Things You May Find in the Solar System

1. Things You May Find in the Solar System

2. The Sun

3. The Sun Star in the center of our solar system Is about 109 times the diameter of Earth Its gravity keeps all of the planets of the solar system orbiting it Made of plasma and is constantly producing energy through nuclear reactions Responsible for life on Earth

4. Planets

5. Planets A celestial body orbiting a star or the remains of a star Has enough gravity that it is round Can clear surrounding region of small planets Is not large enough to cause thermal nuclear fusion Comes from Greek for wandering star Have elliptical orbits

7. Terrestrial Planets

8. Jovian Planets

9. Dwarf Planets Do not meet all criteria of being a planet Most cannot clear their orbit of other objects Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris are currently recognized as dwarf planets Up to 50 bodies in the Asteroid Belt and Kuiper Belt may eventually qualify

11. Moons Natural bodies that revolve around larger bodies are called moons or satellites Range in size from very small and asteroid like (Phobos and Deimos) to the size of terrestrial planets (Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa) All planets but Mercury and Venus have at least one moon

13. Comets

14. Comets Small bodies of ice, rock, and cosmic dust loosely packed together Sometimes called “Dirty snowballs.” Form in the cold, outer solar system Comets have tails because when they pass close enough to the sun, solar radiation heats the ice and the comet releases gas (tail always points away from the sun Orbit the sun in an elongated ellipse Halley’s comet (76 year orbit), Halle-Bopp Comet (appeared in 1995 2,400 year orbit)

16. Asteroids Small rocky bodies that revolve around the sun Most are found in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter called the asteroid belt Can be made from rocky material, carbon, iron, or other metals Large asteroids include Pallas, Vesta, Juno, and Hebe

18. Meteoroids A small rocky body that revolves around the sun Much smaller than asteroids (most are probably pieces of asteroids) Meteorites are meteoroids that reach the earth’s surface without burning up completely in the atmosphere A meteor is a bright streak of light that results when a meteoroid burns up in the atmosphere Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the dusty debris that comets leave behind

19. Mercury 3.2 Light-minutes from the sun Diameter of 4,879 km Rocky surface with many craters Terrestrial Planet No moons A year is 88 earth days and a day on Mercury is 59 earth days long!

20. Venus 6.0 Light minutes from the sun Diameter of 12, 104 km (just slightly smaller than earth) Has thick yellow atmosphere made of carbon dioxide and destruction acids No moon Terrestrial Planet Has volcanoes and other surface features like earth Sun rises in the west and sets in the east

21. Earth 8.3 light-minutes from the sun (1 AU) Diameter of 12,756 km Appears blue from space with swirls of white clouds due to weather patterns Terrestrial Planet One moon (Luna) Only planet suitable for liquid water due to distance from the sun

22. Mars 12.7 light minutes from the sun Diameter of 6,794 km Red surface due to iron in the soil, 2 ice caps Terrestrial planet 2 moons Phobos and Deimos (Captured asteroids) Evidence of volcanism activity in the past as well as evidence of water

23. Jupiter 43.3 light minutes from the sun Diameter if 142,984 km Massive with bands of clouds which create enough pressure to create liquid and solid hydrogen Gas Giant 63 named moons, the largest four are called the Galilean Moons Has a faint ring system and a giant permanent storm (Great Red Spot

24. Galilean Moons

25. Saturn 1.3 Light-hours from the sun Diameter of 120,536 km Has yellow clouds and massive ring system Gas Giant Has at least 62 moons. Titan and Rhea are the two largest Rings are made of icy particle ranging from a few centimeters to several meters wide

26. Uranus 2.7 Light hours from the sun Diameter of 51,118 km Appears blue green due to hydrogen and methane. Ice Giant Has 27 moons including Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, and Titania Tipped on its side, possibly due to anancient meteor impact

27. Neptune 4.2 light hours from the sun Diameter of 49,528 km Blue with belts of clouds and storms including the great dark spot Ice Giant Has 13 known moons, with Triton being by far the largest Generates a lot of internal heat, which causes intense winds and weather

28. Kuiper Belt Belt of ice and rock beyond Neptune Contains 4 dwarf planets and many possible others

29. Dwarf Planets

30. Ceres Smallest dwarf planet Found in the asteroid belt Only spherical body in the asteroid belt Contains 32% of asteroid belts total mass Surface is like that of other asteroids

31. Pluto Largest dwarf planet Found in the Kuiper Belt Charon is its largest moon, and the two appear to both orbit each other Composed of ice and rock with a slight red tint Has two smaller moons called Nix and Hydra

32. Haumea 4th largest dwarf planet Located in the Kuiper belt Unique elongated shape Days are only about 4 hours Has 2 moons Hi'iaka and Namaka

33. Makemake Third largest dwarf planet Found in the Kuiper belt Fairly bright because of ice and has a slight red hue Has no known moons May have an nitrogen atmosphere

34. Eris Second largest dwarf planet, but is very far away (could be larger than Pluto) In the Kuiper belt It’s orbit is tilted and takes 557 years to orbit the sun Most likely has a grey color Has a moon called Dysnomia