Name:______Block:______Date:______
“Secrets of the Solar System”
Click the link for an overview of the planets
The Sun
v The center of our heliocentric system
v A main-sequence star
1. The Sun is fueled by the process of nuclear ______.
2. The Sun’s ______results in solar prominences, flares, and sunspots.
The Terrestrial Planets
v Rocky, inner planets
v Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
MERCURY
3. Mercury’s magnetic field is weak. It is only ______% of Earth’s.
4. Since Mercury has virtually no ______, it has basically no insulation, so days are very hot and nights are very cold.
VENUS
5. Venus has a major ______effect, trapping heat with atmospheric gases like carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid.
6. Venus rotates ______as compared to Earth’s rotation.
7. Venus has a similar structure to Earth, but no iron outer ______, so it consequently has basically no magnetic field.
EARTH
8. Earth’s core is made of the metals ______and ______.
9. The ______of a planetesimal knocked a piece off of Earth,
forming the moon about 4.5 billion years ago.
10. The dark regions of the moon are ______left from volcanic
activity, not oceans, which was once thought. They are called maria.
11. If you traveled around the equator ______times, you’d equal the
distance to the moon.
12. The moon’s gravity makes the Earth’s rotational axis ______.
MARS
13. Mars is ______the size of Earth.
14. Mars takes nearly twice as long to complete one ______.
15. Mariner Valley is the solar system’s largest ______.
16. Olympus Mons is the solar system’s largest ______,
16 miles in height. This is three times higher than Mt. Everest.
17. The atmosphere of Mars is leaking due to a weak ______.
The ASTEROID BELT separates the terrestrial planets from the Jovian planets.
The Jovian Planets
v Gaseous, giant, outer planets and all have rings
v Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
v Pluto is not considered a Jovian planet. It is much smaller, rocky, and has an orbit that is not on the same plane as the others.
JUPITER
18. Jupiter completes a ______every 10 hours!
19. Jupiter is so big that ______Earths would fit across the diameter.
20. Jupiter’s intense gravity makes it a “vacuum cleaner” for ______.
21. Jupiter is composed of 90% ______.
22. Jupiter has many ______including the volcanic Io, huge
Ganymede, and possible water ice-covered Europa.
SATURN
23. Saturn has a very low ______. It would float in the ocean.
24. Saturn’s ______are made of ice and rock.
25. Saturn’s moon, ______, might have life because it is like early
Earth in terms of its atmosphere.
URANUS
26. Uranus orbits on its ______as it rotates.
27. Uranus is ______A.U.’s away from the Sun and ______A.U.’s away from us.
28. The ______around Uranus were discovered because of the
background motion of a star. There are 9.
NEPTUNE
29. Neptune’s solar orbit takes ______.
30. Neptune has the strongest ______of any planet.
31. The gas ______(CH4) gives Uranus and Neptune a blue color.