Characteristics of Planets and Other Solar System Objects

Asteroid

A small, rocky, or rock and metal, object that orbits the sun; most are located in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

Solar System

A sun and all of the objects that revolve around it, including planets, moons, dust, rocks, asteroids, etc.

satellite

An object that revolves around another object in space. They can be natural or man-made.

Outer Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune. Called Gas Giants, made of ice, gas and liquids

Pluto

Since 2006, no longer termed planet, but now called "Dwarf Planet."

Inner Planets

Small, rocky, and compact planets that orbit closest to the sun including Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars

Special Characteristic of the Outer Planets

They all have rings!

Moon

a celestial body that keeps Earth from wobbling on its axis, thought to have been made when a Mars-sized body collided with Earth, most prominent feature in our night sky.

Sun

a star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system. It is 93,000,000 miles from the Earth and could hold more than a million Earths. It is a glowing ball of gases.

Universe

made up of all of the solar systems and galaxies in space, larger than a solar system, and a galaxy

Venus

the 2nd planet from Sun, covered with volcanoes, no moon, hottest planet, has a thick cloud cover and atmosphere of poisonous gases and acid.

Earth

the 3rd planet from Sun. Has one moon, orbits the sun in 365 days and one rotation in 24 hours, and has all of the Goldilocks Conditions for life to exist.

Mars

the 4th planet from Sun. Called Red planet because of the red color caused by iron in the crust that has rusted, has polar ice caps and 1/2 the size of Earth, also has a thin atmosphere

Jupiter

the 5th planet from Sun. Has the most moons, largest planet, gas giant and has a large red spot, which is thought to be a giant hurricane-like storm. It has a strong magnetic field and many moons that resembles a miniature solar system.

Saturn

the 6th planet from Sun. Spectacular rings made mostly of ice and frosted rock and gas giant made mostly of hydrogen gas.

Uranus

the 7th planet from Sun, rotates (spins) on its side, blue green color and gas giant.

Neptune

the 8th planet from Sun. Another gas giant and a beautiful blue color due to Methane gas, has the highest winds (supersonic) in solar system. It also take almost 165 Earth years to orbit the sun.

Mercury

the closest planet to the Sun, very cold on one side and very hot on the other, smallest planet, and no moons. It is covered with craters because it has almost no atmosphere to protect it.

Size Order of Systems in our Universe

From smallest to largest in size: Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe

Galaxy

Huge group of single stars, solar systems, star clusters, dust, & gas bound together by gravity, is bigger than a solar system, but smaller than the universe.

Star

Celestial body of hot gases.

Asteroid Belt

Consists of more than 10,000 asteroids and forms a vast doughnut-shaped ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter