Charting the Solar System - mrscienceut.net

Categories Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Atmosphere Various gases Very Thin CO 2 Thicker Nitrogen Oxygen Thicker...

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Solar System Fact Sheet (Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov; http://solarviews.com)

The Solar System Categories

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Rocky or Gas

Rocky

Rocky

Rocky

Rocky

Gas

Gas

Gas

Gas

57.9

108.2

149.6

227.9

778.3

1,427

2,871

5,914

Revolution (Year)

88 Days

225 Days

365 Days

687 Days

12 Years

29 Years

84 Years

165 Years

Rotation (Day)

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.

Diameter (kilometers)

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

-300o F. to 800 o F.

900 o F.

-125o F. to 125o F.

-200o F. to 72o F.

-230o F. (average)

-284o F. (average)

-383o F. (average)

-392o F. (average)

Weight on Planet*

.38

.86

1

.38

2.87

1.32

.93

1.23

Distance from Sun (millions of kilometers)

Categories

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Atmosphere

Various gases

CO2

Nitrogen Oxygen

Carbon Dioxide

Hydrogen Helium

Hydrogen Helium

Very Thin

Thicker

Thicker

Thin

Very Thick

Very Thick

Hydrogen Helium Methane

Hydrogen Helium Methane

Very Thick

Very Thick

*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.

Other Bodies in the Solar System Major Moons Revolves Around

Distance from Planet (km)

Diameter (km)

Your weight on moon*

Atmosphere

Larger than Mercury

Earth

384,000

3,500

.16

None

No

Io

Jupiter

421,600

3,600

.18

Very thin; sulfur gas from volcanoes.

No

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

Moon

Moon

Revolves Around

Distance from Planet (km)

Diameter (km)

Your weight on moon*

Atmosphere

Larger than Mercury

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.

No

Charon

Pluto

19,700

1,180

.03 (est.)

None

No

Moon

* Your weight times the number in the column. **Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System.

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).

Io

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.

Europa

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.

Ganymede Callisto

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.

Moon

Surface Features

Enceladus

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.

Titan

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.

Miranda

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

Triton’s surface is covered with ridged areas, canyons, and grooves. Liquid nitrogen geysers also cover the surface.

Charon

May be covered with water ice and little rock.

Dwarf Planets Body

Diameter (kilometers)

Distance from Sun (millions of kilometers)

Rotation (Day)

Revolution (Year)

Moons

Rings

Eris (Icy) (plutoid*)

2,400

5,700 (closest)** 14,700 (farthest)

Unknown

557 Earth Years

1

No

Temperature Atmosphere

-406o F.

None

Weight on Body*** .07

Body

Diameter (kilometers)

Distance from Sun (millions of kilometers)

Rotation (Day)

Revolution (Year)

Moons

Rings

Pluto (Icy/Rocky) (plutoid*)

2,300

4,400 (closest)** 7,400 (farthest)

6.4 Earth Days

248 Earth Years

3

No

-380o F.

Nitrogen, CO2, and Methane (Thin)

.07

Haumea (how-MAYuh) (Icy/Rocky) (plutoid*)

(Eggshaped) 2,000 x 1,000

5,300 (closest)** 7,700 (farthest)

3 hrs 55 min

285 Earth Years

2

No

-402o F.

?

.05

MakeMake (Mah-Key) (Icy) (plutoid*)

1,300 – 1,900

5,700 (closest)** 8,000 (farthest)

?

310 Earth Years

0

No

-406o F.

Methane

.05

Ceres (Rocky)

950

446

9 hours

4.6 Earth Years

0

No

-100o F. (Sun high overhead)

None

.003

Temperature Atmosphere

*Plutoid – a dwarf planet outside the orbit of Neptune. **Closest – closest approach to Sun; Farthest – farthest distance from Sun. ***Your weight times the number in the column.

Weight on Body***

Comets Composition (what they are made of!)

Location of Comets

Distance from Sun (km)

Number

-Water ice, dry ice, ammonia ice, dirt, and rocks. -Sometimes called “dirty snowballs” or “icy mudballs.”

Come from the Kuiper Belt (outside the orbit of Neptune) or the Oort Cloud (Oort Cloud named after Jan Oort who proposed its existence [has not been confirmed])

10,000,000,000,000 (one light year)

Over 1,000,000,000,000

(source: Amateur Observer’s Program – Comets & Asteroids)

Main Parts of a Comet 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.

A comet’s path around the Sun 2

3

1 6 5

4

1. At first, a comet is nothing more than a dirty frozen “snowball” in space. 2. As it approaches the Sun, the gases start vaporizing and you start to see the coma. 3. As the comet gets close enough to the Sun, a tail forms (made of dirt and gas being pushed away from the comet’s nucleus by the solar wind). 4. It passes around the Sun. The tail is longest at this point. (If the comet gets close enough to the Sun, it can break-up into many pieces. It can also get close enough to be pulled into the Sun.) 5. It moves away form the Sun. The tail is smaller and pointing away from the Sun. It is pushed by the solar wind. 6. It gets fainter and the tail smaller. Eventually it can no longer be seen.

(source: crystalinks.com)

Asteroids Composition

Locations

Distance from Sun (km)

Number

Size Range

Irregular rocky bodies

Most found between orbit of Mars & Jupiter

270,000,000 to 675,000,000

Over 150,000

526 km to around 100 meters

Two Largest Vesta – 526 km Pallas – 520 km

Meteoroids/Meteors/Meteorites Where They Come From -Most come from the Asteroid Belt. -Few come from particles left from comets when Earth crosses their path.

Size Range Grain of sand to less than 100 meters.

Definition of a Meteoroid Grain or rock that is travelling in space.

Definition of a Meteor

Definition of a Meteorite

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.

Do I Need a Telescope? Solar System Body

Visible Without a Telescope

Mercury

Yes

Venus

Yes

Mars

Yes

Asteroids

No

Jupiter

Yes

Saturn

Yes

Uranus

No

Neptune

No

Dwarf Planets

No

Solar System Body

Visible Without a Telescope

Comets

Depends**

**Comets are not visible without a telescope when they are far from the Sun. As they approach the Sun, the size of the comet, how much light it reflects, and how close to Earth it gets all affect if it can be seen without a telescope. Some can, but most cannot be seen without a telescope.