Diameter (km) Surface Temperature Interior Temperature Charting the Solar System (Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov; http://solarviews.com) Rotation (length of day ) The Sun 1,391,940 11,000 o F 28,000,000 o F 27 and Weight on the Sun Composition Sunspots Prominences Solar Flares Earth Weight x 27 -Cooler areas on the Sun (6,000 o F). -Can be as large as 80,000 km. -Are areas of intense magnetic activity. -Hot gasses extending from surface, often in loops. -Violent explosions in the Sun s atmosphere. The Solar System Categories Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Rocky or Gas Rocky Rocky Rocky Rocky Gas Gas Gas Gas Distance from Sun (millions of kilometers) Revolution (Year) 57.9 108.2 149.6 227.9 778.3 1,427 2,871 5,914 88 225 365 687 12 29 84 165
Categories Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Rotation (Day) Diameter (kilometers) 59 days 243 days (backwards) 23 hours 56 min. 24 hours 31 min. 9 hours 55 min. 10 hours 42 min. 17 hours 12 min. (backwards) 16 hours 6 min. 4,880 12,100 12,756 6,794 143,200 120,000 51,800 49,528 Moons 0 0 1 2 63 63 27 13 Rings No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Temperature -300 o F. to 800 o F. Atmosphere None CO 2 Weight on Planet* 900 o F. -125 o F. to 125 o F. Nitrogen Oxygen Thicker Thicker -200 o F. to 72 o F. Carbon Dioxide Thin -230 o F. -284 o F. -383 o F. Methane.38.86 1.38 2.87 1.32.93 1.23-392 o F. Methane *To calculate your weight on the Sun or planet, multiply your weight by the number in the column. For example, if you weighed 100 pound on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mercury, 86 pounds on Venus, etc.
Moon Revolves Around Other Bodies in the Solar System Distance from Planet (km) Major Moons Diameter (km) Gravity Atmosphere Larger than Mercury Moon Earth 384,000 3,500.16 None No Io Jupiter 421,600 3,600.18 Very thin; sulfur gas from volcanoes. Europa Jupiter 671,000 3,200.13 Very thin; oxygen. No Ganymede Jupiter 1,100,000 5,300.15 Very thin; oxygen. Yes Callisto Jupiter 1,890,000 4,800.13 None No Enceladus Saturn 238,000 500.003 (est.) Water Vapor No Titan Saturn 1,222,000 5,150.15 Nitrogen/Methane Yes Miranda Uranus 130,000 470.001 (est.) None No Triton Neptune 355,000 2,700.06 (est.) Very thin; nitrogen ice particles. Charon Pluto 19,700 1,180.03 (est.) None No No No Surface Features of Major Moons Moon Moon Surface Features Surface covered with craters. There are also flat areas of lava flow (called Maria Latin for seas).
Moon Io Europa Ganymede Callisto Enceladus Titan Miranda Triton Charon Surface Features Io is covered with active volcanoes that erupt with molten sulfur. Molten sulfur is also thrown into the atmosphere; most falls to the surface as snow. Surface colors are brown, orange, and yellow. Entire surface is ice. There are ice volcanoes. The surface shows movement similar to that around the North Pole, indicating the possibilities of a water ocean under the ice. Has an icy surface. May have a liquid water ocean underneath the ice. Very heavily craters. May have ocean underneath the surface that filled older craters. Craters on surface indicate the oldest surface in the Solar System. Very bright, icy surface. The surface is split; there are plains. The surface has numerous ridges and rough terrain. There are water jets coming from the surface. There may be a liquid ocean under the surface. Surface cannot be seen because of thick clouds in atmosphere. The Cassini probe and Huygens Lander have shown a frozen surface with methane lakes. There appear to be mountains, rivers, channels, and plains. Surface may be similar to that of the Earth. Its surface is unlike anything in the Solar System. Miranda may be have been broken apart by a collision with a moon long ago. It appears the moon may have come back together in a jumbled fashion. There are canyons, mountains, and rough surfaces. The most prominent feature on the surface is an area that is shaped like a chevron (V-shaped). Triton s surface is covered with ridged areas, canyons, and grooves. Liquid nitrogen geysers also cover the surface. May be covered with water ice and little rock. I am often amazed at how much more capability and enthusiasm for science there is among elementary school youngsters than among college students. -Carl Sagan
Dwarf Planets Body Diameter (kilometers) Distance from Sun (millions of kilometers) Rotation (Day) Revolution (Year) Moons Rings Temperature Atmosphere Weight on Body Eris (Icy) (plutoid*) 2,400 5,700 14,700 Unknown 557 Earth 1 No -406 o F. None.07 Pluto (Icy/Rocky) (plutoid*) 2,300 4,400 7,400 6.4 Earth 248 Earth 3 No -380 o F. Nitrogen, CO 2, and Methane (Thin).07 Haumea (how-mayuh) (Icy/Rocky) (plutoid)* (Eggshaped) 2,000 x 1,000 5,300 7,700 3 hrs 55 min 285 Earth 2 No -402 o F.?.05 MakeMake (Mah-Key) (Icy) (plutoid)* 1,300 1,900 5,700 8,000? 310 Earth 0 No -406 o F. Methane.05 Ceres (Rocky) 950 446 9 hours 4.6 Earth 0 No -100 o F. (Sun high overhead) None.003 *Plutoid a dwarf planet outside the orbit of Neptune. **Closest closest approach to Sun; Farthest farthest distance from Sun.
Comets Composition (what they re made of!) Location of Comets Distance from Sun (km) Number Parts of a Comet -Water ice, dry ice, ammonia ice, dirt, and rocks. -Sometimes called dirty snowballs or icy mudballs. Found in the Oort Cloud. (Oort Cloud named after Jan Oort who proposed its existence [hasn t been confirmed].) 10,000,000,000,000 (one light year) Over 1,000,000,000,000 Nucleus The dirty snowball. Coma Dense cloud of vaporized ices and dirt that surrounds Nucleus. Tail Gases and other particles blown off the comet by the Solar Wind (particles from the Sun). Always points away from the Sun.
Asteroids Composition Locations Distance from Sun (km) Irregular rocky bodies Most found between orbit of Mars & Jupiter 270,000,000 to 675,000,000 Number Size Range Two Largest Over 150,000 526 km to around 100 meters Vesta 526 km Pallas 520 km Meteoroids/Meteors/Meteorites Where They Come From Size Range Definition of a Meteoroid Definition of a Meteor Definition of a Meteorite -Most come from the Asteroid Belt. -Few come from particles left from comets when Earth crosses their path. Grain of sand to less than 100 meters. Grain or rock that is travelling in space. Grain or rock that has entered the atmosphere (sometimes called shooting or falling star.) A meteor that is large enough to survive the trip through the atmosphere and hit the Earth s surface. The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' ( I have found it ) but 'That's funny...' -Isaac Asimov