THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Made by a group of students fromPubliczne Gimnazjum in Przytyk

SUN

EARTH

MERCURYVENUS

MARS

JUPITER

SATURN

URANUS NEPTUNE

GENERAL INFORMATION

It formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud.

The Solar System consists of the Sun and its planetary system of 8 planets, their moons, and other non-stellar objects.

It’s the only star in the Solar System and it’s the largest object in it- it contains about 99.8% of the Solar System's mass. It’s in the centre of the solar system and all planets orbit around it. The sun is very important for life on the Earth because it gives energy: light and warm.

SUN

Sun is so large that the Earth could easily fit inside it a million times.

MERCURYMercury is a rocky planet. It is the smallest planet in the Solar System. Mercury orbits the Sun once in about 88 Earth days, speeding at nearly 50 km/s, faster than any other planet. Temperature on Mercury's surface fluctuates between - 170°C and 430°C.The planet has no atmosphere.

If you wanted to stay up for a Mercury day, you'd have to stay up for 176 Earth days.

VENUSIt is a rocky planet. The atmosphere contains mostly carbon dioxide (96%). On the surface of Venus, temperatures can reach up to about 480°C what makes it the hottest planet in the Solar System. Venus revolves at a speed of 35 km/s. It rotates in the opposite direction to the other planets.

Venus is in many ways Earth's sister planet. It is almost identical in size, chemistry, gravity and density.

EARTHIt is a rocky planet. The orbital speed of the Earth around the Sun averages about 30 km/s. The planet travels 940 million km during one orbit.Earth is the only place in the Solar System where life is known to exist. It has one natural satellite, the Moon.

The Earth is the densest planetin the Solar System.

Mars is a rocky planet. It is often described as the ”Red Planet’’ because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars orbits the Sun in nearly 687 days. The planet is home to both the highest mountain and the deepest, longest valley in the Solar System. Mars has two moons.

MARS

2 years on Earth, is roughly only 1 year on Mars.

JUPITERJupiter is a gas planet and consists of hydrogen and helium. It’s the largest planet but it has a relatively small solid and rocky core. It has over 60 moons. Jupiter is a cloudy, windy and stormy planet. A particularly violent storm is known as the Great Red Spot and it has been in existence for nearly 300 years!

If you weigh 32 kg on Earth, on Jupiter you would weigh 84 kg.

Saturn is a gas planet. It mostly consists of hydrogen and helium. Saturn has unique rings among gas planets. They are made up of floating chunks of water ice, rocks and dust. Saturn's rings are incredibly thin. The main rings are only about 10 meters thick but they span up to 282.000 km.The planet has over 60 moons.

Saturn is about 9.5 times larger than Earth.

SATURN

Uranus is a gas planet. It is the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit. A collision with an Earth-sized object may explain Uranus' unique tilt. Uranus has methane in its mainly hydrogen and helium atmosphere. Methane gives Uranus its blue tint. The planet has 27 moons.

Uranus has 27 moons but Earth has only 1.

URANUS

Neptune is a gas planet. Its atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium and methane. No other planet in the Solar System has wind that is as strong as Neptune's. It has six rings which circle the planet. One loop around the sun takes it close to 165 years, while one rotation around its own axis takes about 18 hours. Neptune has 13 moons.

The wind speeds on Uranus can reach 1931km/h. The highest wind speed on Earth was 372 km/h.

NEPTUNE

PHOTO GALLERY

The surface of Mars The surface of Mercury

The surface of Venus Jupiter and its large moon, Io

PHOTO GALLERY

The sun seen just over Earth's horizon An astronaut on the Moon, 1972

QUIZ1. The largest planet in the solar system is ________. 2. Is the sun a planet or a star ?3. Which planet is called the Red Planet ?4. Which planet has a huge ring around it ?5. The smallest planet in the solar system is ________.6. The sun orbits around all planets – true or false?7. How many planets are the gas planets?8. Is Neptune a rocky planet?9. Which planets have their moons?10. The orbital speed of the Earth around the Sun

averages about 30 km/s- true or false?