The Solar System Presented By; Rahul Chaturvedi
What s in Our Solar System? Our Solar System consists of a central star (the Sun), the eight planets and their satellites (or moon), thousand of other smaller heavenly bodies such as asteroids, comets, meteors, interplanetary gas, dust, and all the space in between them. The planets of the Solar System are named for Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses.
Motion of all the members of the solar system is governed mainly by the gravitational force of the Sun. Planets revolve around the Sun in elliptical orbit. Solar system dominated by the Sun which accounts for almost 99.9% of the matter in the whole solar system.
Inner and Outer Planets Inner Planets: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Outer Planets Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto (dwarf planet)
The Relative Size of the Planets in the Solar System
Sequence of planets according to their distance from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune Sequence of planets according to their size: (in descending order) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury.
The Sun The sun s energy comes from nuclear fusion (where hydrogen is converted to helium) within its core. This energy is released from the sun in the form of heat and light. Remember: Stars produce light. Planets reflect light. A star s temperature determines its color. The coldest stars are red. The hottest stars are blue. Composed of 71% Hydrogen, 26.5% Helium and 2.5% other elements Light 8.5 minutes to reach the Earth
The 8 Planets of the Solar System Planets are categorized according to composition and size. There are two main categories of planets: Terrestrial or Rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) Jovian or gaseous planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)
Characteristics of Small Rocky Planets They are made up mostly of rock and metal. Mantle- Rich in Iron & Magnesium Move faster and have a shorter period of revolution. They move slowly in space. Thin Atmosphere They have no rings and few moons (if any).
Mercury Mercury has a revolution period of 88 days. Mercury has extreme temperature fluctuations, ranging from 800 F (daytime) to -270 F (nighttime). Even though it is the closest planet to the sun, Scientists believe there is ICE on Mercury! The ice is protected from the sun s heat by crater shadows. No protective blanket.
Venus Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon because its atmosphere reflects sunlight so well. People often mistake it for a star. Evening Star or Morning Star Thick cloud cover- Veiled planet Earth s Twin Very hot/no water No sufficient Oxygen
Earth Earth is the only planet known to support living organisms. Largest on Inner planets Blue Planet Essential elements-carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen Earth s surface is composed of 71% water. Water is necessary for life on Earth. The oceans help maintain Earth s stable temperatures. Earth has one moon and an oxygen rich atmosphere.
Earth Neither too hot nor too cold i.e. Goldilock Zone. Goldilock Zone- all conditions are available for life to sustain. Protective blanket of Ozone.
Earth s Moon It takes the moon approximately 29 days to complete one rotation. The same side of the moon always faces us. 59% of total surface of moon is visible from earth. Bright part-full of mountains Dark patches- low lying plains Sea of Tranquility, made of plain of dust particles, is on the rear side of the moon, which always remain dark. Highest Mountain- Liebuity Mountain No atmosphere, no twilight & no sound Light- 1.3 sec to reach the earth Also known as Fossil planet.
Mars Like Earth, Mars has ice caps at its poles. Mars has the largest volcano in our solar system: Olympus Mons. It is 3 times as tall as Mount Everest. Iron-rich red soil and pink sky of Mars give it the name, Red Planet Phobes and Demos are two satellite of Mars.
Characteristics of Gas Giants Include, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune. They are made up mostly of gases (primarily hydrogen & helium). Longer period of revolution. They have rings and many satellites. They have a diameter of less than 48,000 km
Jupiter Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet. Winter Planet as its average temperature is very low (-148ºC) It takes about 12 years for Jupiter to orbit the sun. Jupiter has 16 known moons.
Saturn Saturn is second largest planet in the solar system. It has bright concentric rings which are made up of ice and ice covered dust particles which revolve around it. Titan, the satellite of Saturn, is the largest satellite in the Solar system.
Uranus Uranus is greenish in color because of methane gas present in its atmosphere. Discovered in 1781 by Sir William Hersiel. 1st planet to have been discovered by the use of telescope Extremely cold (surface Temp : - 190ºC 5 Rings- alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon Rotates from east to west on its axis A planet on its side
Neptune Neptune has the fastest winds in the solar system: up to 2,000 km/hr. Color- bright azure blue Very similar to Uranus, can be considered as its twin Surrounded by methane rings of sub zero temperature.
Pluto International Astronomical Unit on Aug24,2006 declared that Pluto would no longer remain a planet. Pluto was located and named in 1930, but today Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Pluto s companion satellites are charan, Nix and Hydra.
Asteroids Minor Planets Mostly found between orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Belt of debris which failed to assemble into planets and keeps on revolving around the sun. Spherical, elongated or irregular in shape Trojon asteroids are found in two clouds moving in orbit of Jupiter, one moving ahead of it and other moving behind it.
Meteors and Meteorites Shooting Stars. Meteors are fragments of rocks coming towards the earth, formed due to collision of asteroids with each other. Meteors are usually small and, due to the heat resistance produced by air resistance, burn up before they reach earth s surface. When meteors are large and do not burn up completely, they land on the earth s surface and are known as Meteorites.
Comets Visitor of the solar system Move around the sun in regular orbit but their orbits are elongated ellipses that it takes hundreds and, sometimes even thousands of years to complete one revolution around the sun. Made up of frozen gases. Visible only when travels close to sun. Its ice melts and the gas and dust is swept back into a tail. The tail always pointed away from the sun. So when it is travelling away from the sun it is led by its tail.
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