Brandon Houston Brandon Houston The Solar System Brandon Houston

Brandon Houston Overview The Sun The Planets Moons

Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Brandon Houston Mercury Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Mercury orbits at 29 miles per second. Temperatures range from 700 degrees to –300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. Temperature is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Venus spins backwards on its axis.

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth has oceans of water, and an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Earth has intelligent life. The distance from the surface to the center of the Earth is about 2,000 miles. Our Home Planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars is smaller and colder than Earth. Temperatures range from 30 degrees to –220 degrees Fahrenheit. Our Nearest Neighbor

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter’s fast rotation causes the clouds to form bands. Big red spot in southern hemisphere is a hurricane-like storm. It takes 100 Earths to make 1 Jupiter.

Brandon Houston

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. Saturn is known as the “ringed” planet. Rings are made of ice and rock. Winds at the equator reach speeds of 1,100 miles per hour. Saturn cannot support life.

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system. Named after the father of Saturn in Roman mythology. Summers and winters on Uranus last 42 years.

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. Neptune is the fourth-largest planet in the solar system. Neptune is sometimes further from the Sun than Pluto.

Pluto Pluto is the ninth planet from the Sun. Brandon Houston Pluto Pluto is the ninth planet from the Sun. Pluto is smaller than the Earth’s moon. Pluto is the smallest planet. Pluto has an elliptical orbit.

Brandon Houston

Brandon Houston Astronomy Class Lecture Sun Facts Astronomy Class Lecture

What is the Sun? Is a ball of hot gases. Brandon Houston What is the Sun? Is a ball of hot gases. Is 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and 0.5% all other elements. The Sun's temperature is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface and 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the center.

Brandon Houston The Sun Distances The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is 93,000,000 miles. It takes light eight and a half minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth. The diameter of the Sun is 870,000 miles, 109 times larger than the Earth's. Its volume is big enough to hold over 1 million Earths.

Brandon Houston Looking at the sun? DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN, EVEN WITH DARK OR SMOKED GLASSES. DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITH BINOCULARS OR SMALL TELESCOPES. YOU CAN DAMAGE YOUR EYES! NEVER LOOKED AT THE SUN DIRECTLY

Brandon Houston Studying the Sun Scientists study the sun with instruments on the Ulysses spacecraft. Ulysses is a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency. Ulysses was launched in October 1990. It is the first spacecraft to orbit the Sun's North and South poles.