Take a trip

around the
Solar System
 What’s in our Solar System?
1 Sun
8 Planets ( 170 Moons)
5 Dwarf Planets
1 Asteroid Belt
Various
Comets
Meteoroids
Asteroids
Left over debris (Kuiper
Belt)
 Before we start exploring,
let’s talk about distances
The distances
between most
objects in space
are huge, and mind
boggling.
Because of the
vast distances in
space we use 2
measurements.
 Astronomical Unit
When we talk about distances
inside the solar system:
–Astronomical Unit (AU) : distance
between the Earth & the sun or 93
million miles.
Need to know terms:
Revolution: how long it takes a
planet to go around the sun.

Rotation: how long it takes a

planet to turn once on its axis.
 Light Year

Light Year: the

distance light
travels in one
year or 6
trillion miles

Trivia: The Sun is so far away that

light from the sun takes 8 minutes to
reach the Earth, at LIGHT SPEED.
 The Inner Planets
Planets are closer together in the inner solar system than in
the outer solar system.
The four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
They are called the “Terrestrial” planets because they all
have rock y crusts and dense mantles & core.
In many ways they are like our own planet Earth.
The term Terrestrial comes from the word terra, the Latin
word for Earth.
Let’s Take a Tour

First Stop…
Mercury
 Mercury
Mercury is the innermost
planet, & it is a little
bigger than our moon.
It is 0.387 AU from the
sun or 23 million miles!
We know very little about
the planet. Two
spacecraft have visited.
– 1975 Mariner 10 flew by
three times.
– The latest mission to
Mercury is the
MESSENGER mission. It
will begin orbiting Mercury
in 2011.
Picture from NASA Messenger Mission
 Mercury Fast Facts
Rotation = 58.65 days
Revolution = .24 years
Surface is covered with craters.
It’s interior is similar to Earth,
but has a large core, thin
mantle & brittle crust.
Temperature Range – Most
extreme of any planet -334 F to
840 F
– The side that faces the sun extremely
hot, side that faces away from sun
extremely cold.
Very thin atmosphere that is
constantly being destroyed the
solar wind.
Let us travel 39 million miles
or .33 AUs and learn about

Venus
 Venus
Venus is known as Earth’s
twin because they are
similar in size, and is
closest to the Earth.

Venus is known as the

morning, or evening star
because it is usually the
first “star” that can be
seen in the evening and
the last to be seen in the
evening.
 Venus Fast Facts
Rotation = 243 Earth Days
Revolution = 224.7 Earth days
– What does this mean for Venusians? Well, a
day on Venus is longer than its year!
Surface is covered with 1600 volcanoes,
mountains, canyons & valleys. 65% of its
surface is covered with smooth plains.
 Venus Facts Continued…
It is difficult to study,
because of its
atmosphere.
– Venus is covered in thick,
dense clouds of sulfuric
acid (this is the same acid
that you can find in
battery acid).
– It’s atmosphere is heavy,
90 times heavier than
Earth’s.
Average Temperature :
855 F
Interior similar to Earth
Let us travel 25 million miles or .28 AUs and
learn about

Earth
 Earth
Third planet from the
sun.
THE ONLY PLANET
KNOWN TO SUPPORT
LIFE!
It was not until the
time of Copernicus
(the sixteenth century)
that it was understood
that the Earth is just
another planet.
 Earth Fast Facts
Rotation = 23.93 hours

Revolution = 365.26 days

(Notice the .26 days, we have an
extra day every 4 years to
compensate or a Leap Year)

71% of Earth’s surface is

covered in Water. Earth is
the only planet in the
solar system that has
LIQUID water.
Temperature Range :
 Satellites
The Earth has one
moon.
The diameter of the
moon is about one
quarter of the
diameter of the Earth.
It is the only
astronomical object
other than Earth that
humans have stepped
foot on. Image credit: Lunar and Planetary
Institute
Called Luna by the
Romans or Selene by
Let us travel 35 million miles or .52 AUs and
learn about

Mars
 Mars
Mars is known as the red
planet.
This is because the soil
has oxidized or rusted.
It is half the size of Earth.
U of A is leading the
Phoenix Mission to Mars
ASU has instruments on
both Mars rover and is
home to the Mars Space
Flight Facility
 Mars Fast Facts
Rotation: 24.6 hours

Revolution: 1.88
years

Atmosphere:

Thinner than Earth by

99%.

Temperature:

-200 F to 32 F
 Mars’ Surface
Dry & Rocky
Permanent Ice Caps at both Poles
Has tremendous dust storms that
sometimes cover the entire planet.
Has many interesting features:
– Olympus Mons, an extinct volcano, which
rises 75,000 ft above the surrounding plains
and is the highest known peak in the Solar
System. (By comparison, Mt. Everest is only
29,029 FT)

– Valles Marineris is a giant canyon that runs

about 2,500 miles (LA to NYC is 2700 miles!)
across the surface of the planet and
reaches depths or 4 miles (for comparison,
the Grand Canyon is not more than 1 mile
deep).
 Mar’s Satellites
Mars has two small
moons.
Phobos, which means
fear.
Deimos, which means
panic.
They were probably
asteroids that were
pulled into orbit
around Mars.
 The Outer Planets
Also called the “Gas Giants” or the “Jovian
Planets.”
Although called “Gas” planets, the planets
are actually liquid because the pressure is
very HIGH.
The outer layer of these planets are very
cold because they are very far from the
Sun.
Temperatures increase greatly inside.
Let us travel 400 million miles or 3.68 AUs
and learn about

Jupiter
 Oh No….
We’ve hit an asteroid field!
More than 100,000 asteroids lie
in a belt between Mars and
Jupiter.

These asteroids lie in a location

in the solar system where there
seems to be a jump in the
spacing between the planets.

Scientists think that this debris

may be the remains of an early
planet, which broke up early in
the solar system. Several
thousand of the largest
asteroids in this belt have been
given names.
 Jupiter
Jupiter is the 4th brightest
object in the night sky.
It is the 5th and largest
planet.
Ancients referred to
Jupiter as the wandering
star.
It has been visited by six
spacecraft and is
frequently photographed
by the Hubble Telescope.
 Jupiter Fast Facts
Rotation: 9.8 hours

Revolution: 12 years

Surface: Does not have

a solid surface, the
atmosphere just get
denser the farther you
go.

Temperature:
-101 F at Cloud tops
 Jupiter’s Atmosphere
Jupiter is a giant ball of gas & liquid.

The planet’s “surface” is composed

of dense red, brown, yellow, and
white clouds. The clouds are
arranged in light-colored areas
called zones and darker regions
called belts that circle the planet
parallel to the equator.

Its best known feature is probably

the Great Red Spot, a storm larger
than Earth
 Rings
Jupiter has three,
dark rings which
consist of fine
rocks.
 Jupiter’s Satellites
Jupiter has 63 known
satellites.

Jupiter's moons are

named for other figures
in the life of Jupiter
(Zeus) -mostly his
numerous girlfriends.
 Galilean Moons
Jupiter’s four largest moons
are known as the Galilean
Moons.
They were discovered by
Galileo in 1610 and was a
key piece of evidence that
proved the Earth was not
the center of the universe.
Io, Europa, Ganymede, and
Callisto, are among the
most interesting of all solar
system moons, particularly
Io, with its active volcanism,
and Europa with the
possibility of a water
environment friendly to life.
Let us travel 158 million miles or 4.33 AUs
and learn about

Saturn
 Saturn
Saturn is the sixth
planet from the
Sun and the
second largest.

Saturn is visible
without using a
telescope, but a
low-power
telescope is
needed to see its
rings.
 Saturn Fast Facts
Rotation: 10.67 hours
Revolution:29.5 years

Surface: Does not have a solid surface, but

could float in water because it is mostly
made of gas.

Temperature: Cloud Tops -274 F

 Saturn’s atmosphere
Like Jupiter, it’s
atmosphere has
bands of swirling gas
and wind.

It frequently has
storms that are
similar to Jupiter’s
Great Red Spot, but
unlike it they form and Picture from the European Space Agency

dissolve.
Rings
It has four main groups of rings
and three fainter, narrower ring
groups. These groups are
separated by gaps called divisions.
Each of these ring groups are mad
of thousands of smaller rings.
They are made mostly of ice
chunks (and some rock) that
range in size from the size of a
fingernail to the size of a car.
Although they are 25,000km in
diameter, they are very thin, only a
km or so from top to bottom.
(Less than ½ a mile.)
 Saturn’s satellites
Saturn has 54 named moons.
Saturn’s moons are named
after the Greek mythological
creatures called Titans
which are primordial, giant
gods.
However, because they ran
out of names related to
Titans, they began naming
the moons after Norse,
Gaelic, and Inuit gods.
Saturn’s satellites
The Cassini space
mission has
discovered some
exciting facts about
some of Saturn’s
moons.
Titan, the largest
moon, has a thick
atmosphere and
rivers & lakes of liquid
methane.
More Moons
Iapetus has two sides of
remarkably different brightness.
Rhea may have its own faint
rings.
A giant crater on Mimas makes
it look like the "Death Star" from
the Star Wars.
Hyperion is shaped like a
garbage can.
Prometheus and Pandora are
called the "shepherd moons"
because they herd particles into
Saturn's "F ring
Saturn Myth
In Roman mythology,
Saturn is the god of
agriculture, justice, and
strength.
His Greek counterpart
was Cronus and was the
son of Uranus and the
father of Zeus (Jupiter).
Saturn is the root of the
English word "Saturday"
It is a whopping 19.19 AU’s away from Earth!
That is 1.7 BILLION MILES!

Uranus
 Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet
from the sun in our solar
system.
Uranus' blue color is caused by
the methane (CH4 ) in its
atmosphere; this molecule
absorbs red light.
It rotates on its side and so
half the time one pole is
toward the sun and then the
other making each of the four
seasons last about 20 years.
Uranus rotates backwards!
(Clockwise!)
 Uranus Fast Facts
Rotation: 17.24 hours
Revolution: 84 years
Surface: Does not have a
solid surface. Has a core of
methane ice surrounded by
hydrogen & helium.
Atmosphere: 83% hydrogen,
15% helium and 2% methane.
Like Saturn & Jupiter have
bands of clouds that rotate
around.
Temperature: At
cloud tops -328o F
 Uranus Rings
Uranus has a
complicated ring
system.
It is made of 10 major
rings, which are
surrounded by belts
of fine dust.
 Uranus Satellites
Uranus’s moon deviate from the Greek/Roman
nomenclature. Instead all the moons are named
after characters in plays by Shakespeare & Pope.
It has 27 named moons.
Tatiana is the largest of its moons, and is named
after the Fairy Queen in a Midsummer’s Night
Dream.
It is a whopping 30.07 AU’s away from Earth!
That is 2.82 BILLION MILES!
It took the Voyager Spacecraft 12 YEARS to
reach it!

Neptune
 Neptune
Neptune is the eighth
planet from the sun in our
solar system.
Neptune cannot be seen
using the eyes alone.
Neptune was the first
planet whose existence
was predicted
mathematically.
Neptune's blue color is
caused by the methane
(CH4) in its atmosphere;
this molecule absorbs red
 Neptune Fast Facts
Rotation: 17.24 hours

Revolution: 165 years

Surface: Similar to Uranus

Atmosphere: Neptune's atmosphere

shows a striped pattern of clouds.
This cloud pattern is very similar to
that of Jupiter and Saturn.

Neptune even has a Great Dark Spot

similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
 Neptune’s Rings
Neptune also has 4 main
rings.
One of the rings appears
to have a curious twisted
structure.
Instead of being
composed of ice, they are
composed of dust &
rocks, making them dark
because they do not
reflect light as well.
 Neptune’s Moons
Neptune has 13 moons, 8
of which have been given
names.
The two largest moons of
Neptune are Triton and
Nereid.
Triton is the Roman name
for Poseidon (Neptune)
son, and Nereid the name
for mermaids, thus
keeping with the oceanic
theme.
All the moons are named
after oceanic characters
We have just left the Gas Giants
behind!
The outer solar
system (the
planets beyond
Mars) are called
the Gas Giants.
These planets are
HUGE!
Jupiter alone is
318 times bigger
than our Earth!
Wait a minute…what about
Pluto????

Dwarf planets, Planetoids, and

one stricken planet.
 Why is Pluto not a planet?
In 2006, the IAU created definitions of both
what a planet is and isn’t. Those space objects
that weren’t a planet but weren’t moons or
asteroids were given a new definition, dwarf
planet.
– Both planets and dwarf planets orbit the Sun, not other
planets (in which case we call them moons).
– Both must be large enough that their own gravity pulls them
into the shapes of spheres; this rules out numerous smaller
bodies like most asteroids, many of which have irregular
shapes.
– Planets clear smaller objects out of their orbits by sucking the
small bodies into themselves or flinging them out of orbit.
Dwarf planets, with their weaker gravities, are unable to clear
out their orbits.
 Dwarf Planets
There are five dwarf
planets:
– Pluto
– Ceres
– Eris
– Makemake
– Haumea
Let’s put our solar system in
perspective….
Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky. It is more than 1000 light years away.