Our Solar System

Terrestrial Planets Mercury Mars Earth Venus

Jovian Planets Jupiter Neptune Uranus Saturn

Photograph was taken in space by Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft while hovering above a small asteroid, 11/05. %3Ddn8259&h=319&w=506&sz=19&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=jDAl7CfspoArsM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3DAsteroid%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D Asteroid

ASTEROID Formed from leftover debris from Big Bang Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter’s orbits “Armageddon”

Asteroid Belt

Halley’s Comet Nucleus Photo taken by space probe Giotto, 3/14/86. Every 76 years, as Halley’s Comet nears the Sun, it becomes visible to the unaided eye. (next sighting in 2062)

COMETS Chunks of Ice, dust and gas Elongated orbits around the Sun (very eccentric) Comet’s tail ALWAYS points away from the Sun

Meteoroid A rock that floats in space

Meteor This photograph was taken just after the main meteoroid body broke up into fragments. Light that we see when a meteoroid burns up in Earth’s Atmosphere

Hoba West Meteorite The largest meteorite ever found is the Hoba West Meteorite in Namibia. It weighs more than 50 tons. It hit the ground about 80,000 years ago. Estimated to be between 200 and 400 million years old!!

Meteorite Meteor that enters Earth’s atmosphere and reaches the Ground. Meteorites create huge Impact Crater’s.

Impact Crater Large depression on the surface, caused by the impact of a meteorite. 300 tons of space rock and dust fall onto Earth each day!

Impact Crater - Arizona

Crater Lake - Oregon