A flight of fantasy…

We know that the Solar system is

big. This task needs us to analyse
data then process and compare large
numbers.

Use the table of information on the planets to complete the following table,
starting with the planet closest to the sun. The planet closest to the sun has been
filled in for you:

Distance from sun Length of year in Temperature in

(Km) earth years (2d.p) centigrade
Mercury 57,910,000 0.24 420

It is quite hard to read the distances because of the zeros. Re-write the distances
in standard form (a x 10n where 1.0≤ a < 10), using the table to help you.

Distance from sun Product Standard Form

(Km) (2 Sig Fig)
Mercury 57,910,000 5.8 x 10 000 000 5.8 x 107
1.1 x 1.1 x

Good news! Thomton Holidays have set up a new resort on Mars and you have won tickets
to go there.

How far is it from Planet Earth to Mars?

A Goddard, January 2012

There are 2 choices for your flight to Mars. The
standard flight is by the Martian Motion Mover space
ship. It travels at 100 000 km/h.

How long will the flight be from Earth to Mars?

You can upgrade your space ship to the new State Of

the Art Light-Loco, this travels at about the speed of
light – a massive 300 000 km/second.

How long would your flight take on the Light-

Loco?

Your flight leaves at 10:00 on 1st

April.

What is the arrival date and time by standard and fast transport?

You have heard it can be quite cold on Mars and you need to plan your holiday clothes.

How many degrees colder will it be than planet Earth?

Extension Work!

You opt for a self-drive excursion whilst on Mars to see the only
life forms that exist. They are on the opposite side of the planet
and you will need to drive a specially modified space buggy.
How far will you need to travel?

Hint: circumference = π x diameter

A Goddard, January 2012
You will need to charge the buggy’s battery for the trip. Each
hour on charge will cover 1000 Km.

How long should you charge it for?

You need to be at least 10 Mars years old to drive a space

buggy.
Are you old enough to drive one?

You decide to send a post card to Earth showing your trip.

Postage from Mars is expensive – it costs Ʊ20 per item. The
current exchange rate is £1=Ʊ7.

How much does it cost in £ to send a card?

You decide to send a text instead. This costs 20p plus a 50p
extra charge for extra-terrestrial network coverage.

How many Ʊ will this cost?

Our Solar System – The facts.

Mercury’s Facts:
Diameter: 4,880 km
Distance from the Sun: 57,910,000 km.
Length of year 88 Earth days
Surface temperature: midday 420 degrees C.
Moons: none
Pluto Facts (Pluto is now considered to be too small
to be a planet!)
Diameter: 2,280 km
Distance from the Sun: 5,913,000,000 km.
Length of year 249 Earth years
Surface temperature: midday -446 degrees C.
Moons: Charon
Mercury is the Greek god of Roman Mythology.
Mercury is a purple-ish colour. It is filled with craters
and rocks.  Mercury has no moons and no
atmosphere. On Earth we can look through a
telescope, but cannot see anything on it’s surface.
 Pluto was discovered in 1930. It is the outermost
planet in the solar system most of the time but its
path cuts across Neptune's making Neptune the
farthest planet for a time. The planet is made up of
frozen water and methane.

Venus Facts Venus has usually been called Earth’s sister planet
A Goddard, January 2012
Diameter: 12,100 km
Distance from the Sun: 108,000,000 km.
Length of year 225 Earth days
Surface temperature: midday 460 degrees C.
Moons: none
Jupiter Facts
Diameter: 143,760 km
Distance from the Sun: 778,000,000 km.
Length of year 11.9 Earth years
Surface temperature: midday -240 degrees C.
Moons: 16
Mars Facts
Diameter: 6,670 km
Distance from the Sun: 228,000,000 km.
Length of year 687 Earth days
Surface temperature: midday -23 degrees C.
Moons: Phobos and Deimos
Neptune Facts
Diameter: 49,538 km
Distance from the Sun: 4,497,000,000 km.
Length of year 165 Earth years
Surface temperature: midday -410 degrees C.
Moons: Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa,
Proteus, Triton, and Nereid
Uranus Facts
Diameter: 51,120 km
Distance from the Sun: 2,869,000,000 km.
Length of year 84 Earth years
Surface temperature: midday -410 degrees C.
Moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon
A Goddard, January 2012
because of it’s similar size and proximity to Earth.
The surface of Venus is mostly hidden. Venus could
be the brightest thing in the sky besides the sun and
moon. Since it’s orbit is inside that of the earth we
can only see Venus if we look in the direction of the
Sun. This bright planet (Venus) is known as during
the few hours before sunset  as "The Evening Star,"
or before sunrise Venus is called "The Morning
Star." The orange-brown image of Venus is a false
colour.
Jupiter has an immense, complex atmosphere, with
lightning and swirls of huge storm systems. The
Great Red Spot is a giant storm that has existed for
more than 100 years, and perhaps longer, as the great
astronomer Galileo Galilei reported seeing a similar
structure almost 380 years ago!
Jupiter has sixteen different moons and several rings.
You could even call it a "mini solar system." Some
moons are icy and some are rocky. Some are
cratered, and some are amazingly smooth.
Mars is the red planet named after a Roman God of
war. It is the fourth planet from the sun. It has always
been easy to see  so we don’t know who discovered
Mars. You can see it because of its red colour. Mars
is an Earth like planet because Giovanni
Schiaaparelli thought there were many water canals
on Mars.
Mars has many geological characteristics. For one
thing, it has the largest volcanic mountain, Olympus
Mons (27 km high and 600 km across), in the solar
system.
Mars has two small moons, which are Phobos and
Deimos. Nobody knows how the two small moons
formed. They could be asteroids snarled by Mars’
gravity.
Neptune is the eighth planet away from the Sun.
Neptune was located through mathematical
predictions instead, of being through regular
observations of the sky. This planet was discovered
in 1846. 17 days later its largest moon called Triton
was discovered. Neptune orbits the sun once in every
165 Earth years. Neptune’s rotational axis is tilted 30
degrees to the plane of its orbit around the sun. The
winds on Neptune are over 2,400 km (1,500) miles
per hour. In 1989 Voyager 2’s flyby, there was a
large oval dark spot in Neptune’s hemisphere.
Uranus was discovered in 1781.Its rings were not
discovered until nearly 200 years later.Uranus is
made up of rock, water, methane and ammonia. Its
atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium.
Uranus spins on an axis at right angles to the other
planets.
Earth Facts
Diameter: 12,760 km
Distance from the Sun: 150,000,000 km.
Length of year 365 Earth days
Surface temperature: midday 22 degrees C.
Moons: one
Earth is the largest and the densest rocky planet,
which was created about 4.5 billion years ago. The
Earth’s interior is composed of mostly iron and
oxygen. Also combined with various elements into
different mineral forms. Earth is divided by four
layers which is typical of rocky planets. Earth has a
unique surface from the other planets because it is
the only one which has liquid water in such large
quantities.

Saturn Facts Saturn is made mainly of hydrogen and helium. It has

Diameter: 120,420 km no definite surface. It is surrounded by seven rings
Distance from the Sun: 1,427,000,000 km. made up of ice and dust particles.
Length of year 29.5 Earth years
Surface temperature: midday-300 degrees C.
Moons: Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea,
Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Phoebe

Did you know………

The universe is between 11.2 billion and 20 billion years old.

A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing can escape, even light.

Red giants are starts 0.4 – 10 times the mass of the sun

The core of the sun is 278 000 000 degrees farenheit – the surface is a chilly (!)
10 000 degrees.

Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe

Gold only comes from super-novae

A Goddard, January 2012