How many planets are in our Solar System?
Nine?
Well, that used to be the right answer. This year Pluto got kicked out of the planetary club. So, today, the correct answer is eight.
In this SpaceQuest you will learn lots of interesting facts about our home in space. You will learn about the sun and the eight planets, including our own special place in space, Earth.
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In order for our students to get an idea of their place in the universe, and in order for them to begin to understand the concept of scale, we are having them view a groundbreaking short film, Powers of Ten, from the office of Charles and Ray Eames, based on the classic book Cosmic View, available online here. (Note - Powers of Ten has been removed from You Tube because it violated copyright.)
(Teachers, are you interested in having your students build a scale model of the solar system? Click here.)
Next, students will click their way through the known universe in a slideshow version of Powers of Ten.
Finally, students will browse the vast space image archives courtesy of NASA.
Now that they have a better idea of the immensity of the known universe, students will focus on our home, our solar system.
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It's time for you to take a virtual tour of the solar system. Click on Launch Planet 10 to start your adventure.
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Let's visit Solar System Studies 101 for a closer look at the most important members of the solar system. But first, click on Click here to learn more about the Solar System. Then answer these questions:
1. Our Solar System is made up of ___ planets, their ________, and the _______.
2.The planets' orbits around the sun are elliptical. which means ________ - __________.
3. The four inner planets are _____________, __________, ____________ and ________. They are made mostly of ________.
4. The next four planets are called the ________ planets and are made mostly of _______. They are ___________, ___________, ____________ and ___________.
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Let's again visit Solar System Studies 101. Click on the picture of the Sun, read the information, and then answer these questions:
1. What is the Sun? The Sun is ___ _________.
2. The Sun is made of the gases ________________ and _______________.
3. How hot is the outside of the Sun?
4. The imaginary line drawn through the middle of the Sun is called its _________.
5. More than ____ ____________ ___________ ____________ could fit inside the Sun.
6. Our Sun is classified as a yellow ___________ star.
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From Yahoo! News - This Hubble image of the Antennae galaxies is the sharpest yet of this merging pair of galaxies. As the two galaxies smash together, billions of stars are born, mostly in groups and clusters of stars. The brightest and most compact of these are called super star clusters. (NASA, ESA/Hubble, and B. Whitmore - Space Telescope Science Institute/Handout/Reuters)
The Hubble Space Telescope (the most successful science mission in history) has a home you simply must visit. It's called the HubbleSite... you can spend hours here exploring, interacting, and learning. See you there!
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Our tour of the planets begins with Mercury. Click on the planet Mercury upon your arrival at Solar System Studies 101. We will read the information together. You will then go back and fill in the blanks (below), using the information on screen to help you.
Mercury is the planet _________ ____ ___________ to the sun.
It is one of the _______ _________ _________. These planets
are ___________ __________ __________ and ________.
The inner planets are also called the _________ ________,
because they are made of rocks.
Mercury orbits the sun very quickly. It only takes it ____ _____
to go around the sun. It takes Earth _____ ______ to orbit
around the sun. One orbit around the sun is __ ______. A year on
Earth is 365 days. A year on Mercury is only 88 days!
1 Earth year = about 4 Mercury years!!
Mercury spins ________ _________ on its axis. It takes Mercury
176 "earth days" to spin around on its axis one time. It takes earth
only 24 hours to spin all the way around. Our day is 24 hours long
because that is how long it takes earth to spin around once. A day on
Mercury is _____ _________ ________ _______. Could you
stay up that long????
Pluto is the only planet that is ___________ _______ _____________. Mercury is
about 1/3 as big as earth.
___ Mercurys = ___ Earth!
See the earth spin? One spin is a 24 hour day. You would have to see the earth spin around 176 times before Mercury would spin around once!
Mercury has many craters all over it. This picture shows some of
the craters. Craters are _____ ________ that are made when
_____________ hit a planet.
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It's back to Solar System Studies 101 for a look at Venus. Click on the planet Venus. We will read the information together. You will then go back and fill in the blanks (below), using the information on screen to help you.
Venus is _______ _________ __________ ________ ____
_________. It is one of the _____ ________ _________.
These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The inner
planets are also called the _______ ___________, because they
are made of _______.
Venus is sometimes called the __________ _______ and the
__________ ______. It is very bright. You can see it at sunset
and sunrise. It is so bright it looks like a star, but it does not
twinkle.
Venus spins _______ ___________. One "day" on Venus is longer
than one year on Venus!!! It takes Venus 243 days to spin around its
axis one time. This means that one Venus day is 243 "Earth Days"
long. Venus orbits, or goes around the sun, in only 225 days! This
means one Venus year is 225 days long!!!
Venus is different from all the other planets because it spins
__________ on its axis.
Astronomers call Venus Earth's "sister planet" because it is about _______
________ _________ ____________ _________.
Its gravity is also about the same as Earth's gravity. This means you
would weigh about the same amount on Venus and on Earth. Venus,
however, is very different from Earth.
Earth has big oceans and a lot of water vapor in the air. Earth has clouds
made of water vapor. Earth has an atmosphere made of gases called
oxygen and nitrogen. Our atmosphere also has a little bit of carbon
dioxide and other gases in it.
Venus has ____ ________. Its atmosphere is made mostly of
__________ __________. There is almost no water vapor in its
air. Venus is __________ _____________ ____ _________
made of acid. (sulpheric acid)
The clouds cover the whole surface of Venus. They let sunlight in,
but ______ ______ ______ _________ _______ . This makes
Venus very, very ____. It is even __________ _______
_______________ which is closer to the sun! The temperature on
the surface of Venus is about 900 degrees Fahreheit! That is nine
times as hot as a 100 degree day on Earth!
Like Mercury, the surface of Venus is covered with craters made by
meteorites. There are also many volcanoes on Venus. The volcanoes are
not active anymore, which means they _____ ______ ______.
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The Hubble Space Telescope is considered one of the world's greatest scientific achievements. NASA is planning a Space Shuttle mission aimed at adding extra life to this window on the universe.
Here are some sites you should visit and explore:
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Next stop - Earth. Click on our planet after touching down at Solar System Studies 101. Fill in the blanks as you read the text.
Earth is the third planet from _____ ______. It is the ________ of the four inner planets. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and _____. The inner planets are also called the rocky planets, because they are made of rocks.
Earth is often called the "Water Planet" because it is the only planet in our solar system which has _________ _________ ___ ____ ___________. About 70% of the surface of Earth is covered by water! The other part of Earth is made up of ____________ _____ _____________ which have different landforms on them. Examples of landforms are ________________ ______ _____________. Because Earth has so much water, plants and animals can live on Earth.
Earth spins very quickly compared to other planets. It only takes Earth _____ _______ to spin around its axis one time. One Earth day is _____ _______ long!!! Earth orbits the sun in ______ ______! This makes one Earth year 365 days long!!!
Earth has ______ _______ and a lot of ________ _________ in the air. Earth has clouds made of ________ __________. Earth has an atmosphere with a lot of __________ in it for us to breathe. The rest of our "air" is made up of ____________ __________ ___________ ______ ______________ ________.
Earth is the _______ ___________ ____ ______ __________ ____________ which has all the conditions that are needed for animals, plants, and humans to live on it. There is plenty of __________ for them to drink, and/or live in. Earth has _____ which plants and animals can breathe. The _____________ on Earth is just right for __________, ____________, ______ ______________. Different parts of Earth have different ________________, but plants, animals, and humans can live in almost all areas of Earth.
Like the other inner planets, Earth has ____________. Earth's volcanoes are different from those on other planets, because they _________ __________. Scientists think that there may be volcanoes on other planets and moons in our solar system that may _______ ____ __________. They are still studying this.
Earth has one moon which we call "The Moon". Its surface has many ___________ on it from where ____________ _______ _____ ____. It has many ___________ on it which do not erupt anymore. We can see the moon at night without using a telescope. It is the ___________ ________ __________ ____ ______ _____________.
Finished already? Visit The Space Place for more Earth facts presented in a fun way.
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Time to go back to Solar Systems Studies 101. Click on the picture of Mars, read the text, and fill in the blanks.
Mars is the _________ _________ from the sun. It is the ____ of the four inner planets. These planets are ________, _________, __________, _____ __________. Click here to see a picture of the Inner Planets!
Mars is often called the _______ _______ because that is its color.
Here is a picture of "Twin Peaks" on the surface of Mars. You can see that the surface is rocky and sandy looking. The picture was taken on July 4th, 1997 by the Mars Pathfinder's camera. The "peaks" are the hills in the back of the picture. They are about 100 feet tall.
Mars spins _______ ________ compared to other planets. It only takes Earth 24 hours to spin around its axis one time. Mars spins around on its axis in 24 hours and 36 minutes. This means that the Martian Day is about _______ ___ _______ ________ than ours! One Mars Day is about 24 and one-half hours long. Mars has a ________ _______ _______. It is about 687 Earth days long! That is almost _______ ___ _______ (as) one year on Earth.
Mars has an atmosphere, but it is ___________ _______ _________. Our atmosphere is made up of oxygen (which we breathe), nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other gases. Earth has a lot of water vapor in the air. Mars has "air" made up mostly of _________ ___________. Other important gases in the air of Mars are ___________ _______ __________. There is much less __________ in the air of Mars than we have on Earth. We would not be able ____ _________ _____ _____ on Mars. Mars has water vapor in the air, but Earth has _______ _______ as much. Mars has weather, but it is different than Earth's. Scientists have pictures of clouds on Mars. The clouds are made of water vapor. Scientists do not know if it _______ _______ on Mars. They do know Mars has winds and ________ ______ ________ __________.
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Click on Solar Systems Studies 101 and get ready to visit the largest planet in our solar system. We've read the material together, so now it's time for you to fill in the missing information.
Jupiter is the _______ ________ from the sun. It is the ___________ __________ in the solar system and it is the largest of the __________ __________. The outer planets are: ________, __________, ____________, ____________ _____ ____________. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are called ______ ______ because they are mostly made of ______ and are very ________. Pluto is believed to be covered with ice.
Jupiter is named after the Roman "King of the gods". Jupiter was the leader of the made-up gods that the Romans who lived long, long ago believed in. The planet is named Jupiter because it is so ____!
Jupiter is mostly made of a ______ ___________ ___________. Its atmosphere has _______ ________ of clouds in it. The first layer of clouds is made of ________. Ammonia is the stinky stuff that is used to clean floors and is found in spray-cleaners like window cleaners. The second layer of clouds is made of ____________ ______ _____________. Sulpher is the material found on the head of a match that makes it light. The third layer of clouds is made of _________ __________. Jupiter has a lot of _________ in its atmosphere. The spot in this picture is a storm on Jupiter. Scientists call this Jupiter's _______ ________. It is a storm which has been going on for about ______ ________!!! It is ____ ________ ____ _______ as our whole planet Earth. This storm is like a _________ ____________. It has winds that blow as fast as ______ miles per hour!! The Red Spot is the __________ ____________ in the Solar system.
An interesting fact about Jupiter is that it has _______. Here is a picture from NASA showing Jupiter's rings. Some of Jupiter's moons are found in its rings. Jupiter has at least ______ ________ and maybe more!!
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Check them out...
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Point your browser to Solar System Studies 101 and delve into the beautiful mysteries of Saturn. Fill in the blanks as you read.
Saturn is the __________ of the outer planets. It is also the ___________ __________ ___________ in our solar system. Because it is so big people can see it without a ___________. The ancient Greeks and Romans saw it and named it Saturn. In 1610, Galileo discovered it had "lumps" on each side when he looked at it through his telescope. In 1655, another scientist named Christian Huygens, made a better telescope than Galileo had. He discovered __________ ______ __________!
Saturn is made mostly of ___________ and ___________. On Earth these are usually ______. In fact, helium is the gas used to _______ ____ __________ that float. On Saturn, hydrogen and helium are __________! Saturn has weather and storms. Scientists think these are mostly ________ storms. Click here to see a movie of a storm on Saturn. The storm is the bright yellow and blue patches in the middle of Saturn. (Courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute and the Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy under contract to NASA.) Saturn is yellow, because there is a lot of sulphur in its atmosphere.
Saturn is so big, has rings and so many moons that it is called a ____________. This picture shows Saturn and 6 of its 18 moons! The rings are made up pieces of ________ and _____. These pieces can be as small as a pebble or as big as a ___________. The rings get their pretty colors because the ______ ________ ____ ________ from far away. Sometimes after it rains on Earth, we see a rainbow. This is because there are many tiny drops of water in the air. These drops are _____ _______ to fall as rain. The sun _________ on the tiny drops and reflects off making a __________. (Click here to go to "Amazing Space" and see how this happens. Choose the "Starlight, Starbright" button.) Saturn's rings are made of ________ and ______ _________. The sun reflects off these and makes rainbow colors.
Saturn spins very ________ on its axis. One day on Saturn is only ____ ________ long. A year on Saturn is _______ _________. It is ________ _________ ________ _______. This means you would be 30 years old on Earth and 1 year old on Saturn. That makes me almost 1 1/2 years old on Saturn!
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Time to visit Uranus at Solar System Studies 101. We've read this information in class. Now it's time to read the material again and fill in the blanks.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the ______. It is the ________ of the outer __________. Like ___________ and __________, Uranus has a very _________ ______. One day on Uranus is only 17 hours long. A year on Uranus is ________ ______. One Uranus year is 84 Earth years! It takes Uranus 84 years to orbit the sun one time! That means Uranus goes all the way around the sun ________ ____ ______ ________________!
Uranus has _______ _________ than any other planet in our solar system. So far, 20 moons have been discovered! 18 of these are "for sures". The other 2 are still being studied to make sure they are moons. This picture shows Uranus and some of its moons. You can see that Uranus has rings like Saturn and Jupiter. They are not colorful or easy to see. Uranus's rings are ________ _______.
Uranus was first seen by a scientist named William Herschel in 1781, about 5 years after America declared its independence from Great Britain. Herschel wanted to name Uranus after King George III, who was the king of England at that time. Other scientists didn't like this, so they named it after another made-up Roman and Greek god like all the other planets.
Uranus is made of _________ _____. Methane is usually a gas on Earth, but it is so cold on Uranus that it is frozen into ice. Uranus's atmosphere is mostly made of __________ _____. There so many clouds made of methane in the atmosphere, that they cover the whole planet. Uranus looks bluish-green because its atmosphere is made of methane. Weather on Uranus is __________ _______ that move through the atmosphere. Winds on Uranus can blow up to about ______ ________ ___ _______!!
An odd fact about Uranus is that it "lays on its side". Its ________ _____ _________ ______ are in the _________ instead of on the top and on the bottom. Here is a picture that shows this. Uranus sort of looks like a ball that got squished in t
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Neptune is our last stop in our tour of the solar system. Point your browser to Solar System Studies 101, click on the planet Neptune, and then fill in the blanks.
Neptune is the __________ _______ _____ ____ ____ and the __________ of the outer planets. Like Uranus, Neptune is a _________ ________ because its atmosphere is mainly made of ___________ ______. Neptune's day is about the same length as Uranus's. It is 17 hours long. One year on Neptune is ______ _________ _______ - about twice as long as Uranus's year! It takes Neptune ________ _______ to circle around the sun once because it is so far away.
Neptune has some interesting features. Jupiter has the "Great Red Spot" that looks like an eye. Neptune has a _________ ________ _________. Jupiter's spot is really a storm. Scientists think that Neptune's spot is a _______ ____ ____ ______________! Like Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere is mostly made of methane gas. Neptune also has bands of thin white clouds that look like stripes. The cloud patterns change as Neptune spins on its _______.
Neptune has ______ ________. The biggest one is _________. Here is a picture from NASA showing Triton and Neptune. Neptune is much, much bigger than Triton. Triton looks bigger in this picture because the picture was taken closer to Triton than it was to Neptune.
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