• Only planet not visited by a spacecraft.
• Rotates in the opposite direction from most of
  the other planets, with a highly eccentric orbit.