Solar System Web Interactive
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/
1.) According to this website, what is the definition of a solar system?
2.) List the objects that make up our solar system.
Click on the “Our Solar System” link at the left side of the webpage. Use the “Overview” tab to answer the following questions:
3.) When was our solar system formed?
4.) What are the four inner planets called and why?
5.) What are the two types of outer planets?
6.) Where are most dwarf planets located?
7.) What unit do we use to measure distances within our solar system?
Now click on the “Moons” tab to answer these questions:
8.) Moons are also called ______.
9.) There are ______confirmed moons, plus another ______moons awaiting confirmation. This doesn’t include the moons of dwarf planets or asteroids.
10.) Why are most moons found orbiting the larger outer planets?
11.) What makes each of these moons interesting:
- Titan (moon of Saturn)-
- Triton (moon of Neptune)-
- Charon (moon of Pluto)-
Use the links on the left side of the page to find the information about each planet. For the chart, you will need to look under the “Facts and Figures” tab for each planet. For the questions below, you will need to read the information found under the “Overview” tab.
Facts: / Mercury / Venus / Earth / Mars / Jupiter / Saturn / Uranus / NeptuneDate of discovery / unknown
Orbit size
(by comparison) / Approx.
150 million km
Length of year
(Earth days) / 365.25 days
Mass
(by comparison) / Approx.
5.98 x 1024
Kg
Atmospheric
Constituents / Nitrogen (80%)
And Oxygen
12.) In what two ways is MERCURY much like Earth’s moon?
13.) How big would the sun appear if you were standing on MERCURY?
14.) Why is VENUS said to experience a “runaway greenhouse effect”
15.) How is the rotation of VENUS different from the other planets?
16.) What makes EARTH different from other terrestrial planets?
17.) What is the composition of EARTH’S atmosphere?
18.) Why is EARTH’S atmosphere so important?
19.) How does a day on MARS compare to the length of a day on Earth?
20.) What (and when) was the first true MARS mission success?
21.) Why is MARS known as the Red Planet?
22.) In what ways does JUPITER resemble a “miniature solar system”?
23.) How long is one day on JUPITER?
24.) What is the composition of JUPITER’s atmosphere?
25.) What is JUPITER’S Great Red Spot?
26.) What is the most defining feature of SATURN?
27.) How many moons does SATURN have?
28.) What is hypothesized about several of SATURN’S moons?
29.) What gives URANUS its blue tint?
30.) What is the only spacecraft to have visited URANUS?
31.) What is so different about the rotation and orientation of URANUS?
32.) What is the composition of NEPTUNE?
33.) Does NEPTUNE have rings?
Click on the “Asteroids” link on the left side of the page to answer these questions:
34.) Why are asteroids not considered planets?
35.) Where are most asteroids found in our solar system?
36.) The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker landed on an asteroid named ______.
Click on “Meteors and Meteorites” on the left side of the page to answer these questions:
37.) What’s the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor, and a meteorite?
38.) What are most meteors composed of?
Click on the “Comets” link to answer these questions:
39.) What causes the “tail” of a comet?
40.) What are the two main differences between short-period comets and long-period comets?
Click on the “Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud” link to answer these questions:
41.) What are the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud? (as explained in #1 and #2 in 10 Need-to-Know things)
42.) What is the name of the first mission to the Kuiper Belt that will reach Pluto in 2015?