SOLAR SYSTEM WEBQUEST

Annie Shiau 8B

General Information• Revolve: when a small object circles a big object.• Rotate: when an object spins on its own axis.• 8 planets had been found in our solar system.• Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the inner planets.• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the outer planets.• The inner planets and the outer planets are separated by the

asteroid belt. The inner planets are smaller and closer to the sun, while the outer planets are further away from the sun and larger.

• Inner planets were constantly hit by asteroids in the first 600 million years, which caused the craters seen now.

• Orbit: a specific path followed by a planet or satellite.

General Information (con’t)

• 3 requirements for planets are that they have to orbit the sun, have enough mass to become round due to its gravity, and have cleared out its orbit path around the Sun.

• Dwarf planets are a class of objects that only met the first 2 requirements.

• The 3 dwarf planets are Pluto, Ceres, and Eris.

• Mercury has an atmosphere caused by its high temperature.

• 2 elements that can be found in its atmosphere are helium and sodium.

• Impact cratering, volcanism, and tectonic activity were three process that shaped Mercury.

Inner Planets--Mercury

Inner Planet--Venus• Venus was referred to the “Evening Star” because it is the b

rightest star we can view from Earth. • Carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid can be found in the atmos

phere.• Retrograde rotation means to rotate in a clockwise direction• A rotation on its own axis is 243 earth days, while a revolut

ion around the sun is only 225 days.• The Sun would rise and set in a different direction, because

Venus rotates clockwise.• Venus is the hottest planet, because it has a denso atmosphe

re that traps heat.

Inner Planet--Earth

• Nitrogen(78%), argon(9%), oxygen(21%), and 0.1% of other elements made up Earth’s atmosphere.

• Our atmosphere can protect us from meteors and helps absorbs harmful solar radiations.

• The rational tilt for Earth is 23.5 degree.• The magnetic field is caused by the rapid spin

of Earth, liquid, and metallic core.• The satellite of Earth is the Moon.

Inner Planets--Mars• Scientists found bacteria and other signs of life

on the meteorite that came from Mars. This can be evidence of the signs of life on Mars.

• Carbon dioxide is the primary element of Mars’s atmosphere.

• Mars appears to be red, because it is covered by rocks and soil that are rich in iron-laden clay.

• Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system, which is located on Mars.

• The 2 satellites of Mars are Phobos and Demios.

Outer Planet--Jupiter• Jupiter’s rotation affect its shape by making it flat

at the poles, and bulge at the equator.• Jupiter’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen,

helium, sulfur, and nitrogen.• The Giant Red Spot is the hurricane-like big spot

located on the southern hemisphere of Jupiter since it was first discovered.

• Jupiter has 50 natural satellites.• Io is volcanically attractive, and it has the highest

surface temperature out of any planets in the solar system.

Outer Planet--Saturn• Saturn’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and

helium.• Saturn’s ring formed because of the break-up of

natural satellites, which rotates the planet in high speed.

• Water, ice, and dust were the composition of the rings.

• Saturn has a low density, and that’s why it can float on water.

• The seasons will last 7 years on Saturn.

Outer Planet--Uranus

• Uranus’s rotation is tilted at 98 degrees, which makes it to seem to rotate on its side.

• Hydrogen, helium, and methane made up Uranus’s atmosphere.

• Uranus is have 27 known natural satellites.

Outer Planet--Neptune

• Ammonia, methane, and helium forms the atmosphere of Neptune.

• Neptune has 13 known satellites.• Triton is the largest satellite of Neptune.

Scientists believed that originally, Triton was not a satellite of Neptune. Due to Neptune’s strong gravitation pull, it was forced to orbit around the planet.

Dwarf Planet--Pluto

• Charon, Nix, and Hydra are the name of Pluto’s three moons.

• Scientist learned that methane frost on Pluto and water frost on Charon through spectroscope.

• Charon was unusual because it might share the same atmosphere as Pluto, and it also appears to be more blue in color than Pluto.

Dwarf Planet--Ceres

• One revolution is about 4.6 Earth years.

• Ceres was once considered as an asteroid, because it was located between Mars and Jupiter, where most asteroids were located.

• You can find a mixture of water, ice, carbonates, and clays on the surface of Ceres.

Dwarf Planet--Eris• Eris was originally called Xena.

• Eris takes 557 Earth years to orbit the Sun.

• The name of Eris’s moon is Dysnomia.

• Eris did not clear out its orbit, which did not reach the requirement or a planet.