1 / 88

The Solar System

Discover fascinating facts about the Solar System's planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and more. From Galileo to modern telescopes, explore the wonders of our celestial neighborhood.

evenson
Download Presentation

The Solar System

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Solar System

  2. We’ve always known that there were seven objects in the Solar System.

  3. They were called “planetos” (English – “planets)(Greek for “wanderer”).

  4. This is because they moved (“wandered”) in the sky.

  5. These seven: Mars Jupiter Mercury Sun Saturn Moon Venus

  6. These objects could all be seen without a telescope.

  7. It was thought all these objects revolved around the Earth.

  8. They were wrong!

  9. Everything in the Solar System revolves around the Sun!

  10. Nothing new was discovered until 1609.

  11. In 1609, Galileo used a telescope to look at the evening sky. Source: Wikimedia Commons

  12. Galileo discovered: “Ears” on Saturn Craters on the Moon Jupiter’s Four “Galilean” Moons Sunspots Pictures Source: The Galileo Project, Rice University

  13. A “new” planet was discovered in 1781.

  14. Using a 40-foot long telescope … Source: Wikimedia Commons

  15. Sir William Herschel discovered Uranus. Source: Wikimedia Commons

  16. Neptune was first observed in 1846.

  17. Today’s telescopes are larger and improved. We see objects better today than any time in history!

  18. Thousands of telescopes observe the skies each night. Source: Kitt Peak National Observatory

  19. One example is the Keck Observatory in Hawaii has two telescopes with 10 meter mirrors (about 33 feet). Source: Keck Observatory

  20. The Hubble Space Telescopes explores the universe in Earth orbit.

  21. So, what do we know about our Solar System?

  22. Our Solar System is made up of: The Rocky Planets (made up of rock!) Mercury Earth Venus Mars

  23. Our Solar System is made up of: The Gas Giants (made up primarily of gas!) Jupiter Uranus Saturn Neptune

  24. Our Solar System is made up of: Dwarf Planets Ceres (rocky) Pluto (icy & rocky) MakeMake* - Icy *Mah-key Mah-key Eris - icy

  25. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Asteroids

  26. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Source: NASA Solar System Website Asteroids The vast majority of the asteroids are found between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter.

  27. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Source: JPL Photojournal Asteroids Asteroids are rocky bodies.

  28. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Asteroids There are over 750,000 asteroids.

  29. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Source: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day August 26, 1995 Comets

  30. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Comets Source: StarrySkies.com Comets are found in the Oort Cloud.

  31. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Comets Source: StarrySkies.com The Oort Cloud is six trillion miles away from the Sun.

  32. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Comets Comets are basically “dirty snowballs.”

  33. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Comets They are made of ice, dry ice, frozen ammonia and dirt & dust.

  34. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Comets As they approach the Sun, they melt and may be easily seen.

  35. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Comets There are over one trillion comets in the Oort Cloud.

  36. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Kuiper Belt Source: Lunar Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Outer Solar System Debris webpage

  37. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Kuiper Belt Source: Windows on the Universe Kuiper Belt Objects are found beyond the orbit of Neptune to about five billion miles from the Sun.

  38. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Kuiper Belt Source: University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy, Dr. David Jewitt’s website Kuiper Belt Objects are icy bodies.

  39. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Kuiper Belt There are over 35,000 Kuiper Belt Objects.

  40. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Dust and Rocks Source: Windows on the Universe

  41. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Dust and Rocks Space is full of dust and rocks.

  42. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Dust and Rocks When they are in space, they are called “meteoroids.” Source: NASA Stardust Website

  43. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Source: NASA Solar System Exploration Website Dust and Rocks When they enter our atmosphere, they are “meteors.”

  44. Our Solar System is made up of: Other Dust and Rocks When they hit the ground, they are meteorites.

  45. The planets in the Solar System Source: NASA StarChild website

  46. The planets in the Solar System The Rocky Inner Planets Source: answers.com – Terrestrial Plants

  47. The planets in the Solar System The Rocky Inner Planets Mercury

  48. The planets in the Solar System The Rocky Inner Planets Mercury • Closest planet to Sun (1) • Smallest planet (Rank #8) Source: MESSENGER Mercury Website

  49. The planets in the Solar System The Rocky Inner Planets Mercury • Day is 59 Earth days long • Year is 88 Earth Days Long Source: MESSENGER Mercury Website

  50. The planets in the Solar System The Rocky Inner Planets Mercury • Weight on planet – Earth x .38 Source: MESSENGER Mercury Website

More Related