Solar System 5th Form 2015

5.  These eight planets are
grouped in many different
ways. Two easy groupings
are composition (what they
are made up of) and size.

6.  ROCKY PLANETS (Mercury- Venus -
Earth- Mars)
 The rocky planets are mostly made up of
rock and metal. These planets are very
heavy and move slowly. They have no rings
and very few moons.
 GAS PLANETS (Jupiter- Saturn - Uranus -
Neptune)
 The gas planets are mostly made up of
gases (hydrogen and helium). These planets
are light for their sizes (just like a big air
balloon) and move quickly. They have rings
and lots of moons.

7.  Small Planets ( Mercury – Venus – Earth –
Mars )
 The small planets have diameters less than
1300km across
 Giant Planets ( Jupiter – Saturn – Uranus –
Neptune )
 The Giant planets have diameters greater
than 4800 km across

8.  In our solar system, eight planets
circle around our sun. The sun sits in
the middle while the planets travel in
circular paths (called orbits) around it.
These planets circle in the same
direction.

10.  The solar system is made up of two
parts.
 The inner solar system contains
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
These planets are closets to the sun.
 The outer solar system contains
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
 The inner solar system is separated
from the outer solar system by the
Asteroid belt.

12. All eight planets orbit around the sun.
Depending on the distance, some
planets, circle the Sun faster than the
others. We live in heliocentric system.
This means that our solar system is
centered around the sun.

13.  The Sun is the star that shines in the
sky during the day and gives the earth
the heat and light.

14.  Sunspots can be large as 50.000 km
across. Scientist are still trying to
explain what causes these sunspots.

15.  Here is a picture of a solar eclipse.
During a solar eclipse, the moon
posses directly between the earth and
the sun. When this happens, light from
the sun is blocked off for a short time.
A solar eclipse can cause completely
darkness during the day time.