*

The Nine Planets

* Astronomical Unit (AU) * Terrestrial Planet * Prograde rotation * Retrograde rotation * Gas Giants

* Astronomical Unit (AU) average distance between

the Earth and the sun * Can also measure distance relative to light

* Light minute inside our solar system

* Distance from Earth to sun 8.3 light minutes

* Light hours inside our solar system * Light Year outside our solar system
Light travels about 300,00 km per second

* Closer together than the outer planets * Terrestrial planets because they are small,
dense, and rocky

Length of Year: Length of Day Diameter

88 Earth days 58.65 Earth days 4,878 km (3,031 mi) 0.383 x Earths

Mass
Orbit Mean orbital velocity

3.30 x 1023 kg
57,910,000 km 48 km/s (30 mi/s)

0.055 x Earths
0.38 AU 1.607 x Earths

Average Day temperature

400 C / 752 F

*Mercury

Average Night temperature Moons Gravity

-170 C / -274 F 0 3.70 m/s2 0.378 x Earths

Atmosphere

42% Oxygen, 29% Sodium, and 22% Hydrogen

* Prograde rotation when the Earth is viewed from

direction

the North Pole it appears to spin counterclockwise

* Retrograde rotation If a planet spins in a clockwise

Earths Twin because they have about the same mass and density Venus rotates in the opposite direction than the Earth does. Venuss uppermost layer of clouds consists of sulfuric acid clouds Venus has the hottest atmosphere because the CO2 traps in the greenhouse gases.

Diameter Average Distance from Sun Mass Size compared to Earth Gravity compared to Earth Surface Temperature Length of day Length of year Eccentricity of Orbit Density Atmosphere

12,104 km 108.2 million km 4.87 x 1024 kg

0.95x 0.88x 484oC (730K) 243 Earth days (retrograde)

*Venus

224.7 days 0.00677 5.25g/cm3 Carbon Dioxide - 96% Nitrogen - 3.5% Sulphur Dioxide, Argon and Carbon Monoxide - 0.5%

Water makes Earth different Warm enough to keep Earths water from all freezing and not too hot to boil away the water
Diameter Average Distance from Sun Mass Surface Temperature Length of day Length of year Eccentricity of Orbit Density Atmosphere 12,756km 149.6 million km (1 AU) 5.97 x 1024 kg -70C - +55C 23.93 hours (over 23hrs 59mins) 365.26 days 0.017 5.515 g/cm3 78% Nitrogen 21% Oxygen 1% Other

*Earth

 Thin atmosphere and distance from the sun makes it cold. Low pressure means water will be boiled away. Ice is present on the planet Volcanoes Only has two large volcanic systems Mars does not have tectonic plates so the volcanoes build in the same spot instead of moving around like they do on Earth.

Diameter Average Distance from Sun Mass Size Compared to Earth Gravity compared to Earth Surface Temperature Length of Day Length of Year Eccentricity of Orbit Moons Density Atmosphere

6,786km 228 million km 6.42 x 1023kg 0.5x 0.38x Max Day 25C Max Night -120C 24.62 hours 687 days 0.093 2 3.94gm/cm3 Carbon Dioxide - 95% Nitrogen - 2.7% Argon - 1.6% Others - 0.7%

*Mars

Jupiter mostly hydrogen and helium but colored by traces of organic compounds. Largest planet in the solar system Great red spot storm system one and a half times the size of Earth Pressure inside becomes so great that the hydrogen turns into liquid Jupiter radiates more energy than it receives from the sun.

Diameter Average Distance from Sun Mass Size compared to Earth Gravity compared to Earth Surface Temperature Length of day Length of year Eccentricity of Orbit Density Moons Atmosphere

142,600 km 778,412,010 km 1.90 x 1027 kg

11x 2.34x 165 K

9 hours 50 minutes

*Jupiter

11.84 years 0.048 1.33 gm/cm3 63 Hydrogen - 90% Helium - 10% Traces of Methane & Ammonia

Diameter Average Distance from Sun Mass Size Compared to Earth (Diameter) Gravity compared to Earth Cloud-Top Temperature Length of Day Length of Year Eccentricity of Orbit Moons Density Atmosphere

120,200 km 1,427 million km 5.68 x 1026 kg 9x 0.93x -180C 10 hours 14 mins 29.46 Earth years 0.056 30+ 0.70gm/cm3 Hydrogen - 94% Helium - 6% Traces of Methane, Ammonia & Water Vapour

Saturn Second largest planet made of mostly hydrogen and helium and radiates more energy than it gains. Helium rains from the atmosphere and sinks to the core which means it is still growing. Rings Saturn has the largest rings of the gas giants and they extend out 136,000km. Made of icy particles Winds at the equator blow

*Saturn

Diameter Average Distance from Sun Mass

51800 km 2,871 million km 19.2AU 8.68 x 1025 kg

Size compared to Earth (Diameter)

Gravity compared to Earth Surface temperature Length of Day Length of Year Eccentricity of Orbit

4x
0.79x -210C 17 hours 14 mins(Retrograde) 84.01 Earth years 0.046

Moons
Density Atmosphere

21
1.30gm/cm3 Hydrogen - 85% Helium - 13% Methane - 2%

Uranus - discovered by William Herschel in 1781. Smaller than Jupiter and Saturn yet similar densities so must have more liquid 15 times larger than Earth and spins on its side so half the year one pole faces the sun while the other half of the year the other pole faces the sun; may have been hit by a massive object that tipped the planet over.

*Uranus

Neptune Discovered by observing the irregularities of the orbit of Uranus. Have clouds and wind patterns because the gases sink when cool and rise when hot. Has the great dark spot similar to the great red spot.
Length of Year: Length of Day Diameter Mass Orbit Mean orbital velocity Average Day temperature Average Night temperature Moons Atmosphere 164 Earth Years 17.24 hrs 49,532 km (31,765 mi) 1.0247e26 kg 0.67 Earth Days 3.883 x Earth's 17.14 x Earth's

4,504,000,000 30.06 AU km 5.4 km/sec -353 F -353 F 9 named and 4 numbered Hydrogen, Helium, Methane 1.607 x Earths

*Neptune

* In 2006 Pluto was demoted from a planet to a

dwarf planet

* Pluto and its moon actually orbit

Diameter 2274 km Mass 1.27e22 kg Orbit 5,913,520,000 km

each other

9.5 AU

A double planet in that scientists believe Pluto and Charon are more like two moons orbiting one another. Charon has frozen ice on its surface. We know Pluto must be rock and ice.

*Pluto

Statistic

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Year (Earth Days)

88

224

365

687

4,332

9,617

30,685

60,155

Day (Earth Days)

1406

242

1.029

0.415

0.72

0.75

0.67

Diameter (Km)

4,878

12,102

12,760

6,746

11.2

120,536

51,118

49,532

Diameter (Earth)

0.383

0.9

0.533

11.2

9.45

4.8

3.88

Mass (Earths)

0.055

0.81

0.107

317.83

95.1

14.5

17.1

Mean Orbit (Au)

0.38

0.723

1.52

5.2

9.5

19.2

30.1

Orbital Velocity (km/s)

48

35.02

29.79

24.13

13.07

9.67

6.81

5.45

Orbital Vel (x Earths)

1.607

1.176

0.810

0.439

0.40

0.28

0.23

Avg Day Temp C

400

460

20

-5

-121

-125

-193

-193

Avg Night Temp C

-170

460

10

-85

-121

-125

-193

-153

Surface Gravity (m/s2)

3.7

8.87

9.8

3.8

23.12

8.96

8.87

11.15

Surface Grav (x Earths)

0.38

0.9

0.38

2.64

0.92

0.89

1.14

Can be seen without aid

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Ring System Moons

No 0

No 0

No 1

No 2

Yes 63

Yes 61

Yes 27

Yes 13

* Here are the small solid planets

* Then we add the gas giants

* Next to our sun Earth is tiny

* Next to Arcturus our sun is tiny

* Compared to Antares even Arcturus is small

* Terms to Learn * - Satellite * - Phases * - Eclipse

* Satellites

- natural or artificial bodies that revolve around larger bodies have moons

* Except for Mercury and Venus all the planets

* Density is much less than the Earth and based on

moon rocks seems to be most like the Earths mantle.

*Rocks were around 4.6 billion years old and

we figured the solar system is about that old as well.

* 1. It was a separate body pulled in by the

Earths gravity

* It would be made of the different material

* It formed at the same time and from the same

materials as the Earth

* The newly formed Earth was spinning so fast

that a piece flew off and became the moon

* It would be made of the same material

* Modern theory is that something the size of

Mars hit the Earth while was still forming and material that was forming the mantle flew off and formed the moon

* Phases of the moon occur because the

amount of sunlight on the side of the moon that faces the Earth change * Waxing sunlit side of the moon gets larger * Waning Sunlit side of the moon gets smaller * The period of rotation is the same as the period of revolution so we always see the same side of the moon

* If we lived on the other side of the moon we

would never see the Earth

* Lunar eclipse happens when the Earth comes * Looks red because of atmospheric effects.
Atmosphere filters out the blue light

between the sun and the moon and the shadow of the Earth falls on the moon

* Solar eclipse happens when the moon comes * Annular eclipse when the moon is slightly

between the Earth and the sun and the shadow of the moon falls on part of the Earth farther away and the sun is not completely covered a little ring appears around the outside.

* Because the moons orbit is tilted we dont see

the eclipses every month

* You can only see a lunar eclipse during a full

moon

* You can only see a solar eclipse during a new

moon.