Planets

Jupiter

Thick atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.

Jupiter is the most massive

planet- 2 ½ times that of all the

other planets combined!

The voyager satillite taveled all the way to saturn to get a closer look.

Neptune

Uranus

At least 13 moons.

An incredibly deep

ocean of liquid

hydrogen and helium.

Venus

Earth

Discovered in 1781, first new planet since ancient times! (William Herschel)

Mars

Venus' surface is solid,

but it's atmosphere is filled

with clouds made of sulfuric

acid.

Saturn is the second largest planet.

Goldilocks

conditions.

Venus is known as

“Earth’s twin”

because it is so similar

in size and mass.

The "red planet"

Mercury

Mars has two ice caps at it's poles that contain frozen water and CO2.

Earth has enough gravity to hold on to the gases needed for life.

(an atmosphere)

Uranus rotates from top to bottom, possibly because it was

struck by an object that knocked it on its side.

Pluto

Closest planet to the sun

Mercury has almost no atmosphere. So, this planet has a greater range of temperatures than any other planet.

Pluto has a solid surface.

Becuase of the break down in iron rich rocks.

Takes 248 years to revolve around the sun.

Very elliptical orbit, sometimes comes closer to the sun than Neptune.

Mercury is not much

larger than Earth’s moon.

This thick atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect that makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system.

It is covered by craters

Suitable temperature

range for water to exist

as a liquid, gas, or solid.

Scientists think that

a large amount of

liquid water flowed

on Mars’s surface

and shaped it.

Saturn has many moons. Titan, the largest, is larger than Mercury.

Smaller than Earth’s moon.

Has one moon

Giant volcanoes- they are no longer

active, but there are signs of ancient lava flows.

-Olympus Mons is the largest volcano

in the solar system.

No longer considered a planet : (

Saturn

Possibly a dense core of rock and iron at its center.

Now considered a dwarf planet.

Uranus looks

blue-green

because of

the methane

in its atmosphere.

Earth is the only planet to have liquid water at its surface.

At least 27 moons, some of which show lava flows.

7.5 months to revolve and 8 months to rotate. . . A day is longer than a year!

Great Dark Spot- a storm, didn’t last long, Neptune's atmosphere appears to be constantly changing.

(seen by voyager 2)

Shrinking?

What makes is a dwarf planet?

a round object that orbits the sun.

has not made a clear path for an orbit

Pluto and two other bodies are dwarf planets (Ceres, Eris)

Cold, blue planet with visible clouds.

Saturn has the broad, thin rings (like cd’s) made of chunks of ice and rocks.

Each big ring is actually divided into many thinner rings.

Great Red Spot- storm larger than Earth, similar to a hurricane. No land on Jupiter to weaken the storm, so it’s not going anywhere.

Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are Jupiter’s largest moons. 16 moons total that measure 6 miles in diameter, many other smaller moons.

The four inner planets are small and dense and have rocky surfaces.

They are often called the terrestrial planets. Terra is the Latin word for “Earth.”