THE

SOLAR
SYSTEM

Name: Tyeika Murray

Grade: 8 Three
Subject: Integrated Science
Teacher: Miss Wilson
School: Happy Grove High School
WHAT IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM?

It is our sun. But it is more than that. It is everything that moves around the sun, too.

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it.
It formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular
cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass
contained in the planet Jupiter. The four inner system planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars are terrestrial planets, being composed primarily of rock and metal. The four giant
planets of the outer system are substantially larger and more massive than the terrestrials.

THE INNER PLANETS

In the inner solar system, we find the “Inner planets” : Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
which are so named because they orbit closest to the sun in addition to their proximity. These
planets have a number of key differences that set them apart from planets elsewhere in the
Solar System.

For starters, the inner planets are rock and terrestrial, composed mostly of silicates and
metals, whereas the outer planets are gas giants.
 OUTER PLANETS

The four planets farthest from the Sun are the outer planets.
All of the outer planets have numerous moons. They all also have planetary rings, composed
of dust and other small particles that encircle the planet in a thin plane. The outer planets are
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

GRAVITY
 Gravity is the force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its centre. The
force of gravity keeps all of the planets in orbit around the sun.

Gravity is very important to us. We could not live on Earth without it. The sun's gravity keeps
Earth in orbit around it, keeping us at a comfortable distance to enjoy the sun's light and
warmth. It holds down our atmosphere and the air we need to breathe. Gravity is what holds
our world together.

THE MOON
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. Its diameter is about one-quarter the diameter of
the Earth. The Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is larger than any of
the known dwarf planets and is the largest (and most massive) satellite relative to its parent
planet.[f] The Moon is a planetary-mass object that formed a differentiated rocky body,
making it a satellite planet under the geophysical definitions of the term. It lacks any
significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field. Its surface gravity is about one-sixth
of Earth's (0.1654 g). Jupiter's moon Io is the only satellite in the Solar System known to have
a higher surface gravity and density.
Orbiting Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), or about 30 times Earth's
diameter, its gravitational influence very slowly lengthens Earth's day and is the main driver
of Earth's tides. The Moon's orbit around Earth has a sidereal period of 27.3 days.

SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSE

An eclipse happens when a planet or a moon gets in the way of the Sun’s light. Here on
Earth, we can experience two kinds of eclipses: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon gets in the way of the Sun’s light and casts its
shadow on Earth. That means during the day, the Moon moves over the Sun and it gets dark.

During a lunar eclipse, Earth gets in the way of the Sun’s light hitting the Moon. That means
that during the night, a full moon fades away as Earth’s shadow covers it up.

OTHER OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

❖ Asteroids- irregularly shaped, rocky bodies that orbits the sun.
❖ Meteoroids- these are vaporised glowing gases that are smaller than asteroids.
❖ Comets- these are small icy objects that have very elliptical orbits.

OBJECTS BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Scientists use powerful telescopes on Earth and in space to study distant stars and
galaxies. The famous Hubble Space Telescope, which revealed the cosmos in great
detail for the first time, will soon be replaced by the even more powerful James Webb
Space Telescope. Meanwhile, the Kepler mission has scoured a section of our galaxy
in search of other planets.

Astronomers have already discovered many extrasolar planets beyond our Solar
System that orbit stars other than our own. The first extrasolar planet’s existence was
not confirmed until 1995, because technology was not advanced enough to detect
these distant planets. Since then, 357 extrasolar planets, also known as exoplanets,
have been discovered. It is estimated that only a small percentage of stars have
planets, and most of these stars are similar to our own Sun.