The Solar System

1
The Solar System

• A Brief Tour
• By students of Fiona and Mark

2
Introduction to the Solar System
3
Mercury

• 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

4
Venus

• Sister to Earth
• Evening Star
• Deadly planet
• Thick clouds
• Known about since pre-historic times
• Visited by more than 20 spacecraft

5
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 Earths only natural satellite

6
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

7
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

8
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

9
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

10
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

11
Planets and their Moons
12
Planets and their Moons
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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/s
  olar_system.html
• Google.Solar System News results for Solar
  System view todays top stories

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Credits

• Individual images from
• National Space Science Data Center
• NASA