This document provides an introduction to the Solar System, including summaries of each planet and some key facts. It discusses the Sun, the eight major planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), Pluto, and compares their properties. It also includes diagrams showing the relative sizes of planets and layout of the Solar System, as well as descriptions of different types of space missions like flybys, orbiters, landers, rovers, aeroplanes, balloons, and subsurface explorers.

1. The Solar System:
AN INTRODUCTION
TO COMPARATIVE
PLANETOLOGY

3. THE
UNIVERSE
LET’S WATCH THIS!

4. PLANETAR
Y
PROPERTIE
S

7. SUN
Our Sun is just one of
billions of stars in the disk-
shaped galaxy called the
Milky Way. Bright star
clusters are visible along
with darker areas of dust
and gas. Our Sun is
located in one of the spiral
arms of the Milky Way.

8. FACT
or
BLUFF?
The approximate
temperature of
the Sun’s surface
is 5800 K, while
the sunspot’s
temperature is
approximately
8100°F.
FACT

9. MERCURY
Mercury orbits closer to the
Sun than any other planet,
making it dry, hot, and
virtually airless. Although
the planet’s cratered
surface resembles that of
the Moon, it is believed that
the interior is actually
similar to Earth’s,
consisting primarily of iron
and other heavy elements.
This composite photograph
was taken in 1974 by
Mariner 10, the first probe
to study Mercury in detail.

10. FACT
or
BLUFF?
The planet
Mercury turns
clockwise (east to
west).
BLUFF
counterclockwise
(west to east)

11. VENUS
Venus is the brightest
object in our sky, after the
sun and moon. Swirling
clouds of sulfur and sulfuric
acid obscure Venus’s
surface and inhibited study
of the planet from Earth
until technology permitted
space vehicles, outfitted
with probes, to visit it.
These probes determined
that Venus is the hottest of
the planets, with a surface
temperature of about 460°
C (about 860° F).

12. FACT
or
BLUFF?
Venus is the
brightest object in
the sky. It is often
called the
morning and the
evening star.
FACT

13. EARTH
An oxygen-rich and
protective atmosphere,
moderate temperatures,
abundant water, and a
varied chemical
composition enable Earth
to support life, the only
planet known to harbor life.
The planet is composed of
rock and metal, which are
present in molten form
beneath its surface. The
Apollo 17 spacecraft took
this snapshot in 1972 of the
Arabian Peninsula, the
African continent, and
Antarctica.

14. FACT
or
BLUFF?
The Earth’s
atmosphere
includes
troposphere,
stratosphere,
mesosphere,
thermosphere,
exosphere and
chromosphere.
BLUFF
Chromosphere is for Sun.

15. MARS
Scientists have determined
that the planet’s
atmosphere consists
primarily of carbon dioxide,
with small amounts of
nitrogen, oxygen, water
vapour, and other gases.
Because the atmosphere is
extremely thin, daily
temperatures can vary as
much as 100°C. In general,
surface temperatures are
too cold and surface
pressures too low for water
to exist in a liquid state on
Mars. The planet
resembles a cold, high-
altitude desert.

16. FACT
or
BLUFF?
Phobos & Deimos
are named after
the sons of the
Roman God,
Mars. In which,
Phobos sets in
the East while
Deimos sets in
the West.
FACT

17. JUPITER
Jupiter is the largest of the
planets, with a volume
more than 1,300 times
greater than that of Earth.
Jupiter’s colorful bands are
caused by strong
atmospheric currents and
accentuated by a dense
cloud cover. The massive
planet comes with its four
largest satellites: Io,
Ganymede, Europa and
Callisto.

18. FACT
or
BLUFF?
Closer to Jupiter
the strong field
traps the charged
particles. The
entire region of
particle-fields
interactions is
known as the
magnetosphere.
FACT

19. SATURN
Saturn, distinguished by its
rings, is the second largest
planet in the solar system.
This processed Hubble
Space Telescope image
shows the planet’s cloud
bands, storms, and rings
as they would appear to
the human eye.

20. FACT
or
BLUFF?
The discovery of
the 9 moons of
Saturn were
reported in 2007
and these are in
irregular shape
and small.
BLUFF
9 moons were announced
in June 2006 and an
additional 4 moons were
reported in 2007.

21. URANUS
Uranus’s blue-green colour
comes from the methane
gas present in its cold,
clear atmosphere. The dark
shadings at the right edge
of the sphere correspond to
the day-night boundary on
the planet. Beyond this
boundary, Uranus’ northern
hemisphere remains in a
four-decade-long period of
darkness because of the
way the planet rotates.

22. FACT
or
BLUFF?
Astronomers have
identified 13 rings
of debris
encircling Uranus’
equator. Five from
the innermost
rings were called
D, C, B, A and F.
BLUFF
5 rings of Uranus called
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta
and Epsilon.

23. NEPTUNE
This image of Neptune,
taken by the Voyager 2
spacecraft, shows the
planet’s most prominent
features. The large, dark
oval surrounded by white
clouds near the planet’s
equator is the Great Dark
Spot, a storm similar to
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
The smaller dark oval with
a bright core below and to
the right of the Great Dark
Spot is another storm
known as Dark Spot 2.

24. FACT
or
BLUFF?
Neptune is also
classified as an
ice giant planet,
mainly made of
the ice-forming
molecules water,
ammonia and
methane.
FACT

25. PLUTO
Pluto is farther from the
Sun than the major planets
in the solar system,
although it occasionally
moves in closer than
Neptune due to an irregular
orbit. The small, rocky, and
cold world takes 247.7
years to revolve around the
Sun.

26. FACT
or
BLUFF?
Charon, the
moon, is about
half of Pluto’s size
and would appear
in Pluto’s sky to
be about six times
the size of the
Earth’s moon.
FACT

27. BLACK

28. • Count 1 to 6 from your right
side.
• From the 6th, count 1 to 4 from
your left side.
• Then, KISS him/her
(anywhere on his/her face).

29. • Count 1 to 10 from your left
side.
• From the 10th, count 1 to 3
from your right side.
• Then, DESCRIBE him/her in 5
words (whether + or -).

30. • Turn back, count 1 to 4 from
your right side.
• From the 4th, count 1 to 2 from
your right side.
• Then, SMELL his/her foot in
10 sec.

31. • Simple...
• Make a BIG MOLE near to
your nose (like GMA’s mole).

32. • Hmmm...
• Yummy...
• Just SIP this!

33. • What makes your day?
• NESCAFÉ...
• POUR this into your mouth
(mix it).

34. • Look! There’s a tornado!
• Please TURN 10x in your
area.

35. • Be happy!
• You are lucky!
• Simply, EAT this.

36. • Be proud!
• RECITE the new Vision of BU.
• Then say “Darna” (shout it
please!).

37. BLACK
• Sassy! Sossy!
• PUT a powder into your face.
• Then, share to your 2 favourite
classmates (without using your
hand, only face).

38. RELATIVE SIZE COMPARISON

39. MAJOR PLANETARY POINTS
MERCURY Scorched, heavily cratered
VENUS Dense, Corrosive cloud cover
EARTH Life Supporting
MARS Great dust storms
JUPITER Great Red Spot
SATURN Spectacular ring systems
URANUS Tilted on its side
NEPTUNE Interesting Moons
PLUTO Highly eccentric orbit
With the exception of Pluto, all the planets are effectively in
the equatorial plane of the Sun

40. OVERALL LAYOUT of the
SOLAR SYSTEM

41. OVERALL LAYOUT of the
SOLAR SYSTEM

42. OVERALL LAYOUT of the
SOLAR SYSTEM

43. OVERALL
LAYOUT
of the
SOLAR
SYSTEM

44. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
FLYBY
The flights of the spacecraft close
enough to celestial bodies to gather
scientific data.
Mariner 10
MESSENGER Spacecraft

45. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
A spacecraft designed to orbit a
planet to examine its environment
without landing on it.
ISRO Indian Mars Orbiter
Manglayaan 635
ORBITER

46. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
A space vehicle designed to land on
a celestial body to explore its
surface.
Phoenix Lander
LANDER

47. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
ROVER
A crewed or uncrewed vehicle used
in exploring the terrain of a planet
and its satellites.
Mars Exploration Rover

48. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
A heavier-than-air powered flying
vehicle with fixed wings used to gather
better images of the planet’s surface.
NASA Airplane
by William and Mary
AEROPLANE

49. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
Venus’ Balloon Probe
An impermeable bag, designed to float
in the atmosphere to provide views of
much broader areas of the surface.
BALLOON

50. TYPES OF SPACE MISSION
Martian Subsurface Explorer
A spacecraft with radar that gives 3D
understanding of how water may be
distributed in the planet’s surface.
SUBSURFACE
EXPLORER

52. EARTH
Luna
Deimos Phobos
MARS

53. JUPITER
Amalthea Callisto
Europa Ganymede
Io Thebe

54. SATURN
CalypsoAtlas Dione Enceladus Epimetheus Helene
Hyperion Iapetus Janus Methone Mimas Pandora
Phoebe Prometheus Rhea Telesto Tethys Titan

55. URANUS
Ariel Miranda Oberon Titania Umbriel
NEPTUNE
Proteus Triton

56. ASTEROIDS
Eros
Ida
Vesta
Dactyl
Gaspra
Mathilde
MOON
Borrelly
Hartley 2
Wild 2
Churyumov
or
Gerasimenko
Tempel 1
COMETS