The Solar System

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The Solar System

• By Kristi Harvala kharvala_at_nmu.edu

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The 9 Planets

• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
• Pluto

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Mercury

• Closest to the sun
• Orbit 57, 910,000 km from sun
• Eighth largest planet
• Diameter 4,880 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 88 days
• Rotation Period 58.65 days
• Inclination of Axis 2
• Number of Satellites
• O observed

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Venus

• Second From the Sun
• Orbit 108,200,000 km from sun
• Sixth Largest Planet
• Diameter 12,102 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 225 days
• Rotation Period 243 days
• Inclination of Axis 177.3
• Number of Satellites
• 0 observed

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Earth

• Third From the Sun
• Orbit 149,600,000 km from sun
• Fifth Largest Planet
• Diameter 12,756 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 365.26 days
• Rotation Period 23.93 hours
• Inclination of Axis 23.45
• Number of Satellites
• 1 observed the Moon

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Mars

• Fourth From the Sun
• Orbit 228,000,000 km from sun
• Seventh Largest Planet
• Diameter 6,792 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 687 days
• Rotation Period 24 hours 37 minutes
• Inclination of Axis 25.2
• Number of Satellites
• 2 observed Phobos and Deimos

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Jupiter

• Fifth From the Sun
• Orbit 778,400,000 km from sun
• First Largest Planet
• Diameter 142,980 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 11.86 years
• Rotation Period 9.92 hours
• Inclination of Axis 3.12
• Number of Satellites
• 60 observed
• 4 most well known Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto

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Saturn

• Sixth From the Sun
• Orbit 1,427,000,000 km from sun
• Second Largest Planet
• Diameter 120,536 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 29.46 years
• Rotation Period 10.66 hours
• Inclination of Axis 26.73
• Number of Satellites
• At least 31 observed
• Most well known Titan, Dione, Tethys, Mimas,
  Enceladus, Rhea

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Uranus

• Seventh From the Sun
• Orbit 2,870,990,000 km from sun
• Third Largest Planet
• Diameter 51,118 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 84.01 years
• Rotation Period 17.24 hours
• Inclination of Axis 97.92
• Number of Satellites
• 21 observed

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Neptune

• Eighth From the Sun
• Orbit 4,504,000,000 km from sun
• Fourth Largest Planet
• Diameter 49,258 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 165 years
• Rotation Period 16.11 hours
• Inclination of Axis 29.6
• Number of Satellites
• 8 observed

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Pluto

• Ninth From the Sun
• Orbit 5,913,520,000 km from sun
• Ninth Largest Planet
• Diameter 2340 km
• Orbital Facts
• Year Length 248.5 years
• Rotation Period 6.4 days
• Inclination of Axis 122.46
• Number of Satellites
• 1 observed Charon

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The Sun

• Our closest star
• Makes up 99 of the solar systems mass and is
  the center of the solar system
• Hydrogen (74) and Helium (24) are the gasses
  that make up the Sun, and are also very common on
  Jupiter and Saturn
• The temperature on the surface of the Sun is 9980
  F
• Like all of the planets, the Sun also rotates on
  an axis (one rotation is 24-36 Earth days)

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The Moon

• Second brightest object in the sky next to the
  sun
• Temperature ranges from 250 degrees F to -250
  degrees F
• The moons cratered surface was formed from being
  bombarded by space rocks, much like Mercurys
  surface
• Light and dark spots on the moon are evidence of
  past lava flows on its surface, which means it
  was probably similar to Earth millions of years
  ago

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The Asteroid Belt

• The Asteroid Belt lies between the orbits of Mars
  and Jupiter
• Asteroids and comets both orbit in its belt
• The average asteroid is a rubble pile
  consisting of large rocky pieces covered in dust
• The tail of a comet can be seen when it is
  closest to the Sun and its icy particles are
  melting

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For more information . . .

• The following websites are great sources for more
  information on the planets and the solar system
• The Solar System
• Views of the Solar System
• Welcome to the Planets
• Exploring the Planets

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PDF Version

• Click on the link below to view this presentation
  in PDF form, so that you can easily print off a
  copy for yourself!
• Solar System.pdf