The Planets

A. What’s in Our Solar System?

■ Our solar system consists of a central star (the Sun), planets, dwarf
planets, moons, asteroids, comets, meteors, interplanetary gas, dust,
and all the “space” in between.

■ Except for Earth, the planets of the solar system are named for Greek
and Roman gods and goddesses.
The Relative Size of the Planets in th
Solar System
B. Planets are categorized
according to size and composition
– Small, rocky planets are the inner planets
closest to the sun
– gas giants are the outer planets
Inner and Outer Planets

■ Inner Planets: ■ Outer Planets

– Mercury – Jupiter
– Venus – Saturn
– Earth – Uranus
– Mars – Neptune
1. Characteristics of Inner Planets

■ They are made up mostly of rock and metal.

■ They are very heavy.
■ They move slowly in space.
■ They have no rings and few moons (if any).
■ They have a diameter of less than 13,000 km.
a. Mercury
■ Has a revolution period of 88 days.
■ Has 1000° temperature swings from day to
night because there is no atmosphere to trap
heat.
■ Is about 1/3 of Earth’s size
■ Is about 1/3 Earth’s distance from the sun
(0.39 AU)
 b. Venus
■ Has retrograde rotation – so
the sun rises in the west and
sets in the east!
■ Reaches 900F at the surface
due to a strong greenhouse
effect.
■ Venus has no moons and
takes 225 days to complete an
orbit.
■ Is about the same size as
Earth
■ Is about 2/3 Earth’s distance
from the sun (0.72 AU)
 c. Earth
■ Is the only planet known to support life!
■ Has a surface composed of 71% water.
– Water is necessary for life on Earth.
■ Is the basis for the Astronomical Unit (distance
from sun to Earth = 1 AU)
 d. Mars
■ Mars appears red because of iron oxide, or rust,
in its soil.
■ Mars has two moons and takes about two years
to complete an orbit.
■ Is about ½ of Earth’s size
■ Is about 1 ½ times as far from the sun as Earth
(1.52 AU)
2. Characteristics of Gas Giants

■ They are made up mostly of gases (primarily hydrogen & helium).

■ They are very light for their size.
■ They move quickly in space.
■ They have rings and many moons.
■ They have a diameter of 49,000 km or greater
 a. Jupiter
■ Is the largest, most massive planet.
■ Takes about 12 years to orbit the sun.
■ Jupiter has 17 known moons.
■ Is about 11 times larger than Earth.
■ Is about 5 times farther from the sun than
Earth (5.19 AU)
 ■ Has many rings made of ice
b. Saturn that extend about 260,000
miles from the surface but
are less than 1 mile thick.
■ Has 19 known moons
■ Takes about 30 years to orbit
the sun.
■ Is almost10 times larger than
Earth
■ Is nearly ten times farther
from the sun than
Earth (9.5 AU)
c. Uranus
■ Has 21 known moons
■ Takes 84 years to complete one
orbit.
■ Is about 4 times larger than Earth
■ Is about 19 times farther from the
sun than Earth (19.1 AU)
d. Neptune
■ Takes 165 years to orbit
the sun
■ Has 8 moons
■ Is about 3.8 times larger
than Earth
■ Is about 30 times farther
from the sun than Earth
(30 AU)