Formation of the Solar System

Sun

A 4.6 billion-year-old star at the center of our solar system.

Largest object

The Sun is the _ in the solar system

Hydrogen and helium

The Sun is made of _ and _.

5,500 and 15 million

Sun’s surface temp: _°C | Core temp: _°C

8 minutes, 20 seconds

Sunlight reaches Earth in _ minutes and _ seconds

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Terrestrial Planets:

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Jovian Planets:

Mercury

Smallest and closest planet to the Sun

Mercury

Fastest revolving planet

Mercury

Fastest orbit (88 Earth days)

Venus

Brightest planet in the sky

Evening Star and Morning Star

Venus is known as _ Star from March to April and _ Star from September to October

Venus

“Earth’s Twin” in size, mass and density.

Venus

Slowest rotating planet.

Retrogade direction

Venus spins in _ or opposite directions.

Venus

Hottest planet (~480°C)

Earth

Only planet known to support life.

Blue planet

Earth is known as the _ planet.

Earth

Largest of the four terrestrial planets in the solar system

70% water

Earth is covered in how many percent of water?

78%, 21%

Earth’s atmosphere: Nitrogen = _ & Oxygen = _

Magnetic field

Earth has _ shields the planet from harmful solar radiation.

Mars

"Red Planet" due to iron oxide.

Olympus Mons

The largest volcano and tallest planetary mountain in the solar system.

Valles Marineris

Largest canyons in the solar system.

Phobos

The innermost and larger moon, irregular in shape and orbits very close to Mars.

Deimos

The outermost and smaller moon, also irregular in shape and farther from Mars.

Jupiter

Largest planet.

Jupiter

Fastest rotation (~10 hrs)

Great Red Spot

A massive storm larger than Earth, which has been raging for

at least 300 years.

Galilean Satellites

Jupiter’s four largest moons are called the _, named after Galileo Galilei.

Lo

Most volcanically active moon in Jupiter.

Ganymede

The largest moon in the solar system, even bigger than Mercury.

Callisto

A heavily cratered moon, one of the oldest landscapes in the solar system.

Europa

Has a smooth icy surface and is believed to have a subsurface ocean, making it a target in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Saturn

Second largest planet

Saturn

Known as the "Ringed Planet."

Titan

Largest moon in Saturn, thick nitrogen atmosphere, methane lakes.

Enceladus

Icy moon with geysers in Saturn, possible underground ocean.

William Herschel

Uranus is discovered by _ in 1781.

Uranus

First planet discovered with a telescope.

Titania

The largest moon of Uranus.

Neptune

“Uranus Twin” in size, mass and composition.

Neptune

Planet not visible to the naked eye from Earth.

Neptune

Coldest planet.

Neptune

First planet discovered through mathematical predictions.

Triton

Largest moon on Neptune.

Asteroid

Large, rocky or metallic object that orbits the sun.

Meteoroid

A small rock or metal fragment in space.

Comet

Icy body with a glowing tail when near the sun.

Asteroid belt

Asteroids are mostly found in the _.

Ceres

Largest object in the asteroid belt and the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system.

Pallas

Second largest object in the asteroid belt.

Vesta

Third largest object in the asteroid belt and one of the brightest asteroids.

Meteor

A meteoroid that enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up/shooting star.

Meteorite

A meteor that survives the atmosphere and hits the ground.

Kuiper belt and Oort Cloud

Comets are found in _ and _.