Our Solar System

Our Solar System

Marco Vazquez

About the Author:

Marco Vazquez is an undergraduate student at Indiana University Bloomington majoring in Elementary Education. This book is to meet Indiana standard: SCI.ES.2.2 2010 Describe the characteristics of the various kinds of objects in the solar system (e.g., planets, satellites, comets and asteroids).

Recognize that planets have been identified orbiting stars other than the sun.

He was born in Dallas, Texas but was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He made this book for his W200 class but would like everyone to enjoy this is the future. He would like to dedicate this book to his future classrooms and his mother, Elvia Vazquez.

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Instructions:

This E-book is really easy to use.

Whenever there is a video, there will be a triangle that pops up in the middle of the screen. Click on it and the video will play for you. There are some Chapter Covers that require this too. There is also a quiz and for this check the correct answer. Make sure you enjoy your journey through space!

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The Sun

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

The Sun is the largest object in our Solar System with a diameter of 1,390,000 km. It is also the center of our Solar System since every planet rotates around it. Even though the Sun is the largest object in our solar system, it is the average size of a star in the Universe meaning it is what scientists refer to as a G2 star. There are 100 billion similar stars in our galaxy. The sun is made up of hydrogen (70%), helium (28%), and “metals” make up (2%). The Sun is extremely hot with temperatures reaching 15,600,000 degrees Kelvin.

There are some cooler spots which can sometimes be visible called Sunspots. These are typically darker and can be seen on the surface of the Sun. The Sun creates Gamma Rays which travel through out our Solar System. Those Gamma Rays make their way to earth too. Our atmosphere protects us from them but sometimes that is not enough. The solar flares can have effects on Earth with power lines and radios. These rays can also cause something beautiful called the Aura lights which can be seen in the northern parts of the world. One day, the Sun is going to run out of hydrogen which is what fuels it and keeps it going. This means that everything in our Solar System will be effected, even planet Earth. There would be no life on Earth without the Sun! Don’t worry though, that isn’t suppose to happen for another 5 billion years.

There were once missing sunspots! See what happened.

Diameter: 1,390,000 km Mass: 1.989e30 kg 4

Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. This planet has the most extreme temperature

Distance: 57,910,000 km from the Sun

variations. It can go from 90 degrees Kelvin to

Diameter: 4,880 km

700 degrees Kelvin. Mercury has an Iron core

Mass: 3.30e23 kg

whose radius is 1900 km. If you were living on Mercury, which would be impossible, one day would be the same as 59 days on Earth. That is a long day! Also, you would be able to see the sun three times as big as it appears here on Earth. You would be extremely tan. Mercury is also the smallest planet in our Solar System. It’s terrain is very similar to that of our moon. It is extremely rocky and mountainous. The atmosphere is very thin and is made out of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium making it extremely deadly for life to live there.

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Venus

Distance from Sun: 108,200,000 km

Venus is the second planet away from the

Diameter: 12,103.6 km

Sun. It is also the brightest planet in our

Mass: 4.869e24 kg

Solar System. Venus and Earth are very similar in size that they are even referred to as twins, but that is where the similarities stop. Although Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in our Solar System. Imagine trying to travel there, not fun. The average temperature is 1000 degrees Kelvin. Also, Venus rotates really slow. It takes 243 Earth days for it to rotate once. We thought the days on Mercury were long?

Think again! The atmosphere is made of Carbon Dioxide and Sulfuric Acid which makes the pressure 90 times that of Earth. Venus is also a rocky and mountainous planet much like Mercury.

Another fun fact is that Venus spins backwards so the Sun rises west to east. It is the only planet to do this.

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Chapter 4

The Earth

The Earth is the third planet away from the Sun. It’s position from the Sun makes it ideal for life to be able to blossom. The Earth was once believed to be the center of the universe and even believed to be flat! We now know that those theories were wrong. The Earth is made up of Iron (34.6%), Oxygen (29.5%), Silicon (15.2%), Magnesium (12.7%), Nickel (2.4%), Sulfur (1.9%), and Titanium (0.05%).

Our planet is covered with 71% water.

This is the only planet where water

Distance from the Sun: 149,600,000 km

exists. Our planet has an atmosphere which protects us from dangerous

Diameter: 12,756.3 km

things hitting us. Our atmosphere is

Mass: 5.972e24 kg

made up of Nitrogen (77%), Oxygen (21%), and the rest is made up with small traces of Argon, Carbon Dioxide, and Water. The Earth is made up of layers as well as you can see through the picture on the right.

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The Moon

The Moon is one of Earth’s satellites. That means

The moon phases song.

that The Moon rotates around the Earth. It takes one month for The Moon to rotate around the Earth which makes it have phases (view video).

The gravitational pull of The Moon is what causes the tides in our oceans. This makes us have high or low tides depending on where The Moon is. The Moon is also very mountainous like Mercury and Venus. The craters on The Moon were created by molten lava when it was first forming. The Moon does not have an atmosphere so it is vulnerable to any gamma rays or space material that may hit it.

The Moon is made up of Oxygen, Silicon, Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, and aluminum.

Distance from Earth: 384,400 km Diameter: 3,476 km Mass: 7.35e22 kg

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Chapter 6

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as The Red Planet for it’s famous red glow. The temperatures on Mars can range from -207 degrees fahrenheit to 80 degrees fahrenheit. This makes it an extremely cold planet. For many years people have thought it would Phobos and Deimos

be an ideal planet for life. Scientists have found signs that water used to exist here but many, many years ago.

The atmosphere is made up of Carbon

Distance from the Sun: 227,940,000 km

Dioxide (95.3%), Nitrogen (2.7%),

Diameter: 6, 794 km

Argon (1.6%), Oxygen (0.15%), and

Mass: 639e21 kg

Water (0.03%). Mars also has two moon named Phobos and Deimos.

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Chapter 7

Jupiter

Check out The Great Red Spot!

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and it is also the biggest planet in our Solar System. Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in our sky. Known as a gas planet, it has no surface. Jupiter is made up of all atmosphere and gas. IF you were to go into Jupiter, the gas would just get denser and denser. Jupiter is made up of Hydrogen (90%) and Helium (10%). The weather on this planet is extreme. There is something known as The Great Red Spot that can be seen on the surface. This is a big hurricane like storm that is twice the

Distance from the Sun: 778,330,00 km Diameter: 142, 984 km Mass: 1.900e27 kg

size of Earth. That’s not the craziest part though, it was discovered over 300 years ago! That means this storm has lasted for at least 300 years and counting. Now that’s one storm I would never want to be in. Jupiter also has four major moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Castillo.

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Quiz Time!!!

Which one of these is a moon on Jupiter?

A. Pluto B. Galileo C. Europa D. Deimos

Check Answer

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Chapter 8

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun.

What would it be like to see one of Saturn’s rings?

It is known for it’s legendary rings.

Saturn has 2 major rings and 1 fainter one. This is another gas planet and is made up of Hydrogen (75%) and helium (25%). Saturn is the least dense planet in

Distance from the Sun: 1,429,400,000 km

the Solar System. It

Diameter: 120,536 km

also generates more

Mass: 5.68e26 kg

energy than it gets from the Sun. 19

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh

Distance from the Sun: 2,870,990,000 km

planet from the Sun. This

Diameter: 51,118 km

is another gas planet. The

Mass: 8.683e25 kg

difference with this planet is that it has rocks and various ices. Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, this gas planet has more hydrogen. The atmosphere is made up of Hydrogen (83%), Helium (15%), and Methane (2%). Uranus also has rings but they are very faint. Uranus also looks blue and that is due to the atmosphere.

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Neptune

Distance from the Sun: 4,504,000,000 km

Neptune is the eighth planet

Diameter: 49,532 km

from the Sun. It is also

Mass: 1.0247e26 kg

considered a gas planet and is very similar to Uranus.

Neptune is known to have the worst storms out of any planet. It has the fastest winds which can reach up to 2000 km per hour. There is a spot on Neptune called The Great Dark Spot which is similar to Jupiter’s The Great Red Spot. It is about half the size, though and disappeared from the surface in 1994. Neptune also has rings but they are extremely faint as well. It is the outermost planet in our Solar System so it’s all lonely!

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References: The Sun: http://nineplanets.org/sol.html Mercury: http://nineplanets.org/mercury.html http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mercury Venus: http://www.space.com/44-venus-second-planet-from-the-sun-brightest-planet-in-solar-system.html http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Venus Earth: http://space-facts.com/earth/ http://nineplanets.org/earth.html The Moon: http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_cycle.phtml http://nineplanets.org/luna.html Mars: http://nineplanets.org/mars.html Jupiter: http://nineplanets.org/jupiter.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjU_CJWzAd4 Saturn: http://nineplanets.org/saturn.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnApR8fdKRo Uranus: http://nineplanets.org/uranus.html Neptune: http://nineplanets.org/uranus.html