The Solar System

S lar system

PresentaTION

index

venus

mercury

solar system

jupiter

earth

mars

uranus

neptune

saturn

solar system

The planetary system we call home orbits a star in an outer spiral arm of the vast Milky Way galaxy.

Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto; dozens of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. Beyond our own solar system, we have discovered thousands of planetary systems orbiting other stars in the Milky Way.

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mercury

Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun

Resulting from collisions with meteorites and comets

It is made of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium and potassium

Mercury characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Mercury is roughly 58,000,000 km
• Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System, with an equatorial radius of 2439.7 km
• Mercury has a mass of 3.285 x 1023 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of 608300 million km2 so it has a density of 5,43 g/cm³

• A Mercury solar day equals 176 Earth days, but Mercury is the fastest planet, zipping around the Sun every 88 Earth days and also has no satellites
• The core of Mercury is really huge as it occupies 75% of its radius and leaves the crust at least acting almost as a "wrapper" of a huge "ball" of burning iron

venus

Venus is the second closest planet to the Sun and the third smallest after Mercury and Mars

How was it created?

A giant cloud of interstellar gas and dust collapsed under its own gravity and flattened into a protoplanetary disk

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venus characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Venus is 108.200.000 km
• Venus has an equatorial radius of 6051,8 km
• Venus has a mass of 4,867 × 1024 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of 928 billion km3 so it has a density of 5,43 g/cm³

• A Venus solar day equals 243 Earth days, but Venus is the second fastest planet, zipping around the Sun every 225 Earth days and also has no satellites
• On its surface the pressure is 90 times higher than on Earth and winds can reach up to 724 km/h

The earth

How was it created?

The Earth was formed by accretion of the solar nebula. Volcanic degassing probably created the primordial atmosphere and then the ocean, but the primitive atmosphere hardly contained oxygen.

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earth characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Earth is 150000000 km
• The Earth has an equatorial radius of 6371 km
• The Earth has a mass of 5,972 × 1024 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of a trillion km3 so it has a density of 5,51 g/cm³

• The Earth takes 365 days to rotate around the Sun and 24 hours to rotate around itself, it also has a satellite, the Moon
• The Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with tectonic plates

mars

Mars is the fourth planet in order away from the Sun and the second smallest in the solar system, after Mercury

How was it created?

When the Sun formed in the center of a cloud of gas and dust left matter spinning around, it clustered, particles melted and planets formed

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mars characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Mars is 230 million km

• Mars has an equatorial radius of 3389,5 km
• Mars has a mass of 6,39 × 1023 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of a 1,6318 × 1011 km3 so it has a density of 3,93 g/cm³

• Mars takes 687 days to rotate around the Sun and 24 hours and 37 minutes to rotate around itself, it also has two satellites, Fobos and Deimos

• Compared to Earth’s atmosphere the Mars' one has a density almost 100 times lower

jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and the fifth in order of distance to the Sun

How was it created?

As far as we can tell, it originated before the Sun. Its solid core was formed when the Sun’s nebula had not yet condensed and given rise to our large, luminous star

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jupiter characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Jupiter is 778 million km
• Jupiter has an equatorial radius of 69.911 km
• Jupiter has a mass of 1,898 × 1027 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of 1,4313 × 1015 km3 so it has a density of 1,33 g/cm³

• A Jupiter solar day equals 10 hours, but Jupiter zips around the Sun every 12 Earth years and also has 80 satellites, some of them are Io, Europe, Callisto and Ganymede
• Known for over 3 centuries, has the shortest day in the Solar System

saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet in the solar system counting from the Sun, the second largest after Jupiter

How was it created?

Scientists believe that Saturn was formed more than 4 billion years ago, from the same giant cloud of gas and dust that revolved around a very young Sun

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saturn characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Saturn is 1,434 billion km
• Saturn has an equatorial radius of 58.232 km
• Saturn has a mass of 5.6832 x 1026 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of 8.2713 x 1014 km3 so it has a density of 0.687 g/cm³

• A Saturn solar day equals 10 hours and 34 minutes, but Saturn zips around the Sun every 29 Earth years and also has 150 satellites, two of them are Titan and Enceladus
• Although at first glance it looks like a huge ball of icy, ringed gas, Saturn’s core reaches temperatures of 11,700 degrees, almost the same as the Sun has on its surface

uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system and the third largest

How was it created?

Uranus took shape at the same time as the rest of the solar system, about 4.5 billion years ago, when gravity dragged gas and dust to become this ice giant

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uranus characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Uranus is 2,871 billion km
• Uranus has an equatorial radius of 25.362 km
• Uranus has a mass of 8,686 x 1025 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of 6,833 x 1013 km3 so it has a density of 1,274 g/cm³

• A Uranus solar day equals 17 hours and 14 minutes, but Uranus zips around the Sun every 84 Earth years and also has 27 satellites, some of them are Miranda, Titania and Oberon
• It’s the coldest planet in the solar system. Contrary to what we might think Neptune is not the coldest planet in the solar system, even though it lies farther from the Sun than Uranus. The minimum temperature in this giant of gas and ice is -226ºC, a figure that is achieved thanks to the fact that Uranus has a much colder core than that of other planets

neptune

Neptune is the eighth planet away from the Sun and the fourth largest

How was it created?

The accretion formation system transports us to the birth of the Sun, when it was still a solar nebula. From leftover material moved by the solar wind, such as hydrogen or helium, rocky worlds were created

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neptune characteristics

• The average distance from the Sun to Neptune is 4,495 billion km
• Neptune has an equatorial radius of 24.622 km
• Neptune has a mass of 1,0241 x 1026 kg. This mass is contained in a volume of 6.25257 x 1013 km3 so it has a density of 1.638 g/cm³

• A Neptune solar day equals 16 hours and 6 minutes, but Neptune zips around the Sun every 165 Earth years and also has 14 satellites, two of them are Triton and Thalassa
• It is believed that Triton was originally a dwarf planet that eventually yielded to the attraction of the ice giant’s gravity field

THAt's the end!

"Like sitting on a royal throne, the Sun rules the family of planets revolving around it"-Nicolaus Copernicus-