The document provides an overview of the solar system, including information about the 8 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) and 3 dwarf planets (Pluto, Ceres, Eris). It describes key facts about each celestial body such as their composition, moons, rotation, and orbits. The document aims to inform readers about the general structure and characteristics of objects found in our solar system.

1. THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Michelle
Marin
1 Sun
1 Solar
System
8 Planets

2. G E N E R A L I N F O.
• Revolution: The circling of a smaller object around a larger object
• Rotation: The spinning of an object on its axis.
• How many planets have been found in our solar system?
• There are 8 planets in our solar system. Dwarf Planets are not considered
planets.
• Which planets are the inner planets?
• Inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
• Which planets are the outer planets? Outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.

3. G E N E R A L I N F O.
• What is the difference between inner and outer planets?
• Inner planets are solid, rock spheres. They are closer to the sun and inside the asteroid belt. They are
usually smaller than outer planets.
• Outer planets are made up of gas and has rings. They are outside the asteroid belt and are usually a lot
bigger than inner planets.
• Why are more craters found on the inner planets compared to the outer planets?
• This is because in the first 600 million years of the inner planets’ existence, they were hit with many
asteroids.
• Orbit: A specific path followed by a planet, a satellite, a comet, etc.
• Three requirements to be considered a planet are that it has to be orbiting the sun, it must have enough mass to
create its own gravity and make the planet a sphere, and to have a clear orbit so that it is not confused to similar
objects also orbiting the sun almost the same size as it, and nearly the same distance from the sun.
• Dwarf Planet: Class of objects which meet the first two requirements of being a planet, but does not meet the third
requirement.
• The three dwarf planets are Pluto, Ceres, and Eris.

4. MERCURY #1
• Mercury has a very small atmosphere
because Mercury is very close the sun
and Mercury’s surface is hotter than
any other planet or moon in the solar
system. Mercury’s surface during the
day can be up to 427 degrees celsius.
• The two elements found in Mercury’s
atmosphere are helium and sodium.
• The three processes that shaped
mercury was impact cratering which is
when big object hit the planet’s surface
and made craters. Then, volcanism,
which is when volcanoes erupt and lava
spreads on the surface, and lastly, the
tectonic movement, when the tectonic
plates in the planet’s crust shifts for the
cooling and contracting of lava.

5. VENUS #2
• It is called the evening star because it shines brighter
than other planets because the cover of clouds that
venus has reflects light really well.
• Two elements found in the atmosphere is Carbon
Dioxide and Sulfuric Acid.
• Retrograde Rotation: When it rotates really slowly in a
clockwise direction, which is an opposite trait in the
other planets.
• A day is longer than a year because one rotation takes
243 Earth days, and a Venusian year is roughly 225
Earth days.
• This is because since Venus rotates clockwise, the sun will first hit the west and then as it rotates, it
will set in the east.
• It is the hottest planet in our solar system because the carbon dioxide creates a greenhouse effect that
raises the heat up to over 400°C

6. EARTH #3
• Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 21% oxygen, 78%
nitrogen, 0.9% argon, and 0.1% water vapor, carbon
dioxide, neon, methane, krypton, helium, xenon,
hydrogen, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen
dioxide, and ozone.
• The atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation that
comes from the sun. It also protects us from meteors
because the amount of friction between the atmosphere
and the meteor, the meteorite burns up before it hits the
surface.
• The rotational tilt of Earth has an angle of 23.5 degrees.
• The magnetic field is caused by the quick rotation with
the molten iron-nickel core causes the magnetic field.
• The satellite of Earth is the moon.

7. MARS #4
• Scientists found that some meteorites found on Earth are
from Mars, so they are studying the meteorites for any
proof of bacteria or other life signs that might have
existed on Mars.
• The planet seems to be red because the surface is
covered with rocks and soil which has a lot of iron-laden
clay. The iron makes the planet appear red.
• The Olympus Mons is the a very big volcano located on Mars. It is over 600
kilometers wide and the height is roughly 26 kilometers!
• The two satellites, or moons, of Mars are called Phobos and Deimos. They each have a
very weird shape so they are thought to just be asteroids that were caught in the
gravitational pull of Mars.
• The main element of Mars’s atmosphere is carbon dioxide.

8. JUPITER #5
• Since Jupiter’s rotation is fast, it causes the planet to be
more flattened, therefore it is not perfectly spherical
which leads to the bulging equator.
• Jupiter’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen, helium,
sulfur and nitrogen.
• The Giant Red Spot is a very huge storm that has been
there since Jupiter was first found.
• Jupiter has a total of 63 moons. There are 50 named, and
13 not named yet.
• Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, is interesting because Io is
volcanically active and the surface temperature of Io is
greater than any other planet or moon in the solar
system.

9. SATURN #6
• Saturn’s atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium.
• Saturn’s rings was probably formed from particles which was from the separating of
satellites, or moons.
• The rings are made up of water
ice and dust.
• Saturn would be able to float on water
because saturn has a really low density,
which is lower than any other planet in our
Solar System.
• The Seasons last for over 7 years.

10. U R A N U S #7
• Uranus’s rotation is different
since it’s tilted 98 degrees so
it appears that it is rotating
sideways
• The atmosphere is made up
of hydrogen, helium and
methane.
• Uranus has 27 known
satellites that are located
inside and outside the rings.

11. N E P T U N E #8
• Neptune’s atmosphere is made up of
ammonia, helium and methane.
• Neptune has thirteen known
satellites.
• Triton is the largest moon of neptune.
Because of the fact that Triton has an
orbit that goes the opposite way than
the other satellites, Triton’s density
and what it is made up of, scientists
believe that Triton was caught in
Neptune’s gravitational pull, and
that it is not one of Neptune’s natural
satellites.

12. PLUTO
Dwarf
• The 3 moons of Pluto are called
Charon, Nix and Hydra.
• Scientists learned using a
spectroscope that Pluto has methane
frost.
• Charon is really close to Pluto. Pluto’s
atmosphere seems to expand and
include Charon in it’s atmosphere so
people speculate that they might
share an atmosphere.

13. CERES
Dwarf
• It takes 4.6 Earth years for
Ceres to orbit the sun once.
• It was once considered an
asteroid because it was
surrounded by asteroids. It
was known as the largest
asteroid in the asteroid belt.
• On the surface of Ceres you
can find a mixture of water
ice, carbonates and clays.

14. E R I S
Dwarf
• The original name of Eris
is Xena.
• It takes 557 Earth years for
Eris to revolve around the sun
once.
• Eris’ moon is called
Dysnomia.
• It is not considered to be a planet because it does not
meet one of the requirements which is have a cleared out
orbit.

15. THE END
Bibliography:
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/
solar_system_level2/ceres.html
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/ Pictures