This document provides an overview of the solar system, including facts about the planets, dwarf planets, and their key characteristics. It discusses the inner and outer planets, as well as specifics about each planet such as their atmospheres, rotations, satellites, and compositions. It also covers dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, and Eris, noting their orbits, moons, and why Pluto is no longer classified as a planet.

1. Solar system web quest By: Cindy Chang 8C

2. The general facts Revolve: To revolve is to complete an orbit around an object Rotate: To rotate is to circle around your center Orbit: To travel in a curved path around an object Currently there are now 8 planets in the solar The inner planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars The outer planets include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune The inner planets are mainly made up of rock and dirt, while the outer planets are made up of gas balls In the first 600 million years which inner planets existed, they were constantly being hit by meteoroids To be a planet, an object must have a round shape due to its gravity, orbit around the sun, and its orbit path must not have stuffs that are about its own size floating around A dwarf planet is a planet that meets the first 2 requirements but not the third one Three dwarf planets are Pluto, Eris, and Ceres

3. Mercury Mercury's atmosphere is caused by the heating of the sun - the sun heated mercury so much that its atmosphere is very thin. Mercury's atmosphere is consisted of sodium and helium. Objects striking the surface of mercury making craters, lava on the surface because of volcanoes, and the crust of mercury moving so that mercury can adjust to the contraction it has shaped mercury.

4. Venus Venus is called the evening star because when you look from earth it is considered the brightest planet that could be seen. The clouds in Venus reflects the sun's light. You can find carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid in Venus. Retrograde rotation is rotation in which that the planet rotates in a clockwise direction unlike other planets. A Venus day lasts longer than a Venus year because its rotation is slower than its revolution! Rotating takes 243 Earth days, and a revolution takes 225 Earth days. The sun seems to rise in the west and set in the east because it rotates clockwise unlike the other planets so the sun comes out in the west. Venus is the hottest planet in your solar system because its atmosphere acts like a green house which traps the heat that is from the sun.

5. Earth Earth's atmosphere consists of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, 0.9% argon, and 0.1% of other gases. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from solar radiation and meteors who are trying to crash into Earth at anytime. The rotational tilt of Earth is 23.5 degrees. The rapid spin of Earth with a hot core produces Earth’s magnetic field. The satellite of Earth is the Moon.

6. Mars Pieces of meteorites found in Earth from Mars had traces of bacteria, so life may have existed in Mars in the past. The atmosphere of Mars is mostly made of carbon dioxide. Mars appears to be red because of its iron in Mar’s soil. Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in Mars. Phobos and Deimos are the two satellites on Mars.

7. Jupiter Jupiter had such a rapid rotation that its equator bulged and its poles were flattened. Sulfur, helium, nitrogen, and hydrogen are believed to be components of Jupiter’s atmosphere. A huge storm that looks like a hurricane in Jupiter is the Giant Red Spot. Jupiter had 63 natural satellites. One of Jupiter’s satellites called Io has active volcanoes on it.

8. Saturn Hydrogen and helium makes up Saturn’s atmosphere. The leftovers of meteoroids which crashed into Saturn caused Saturn to have rings. Ice and dust make up Saturn’s rings. Saturn’s low density makes it float in water. Seasons on Saturn lasts more than 7 Earth years.

9. Uranus Uranus is tilted 98 degrees, therefore it looks like that it is rotating on the sides unlike other planets. Hydrogen, helium and methane makes up Uranus's atmosphere. It is known that Uranus has 27 satellites revolving around it.

10. Neptune Neptune’s atmosphere contains helium, methane, and ammonia. Neptune has 13 known satellites. Triton is the largest satellite of Neptune. Astronomers guessed that Triton was being forced into Neptune’s gravity, so it became an orbiting satellite like that.

11. Pluto Pluto’s three moons are Nix, Hydra, and Charon. Scientists have detected frozen methane on Pluto and frozen water on Charon. Charon is a bit bluer than Pluto, and it snows frosts when Pluto is farthest from the sun.

12. Ceres Ceres’ revolution around the sun once takes about 4.6 Earth years. It was considered as an asteroid in the past because it is located in the middle of the asteroid belt. You can find water, ice, carbonates and clay on Ceres.

13. Eris Eris’s original name was Xena, a popular TV show at the time when it was founded. If Eris orbited the sun once, 557 Earth years would pass. Eris’s moon is called Dysnomia. Eris isn’t considered to be a planet because it has random unidentified ‘stuffs’ around its orbit path that it hasn’t cleared yet