Our solar system consists of the Sun and everything that orbits around it, including 8 planets, their moons, asteroids, and comets. The inner planets closest to the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They are smaller and rocky. The outer planets farther from the Sun are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are giant gaseous planets. Pluto, originally the 9th planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet and orbits beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt. Asteroids are small rocky objects that orbit the Sun, and comets are icy objects that orbit the Sun and develop a tail when close to the Sun.

1. Our Solar System
A Write On Activity

2. EARTH AND SPACE
SCIENCE Tennessee
Standard:
Content Standard: 7.0 Earth and Its
Place in the Universe
 The student will investigate the
structure of the universe.
Learning Expectations:
 7.1 Recognize the basic
components of the universe.

3. Our Solar System
Our solar system is
made up of:
 Sun
 Nine planets
 Their moons
 Asteroids
 Comets

4. Inner Planets
The inner four rocky
planets at the center
of the solar system
are:
 Mercury
 Venus
 Earth
 Mars

5. Mercury
 Planet nearest the sun
 Second smallest planet
 Covered with craters
 Has no moons or rings
 About size of Earth’s moon

6. Venus
 Sister planet to Earth
 Has no moons or rings
 Hot, thick atmosphere
 Brightest object in sky besides
sun and moon (looks like bright
star)
 Covered with craters, volcanoes,
and mountains

7. Earth
 Third planet from sun
 Only planet known to have life
and liquid water
 Atmosphere composed of
composed of Nitrogen (78%),
Oxygen (21%), and other gases
(1%).

8. Mars
 Fourth planet from sun
 Appears as bright reddish color in
the night sky
 Surface features volcanoes and
huge dust storms
 Has 2 moons: Phobos and
Deimos

9. Outer Planets
The outer planets
composed of gas are
:
 Jupiter
 Saturn
 Uranus
 Neptune

10. Jupiter
 Largest planet in solar
system
 Brightest planet in sky
 60+ moons, 5 visible from
Earth
 Strong magnetic field
 Giant red spot
 Rings have 3 parts: Halo
Ring, Main Ring, Gossamer
Ring

11. Saturn
 6th
planet from sun
 Beautiful set of rings
 31 moons
 Largest moon, Titan,
 Easily visible in the
night sky
 Voyager explored
Saturn and its rings.

12. Uranus
 7th
planet from sun
 Has a faint ring system
 27 known moons
 Covered with clouds
 Uranus sits on its side
with the north and south
poles sticking out the
sides.

13. Neptune
 8th
planet from sun
 Discovered through
math
 7 known moons
 Triton largest moon
 Great Dark Spot thought
to be a hole, similar to
the hole in the ozone
layer on Earth

14. Outermost Planet
 Pluto, the outermost
planet, is a small
solid icy planet is
smaller than the
Earth's Moon.

15. Pluto
 9th
planet from sun
(usually)
 Never visited by
spacecraft
 Orbits very slowly
 Moon, Charon, is
very close to Pluto
and about the same
size

16. Asteroids
 Small bodies
 Believed to be left
over from the
beginning of the
solar system billions
of years ago
 100,000 asteroids lie
in belt between
Mars and Jupiter
 Largest asteroids
have been given
names

17. Comets
 Small icy bodies
 Travel past the Sun
 Give off gas and
dust as they pass by

18. Writing Activity
 Write a paragraph about the
solar system. Include 5 facts
covered in this presentation.
Solar System Activities

19. Solar System
Activities
 Order the Planets
 Fun with Planets
 Constellations of the Northern
Sky
 Planets
 Solar System