The Solar System

A Brief Tour

By students of Fiona and Mark

Introduction to the Solar System

• Closest to the Sun• Small planet• No atmosphere• Huge temperature differences• Many craters• Mercury has been known about since before

Christ was born (3rd millenium BC)• Has been visited by ONE spacecraft only

Mercury

Venus• Sister to Earth

• Evening Star

• Deadly planet

• Thick clouds

• Known about since pre-historic times

• Visited by more than 20 spacecraft

Earth and the Moon• Water world

• Rich ecosystem

• Large moon

• Earth third planet from the sun

• Moon known about since pre-historic times

• Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite

Mars• Half the size of Earth• Thin atmosphere• Rusty rocks• 2 tiny moons• Life on Mars?• Fourth planet from the sun• Fifth largest planet• Known since pre-historic times• Very interesting terrain

Jupiter• Biggest planet• Gas giant• Great Red Spot• 60 moons• Fourth brightest object in the sky• Known since pre-historic times• Visited by 6 spacecraft• Regularly observed by the Hubble Space

Telescope

Saturn• Second largest planet

• Gas giant

• Ring system

• Biggest moon – Titan

• Sixth planet from the Sun

• Known since pre-historic times

• Visited by four spacecraft

Uranus and Neptune• Uranus – no visible features• Seventh planet from the Sun and third

largest• Discovered by telescope in 1781• Neptune – Great Dark Spot• Eigthth planet from the Sun and fourth

largest• First observed in 1846

Pluto• Smallest planet

• Very distant

• No spacecraft have visited

• One moon – Charon

• Discovered in 1930 by accident

• Surface temperature varies between -235 c and -210 c

Planets and their Moons

Planets closest to the Sun

Mercury Venus Earth Mars

No Moon No Moon The Moon Phobos and Deimos

Planets and their MoonsPlanets furthest from

the sun

Saturn Uranus

Titan

Pluto

Ophelia Charon

Jupiter

Europa

Ganymede

Neptun

Cordelia

Triton

NaiadRhea

Bibliography• www.nineplanets.org/ “The nine

planets of the Solar System Tour”

• www.solarviews.com/eng/homepage. htm “Views of the Solar System”

• www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/our_solar_system/solar_system.html

• Google.’Solar System’ News results for Solar System – view today’s top stories

Credits• Individual images from

– National Space Science Data Center– NASA