SOLAR SYSTEM

	The Sun

SUN

	75% hydrogen and 25% helium by mass
	Sun converts hydrogen to helium in its core
	Differential rotation
		equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days
		near the poles it's as much as 36 days
	Core conditions
		temperature is 15.6 million Kelvin
		pressure is 250 billion atmospheres

MERCURY

	Orbit
		highly eccentric
		perihelion 46 million km
		aphelion it is 70 million km
	Closest to sun
	Appears to travel fastest
	8th largest

VENUS

	2nd from Sun
	6th largest
	brightest
	inferior planet
		shows phases when viewed from Earth
		Galileo's observed phases
		Copernicus used data to develop heliocentric theory.

EARTH

	3rd from the Sun
	Moon is 1/6 mass of earth
	period of rotation: 24 hours
	period of orbit 365.25 days

Where are you?

MARS

	Mars is the 4th Planet from the Sun
	Solid carbon dioxide is found at the poles
	Mars is known as the Red Planet
	Visit JPLÕs Mars Exploration Page

JUPITER

	Jupiter contains over 70% of the mass in the solar system outside the Sun.
	It is about 11 times the radius and 330 times the mass of the earth.
	It is the first representative of the outer solar system.
	Unlike the inner planets, Jupiter is not a solid body, but instead is a ball of gas and liquid (mostly hydrogen and helium).
		From the earth, there are two obvious clues to this:
		1. Jupiter, which rotates extremely rapidly (a period of about 10 hours), has a significant bulge at the equator. We call this oblateness, and
		Jupiter has an oblateness of about 6%, which means that the equatorial diameter is 6% greater than the polar diameter.
		2. In addition, Jupiter rotates differentially, just as the Sun does. The period of rotation at the poles is about 10 minutes less than that of the equator, while the interior rotates at an intermediate speed.

SATURN

	Saturn:
		Saturn is a gas giant.
		It has strong surface winds (500 m/sec).
		Saturn is less dense than water.
		SaturnÕs magnetic field is 20x less than Jupiter's, but its core rotation period (10.5 hours) is similar.
	SaturnÕs Moons:
		Titan is the big one, and is larger than planet Mercury!
		Mimas has a huge crater.
		Epimetheus and Janus, just inside the orbit of Mimas, are continually exchanging orbits with one another in a "waltz" -- they are called the coorbital satellites.

URANUS

	Uranus has more moons (15) than any other planet except Jupiter (16)  and Saturn (23)!

NEPTUNE

	The blue coloration of Neptune is probably due to the presence of methane

PLUTO

	Pluto is very small as planets go, only 0.002 Earth masses.
	PlutoÕs orbit is elliptical : it varies from 29 to 49 A.U. from the Sun, crossing inside of Neptune's orbit.
	Pluto's orbit is inclined 17deg to the ecliptic, so it goes farther above and below the plane in which the other planets formed than any other planet.

Sample Quiz Questions

Sample Question 2

	Which of the planets has the most satellites?

Credits

	This sample file was created by Norm Herr for use in SED 619 at CSUN
	Photographs are provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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