What is the Solar System? Our Solar System is one of many planetary systems. It consists of: The Sun Eight planets with their natural satellites Five dwarf planets Billions of asteroids, comets and meteors Interplanetary dust cloud
The Sun is a star which is the centre of the Solar System. As a result of changes in its core, energy is released which makes life on Earth possible. You can observe sunspots, flares and prominences huge mass ejections. Symbol of the Sun
There are 8 planets in our Solar System: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
The smallest and closest to the Sun of the eight planets. It s a rocky body like Earth. Its core is rich in iron and its surface is similar to that of the Moon, with a huge number of craters. It has no known natural setellites and is volcanically active. Symbol of Mercury
The second planet from the Sun. It has no natural satellite and about 80% of its surface is covered by smooth, volcanic plains. Unlike other planets, Venus rotates clockwise. After the Sun, it s the brightest object in the night sky. It s also called the Morning Star or the Evening Star. Symbol of Venus
Earth
Earth is the only astronomical object in the universe where life exists. It s a rocky planet and it has one natural satellite. About 7.3 billion people live on Earth together with 1.2 billion documented species. Biodiversity of our planet is still growing. Symbol of Earth
Mars is similar to Earth in its structure. Observed from Earth, it has a reddish appearance. It has two small natural satellites. On its surface, you can see Mount Olympus probably the tallest montain in the Solar System, about three times the height of Mount Everest. Symbol of Mars Olympus Mons
The biggest and the heaviest planet in the Solar System. Being a gas giant, it has no well-defined solid surface. It has 67 natural satellites and its most recognisable element is the Great Red Spot a giant storm. Jupiter has a ring system which, unfortunately, isn t well visible. Symbol of Jupiter
The sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System. Its most characteristic elements are the rings which consist of ice and rocky debris. 62 moons orbit Saturn. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and the second largest in the Solar System, is larger than Mercury. Symbol of Saturn
A gas planet called ice giant because it has the coldest atmosphere. It has 27 known natural satellites and 13 rings presently known. Wind speeds can reach even 900 km/h. Observations from Earth have shown seasonal change and increased weather activity. Symbol of Uranus
The last planet of the Solar System is a gas giant. It has a planetary ring system which is very unstable. Its Great Dark Spot is similar to Jupiter s Great Red Spot. It also has the strongest winds of any planet in the Solar System, with recorded wind speeds as high as 2,100 km/h. Symbol of Neptune
In the Solar System, there are 173 known natural satellites. The Moon moon of Earth Deimos moon of Mars
Jupiter s moons Ganymede and Callisto together with Saturn s moon Titan are the lagest. Callisto moon of Jupiter Titan moon of Saturn
Io moon of Jupiter Mimas moon of Saturn
Ariel moon of Uranus Triton moon of Neptune
A dwarf planet is an object which isn t a planet or a natural satellite. There are now five dwarf planets recognized: Eris, Ceres, Pluto, Haumea and Makemake. However, probably about a hundred objects in the Solar System are dwarf planets. Ceres Pluto
Asteriods are minor planets. The larger ones are also called planetoids. There are millions of them and the majority of them orbit within the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
A comet is a small celestial body which appears briefly near a star. The star s warmth creates a coma, or a visible atmosphere, around the comet. Matter that streams out of the comet s nucleus forms a gas tail and a dust tail.
A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body which travels through space. It enters the Earth s atmosphere at a speed of over 72,000 km/h. Around 15,000 tonnes of meteoroids, micrometeoroids and different forms of space dust enter the Earth's atmosphere each year.
Interplanetary dust cloud is cosmic dust in the space between planets in the Solar System and in other planetary systems. It s created in asteroid collisions, comet activity and collisions in the inner Solar System.
Sources: www.astroweek.pl pl.wikipedia.org www.eduscience.pl www.naukawpolsce.pap.pl