The Solar System..

• OBJECTIVE-TO LEARN WHAT IS SOLAR SYSTEM AND HOW IT WORKS.• OUTCOME-TO BE ABLE TO

LEARN ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

A QUICK GLANCE AT THE SOLAR SYSTEM ..

A SHORT VIDEO

What is the Solar System ?

The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by gravity. These objects are the eight planets and their 166 known moons,

four dwarf planets and billions of small bodies, including asteroids, icy

Kuiper belt objects, comets and meteoroids,

Broadly, the charted regions of the Solar System are the Sun, four

terrestrial inner planets, the asteroid belt, four gas giant outer planets, the

Kuiper belt, the scattered disc, and ultimately perhaps the hypothetical

Oort cloud.

THE SUN The Sun (Latin: Sol) is the star at the centre of the Solar System. The Earth

and other matter (including other planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and dust) orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 99.8% of the Solar

System's mass. Energy from the Sun, in the form of sunlight and heat, supports

almost all life on Earth via photosynthesis, and drives the Earth's

climate and weather.

MERCURYMercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the solar system, orbiting the Sun once every 88 days. It can only be

seen in the morning and evening twilight. Comparatively little is known about it; the first of two spacecraft to

approach Mercury was Mariner 10 from 1974 to 1975, which mapped

only about 45% of the planet’s surface.

VENUSVenus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth

days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love. It is the brightest natural object in the

night sky, except for the Moon,. Venus reaches its maximum brightness

shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, for which reason it is often

called the Morning Star or the Evening Star.

THE EARTHEarth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial

planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the Earth, Planet Earth and the World. It is

Home to millions of species, including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe where life is known to exist. Scientific evidence indicates that the

planet formed 4.54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within a billion

years.

MARSMars pronounced is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named

after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its

reddish appearance.Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin

atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the

volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest

known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon.

JUPITERJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is two and a half times as massive as all of the other

planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant, along with Saturn,

Uranus and Neptune.The planet was known by astronomers of ancient

times and was associated with the mythology and religious beliefs of many cultures. The

Romans named the planet after the Roman god Jupiter. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can

reach an apparent magnitude of −2.8, making it the third brightest object in the night sky after

the Moon and Venus.

SATURNSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn, along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant. Saturn is

named after the Roman god Saturnus, equated to the Greek Kronos . The planet Saturn is composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and

trace elements. The interior consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. The

outer atmosphere is generally bland in appearance, although long-lived features can

appear. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h, significantly faster than those on

Jupiter,

URANUSUranus or is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third-largest and fourth-most massive

planet in the solar system. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky (Uranus), the father of Kronos (Saturn) and grandfather of

Zeus (Jupiter). Though it is visible to the naked eye like the five classical planets, it was never recognized as a planet by ancient observers due to its dimness and slow orbit. Sir William

Herschel announced its discovery on March 13, 1781, expanding the known boundaries of the

solar system for the first time in modern history. This was also the first discovery of a

planet made using a telescope.

NEPTUNENeptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the

Sun in the Solar System. It is the fourth largest planet by diameter, and the third largest by mass. Neptune is

17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 Earth

masses and less dense. The planet is named after the Roman god of the sea(Posiedon).

Discovered on September 23, 1846, Neptune was the first planet found by mathematical prediction rather

than regular observation. Neptune was found within a degree of the predicted position. The moon Triton was found shortly thereafter, but none of the planet's other

12 moons were discovered before the 20th century.

A star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and many other properties of a star by observing its motion through space. Other characteristics of a star are determined by its evolutionary history, including the diameter, rotation, movement and temperature. The star which is closest to the Earth is the Sun.

STARS

A METEORITE

A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. While in space it is called a meteoroid. When it enters the atmosphere, impact pressure causes the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting star. Meteorites have been found on the Moon and Mars.

THE MOON

The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth, and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System

relative to the size of its primary, having 27% the diameter and 60% the density of Earth,

resulting in 1⁄81 its mass. The is the Earth’s nearest neighbour in space.

We can see the moon in the sky because it reflects the light from the sun . The moon

seems to change its shape. This is because as it orbits the earth, different parts of the sides

facing us are lit up by the sun’s light.

OUR GALAXY

On a clear night, you may be able to see a ribbon of white across the sky. This is the milky way. It is our

galaxy, the huge group of stars that is our home in space. The

milky way is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe. Galaxies come in many shapes and sizes.

COMETS AND METEORS

Meteors are brief, bright trails in the sky. They happen when grains of dust from space burn up in the earth’s air. Asteroids are much bigger lumps of rocks. Millions of asteroids orbit the sun between mars and Jupiter. comets are made up of rocks, ice and dust. When comets come close to the sun, they may have a glowing tail.

Planets named after the Roman (Greek)

Gods…Mercury-the winged GodVenus-the goddess of love(Roman)

Greek- AphroditeMars-the God of war(Roman)

Greek- aresJupiter-king of the Gods and sky(roman)

Greek- zuesSaturn- father of Jupiter(roman)

Greek-KronosUranus-father of Saturn

Neptune-God of the sea(roman)Greek-posiedon

Pluto-God of the underworld(roman)Greek-hades

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GROUP 8G5:JUMANA,ANDREA AND FARAH