The document provides a virtual tour of the solar system. It describes the components of the solar system including the sun, eight planets, asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets. It divides the planets into inner terrestrial planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars and outer gas giants of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It also discusses the characteristics of the inner and outer planets, as well as features of the sun and moon.

1. Virtual Tour of the Solar System By: Alia Salem and Rachel Thomas School: Universal American School Grade: 7 Class: Computer Class Teacher: Ms. Sunder Project: Virtual Reality

2. The Solar System The Solar System consists of the Sun, the eight planets, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, dwarf planets, four rocky bodies close to it called the inner planets, an inner belt of rocky asteroids, four giant outer planets, and a second belt of small icy bodies known as the Kuiper belt. The planets in the solar system are Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. Six of the eight planets are orbited by natural satellites and every planet past the asteroid belt is surrounded by planetary rings of dust and other particles.

4. The Inner Planets The four inner planets are also called terrestrial planets. They are characterized by their dense, rocky combination, few or no moons, and lack of ring systems. The planets are largely composed of minerals with high melting points. The four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Venus, Earth, and Mars have strong atmospheres. They also have impact craters and control tectonic surface features such as rift valleys and volcanoes.

5. This is Mercury.

6. This is Venus.

7. This is Earth.

8. This is Mars.

9. The Outer Planets The outer planets are also called gas giants. They make up 99 percent of the mass known to orbit the Sun. All four of the gas giants demonstrate orbital debris rings. Although, only the ring system of Saturn is easily observable from Earth. The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

10. This is the enormous planet, Jupiter.

11. This is Saturn.

12. This is Uranus.

13. This is Neptune.

14. The Sun The Sun is the largest object in our solar system. It contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the solar system. The sun has about 70% hydrogen, 28% helium by mass. Everything else amounts to less than 2%. The sun is also made up of layers. The Sun contains the core, photosphere, chromosphere, and the corona.

15. This is the Sun.

16. The Moon The moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. The moon is the second brightest object in the sky after the sun. The moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial “planet” along with the other terrestrial planets.

17. This is the moon.