HOW DOES EARTH MOVE?

AXIS

• An axis is what all the planets in the solar system rotate on.
• The axis is an imaginary line.
• The North Pole is the northern end of the axis
• The Southpole is the southern end of the axis.

ROTATION

• One whole spin on the axis of an object is called a rotation.
• One full rotation = one day

ORBIT

• Earth orbits around the sun
• An orbit is the path an object takes around a star, planet, or moon.
• Earth's rotation is elliptical or oval shaped.

REVOLUTION

• One full orbit is a revolution
• Earth's revolution lasts a few hours more than 365 days/one year.

WHAT ARE THE INNER PLANETS?

MERCURY

• Closest planet to the sun.
• Slightly bigger than Earth's moon.
• It is covered in craters.
• Almost no atmosphere covers Mercury.
• The first spacecraft to visit Mercury was the Mariner 10.
• Mercury is hotter than the hottest place on Earth.
• It is scorching hot during the day and cool at night.

VENUS

• Second planet from the sun.
• It is the same size as Earth.
• It rotates in the opposite direction of Earth.
• Venus is hot and dry.
• It's atmosphere is thick with swirling clouds.
• Venus gets strong winds and lighting.
• The clouds are hot and toxic.
• The clouds reflect the sun light very well witch makes Venus one of the brightest objects in the sky.

EARTH

• Earth is the third planet from the sun.
• It is the solar system's largest Rocky planet.
• It is the only planet with liquid water on it's surface.
• Earth is wrapped in 150 km of a thick gas atmosphere.
• The atmosphere makes life possible.
• Earth is the only known planet to support life.

EARTH'S MOON

• Earth has one large moon.
• Our moon has no atmosphere.
• It has many craters formed by crashing meteorites and objects floating through space.

MARS

• Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.
• Mars has soil on its surface called iron oxide.
• Iron oxide makes Mars appear red. This is why it is call the "Red Planet".
• Mars has two small and deeply cratered moons.
• Mars does not have enough oxygen for plants and animals.
• Mars has a canyon that is TEN times the size of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

WHAT ARE THE OUTER PLANETS?

JUPITER

• Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun.
• It is the largest planet in the solar system.
• Jupiter is a Gas Giant.
• Jupiter's atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium.
• The planet has many bands of color.
• Jupiter's four largest moons are, Ganymede, Io, Europa, and Callisto.

SATURN

• Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun.
• Like Jupiter, Saturn's atmosphere contains hydrogen and helium.
• Saturn has many rings.
• The rings are made of tiny grains, boulders, ice, dust, and rock.

URANUS

• Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun.
• You can't see Uranus very well without a telescope.
• Uranus's atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium, and methane.
• The planet rotates on its side and no one knows why.
• Scientists think that a large object hit Uranus which caused it to spin.

NEPTUNE

• Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun.
• The planet is too far to see without a telescope.
• Neptune was discovered in 1846.
• It takes the planet 100 Earth years to orbit the sun.
• It is the smallest gas giant.
• Neptune has at least thirteen moons.
• Triton is Neptune's largest moon and the coldest object in the solar system.

Source citation

Pearson Internet Science. Scott Forseman Illinois 2016