Exploring the Solar System GCSE Astronomy – Lesson 26

Lesson outcomes To describe the main features of planets. To appreciate the significance of Venus’ atmosphere with respect to extreme global warming on Earth. Describe the use of space probes to gain data on various members of the Solar System. To appreciate some of the problems that would be encountered on manned space missions.

The planets ….. In order My - Mercury Very - Venus Easy - Earth Method - Mars Just - Jupiter Seems - Saturn Useless - Uranus Now! - Neptune

Planet Data Key COMPARISION What it looks like compared to Earth ORBIT How far it is from the Sun in AU ROTATION What it may look like from space. PLANET FROM SUN DISTANCE FROM SUN How far away it is from the Sun. DIAMETER Diameter around the equator. ROTATION (DAY) How long the planet takes to rotate ORBIT (YEAR) How long the planet takes to orbit the Sun. INCLINATION How near the planet is the ecliptic TILT OF AXIS The difference between the equator and ecliptic. GRAVITY (Earth =1) How heavy things are on the planet. ORBIT VELOCITY How fast the planet travels ESCAPE VELOCITY How fast a rocket would have to travel to leave the planet DATE OF DISCOVERY When it was discovered NUMBER OF MOONS How many satellites the planet has. SURFACE FEATURES What does it look like. What might you find there. ATMOSPHERE What the atmosphere is like TEMPERATURE How hot & cold it is and how much sunlight it receives COMPOSITION What is it made of

Space exploration … We find information about other objects in our Solar System by using Space Probes. These are robotic space craft that are programmed to visit a specific area and collect information. A list of space probes m_probes