Educational Insights GeoSafari EI-5287 Manual Del Usuario página 3

Planetary Features Chart
The Planetary Features Chart provides some basic information about the planets, including
their order, distance from the sun, size, and temperature.
Position Average "Year": Period
Diameter
Planet Symbol relative distance of time to
at equator
to sun from sun orbit sun
36,000,000 mi 3,032 mi
Mercury 1st 88 Earth days
(58,000,000 km) (4,879 km)
67,000,000 mi 7,521 mi
Venus 2nd 225 Earth days
(108,000,000 km) (12,104 km)
93,000,000 mi 7,918 mi
Earth 3rd 365.25 Earth days
(150,000,000 km) (12,742 km)
142,000,000 mi 4,212 mi 687 Earth days
Mars 4th
(228,000,000 km) (6,779 km) (1.88 Earth years)
88,881 mi
484,000,000 mi
Jupiter 5th (139,822 11.8 Earth years
(778,000,000 km)
km)
72,367 mi
886,000,000 mi
Saturn 6th (116,464 29.5 Earth years
(1,427,000,000 km)
km)
1,784,000,000 mi 31,518 mi
Uranus 7th 84 Earth years
(2,871,000,000 km) (50,724 km)
2,795,000,000 mi 30,599 mi
Neptune 8th 164 Earth years
4,498,000,000 km) (49,244 km)
* Scientists are constantly discovering new planetary moons and space objects. For the most up-to-date information, check one of NASA's websites
such as: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov
Planet Riddles
Use the Planetary Features Chart to help you solve these planet riddles!
My "day" is longer than my I am the biggest planet.
"year"! Who am I? I am so big that all the
other planets could fit
inside of me. Who am I?
I am the hottest planet. My We are the only two
surface temperatures are planets in the solar system
so hot that metals like lead without any moons at all.
would turn into puddles. Who are we?
Who am I?
"Day": Time
Temperature
Average Atmosphere
it takes to
(min to max surface temperature
orbital (major Moons*
rotate on
for inner planets; effective
speed components)
temperature for outer planets)
axis
30 mi/sec
59 Earth days almost non-existent 0 -279 to 801 ºF (-173 to 427 ºC)
(48 km/sec)
carbon dioxide,
22 mi/sec nitrogen, and
243 Earth days 0 864 ºF (462 ºC)
(35 km/sec) clouds of sulfuric
acid
78% nitrogen, 21%
18.5 mi/sec oxygen, 1% argon,
24 hours 1 -126 to 136 ºF (-88 to 58 ºC)
(30 km/sec) carbon dioxide,
and trace gases
15 mi/sec carbon dioxide,
25 hours 2 -225 to +70 ºF (-153 to +20 ºC)
(24 km/sec) nitrogen, argon
8 mi/sec
10 hours hydrogen, helium 67 -234 ºF (-148 ºC)
(13 km/sec)
6 mi/sec
11 hours hydrogen, helium 62 -288 ºF (-178 ºC)
(10 km/sec)
4 mi/sec hydrogen, helium,
17 hours 27 -357 ºF (-216 ºC)
(7 km/sec) methane
3 mi/sec hydrogen, helium,
16 hours 14 -353 ºF (-214 ºC)
(5 km/sec) methane
The methane gas in our
atmosphere gives us a blue
tint. Which two planets
are we?
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Solar System Fun Facts
• All of the outer planets have rings, with Saturn having the biggest and brightest.
Saturn's spectacular rings are made of billions of bits of ice and rock.
Uranus actually spins on its side. It is often nicknamed the "sideways planet."
•
• Beyond Neptune there is a ring of hundreds of thousands of small, icy objects orbiting
the sun. This disk-shaped ring is called the Kuiper ("KI-per") Belt. There are also many
comets in this region—scientists estimate there are a trillion or more.
Pluto and its moon, Charon, are part of the Kuiper Belt. Pluto was discovered in 1930,
•
and for 76 years it was considered the ninth planet. It was the smallest planet in the
solar system, only half the width of the United States and even smaller than Earth's
moon. In 2006, astronomers agreed that Pluto should be called a dwarf planet instead
because of its size and unusual orbit. Since its discovery, Pluto has gone only about a
third of the way around the sun. It won't be until the year 2178 that one Plutonian year
has gone by!
The sun is huge compared to the planets. Compared to other stars in the universe,
•
however, the sun is only average in size.
• The sun is the closest star to Earth. Our next closest star is in a star system called
Alpha Centauri. The three stars in this system are so far from Earth that if you imagine
our sun as a grapefruit (as in this model), they would be about 2500 miles (4000 km)
away—about the distance across the United States from coast to coast!
The Star Dome
Here's another way to explore space: create your own
planetarium! The star dome converts the solar system
model into a planetarium projector.
Take off the top half of the sun sphere. Put the star
1.
dome in its place. Make sure the tab on the edge of the
star dome fits into the notch on the lower half of the
sun sphere.
The projected image will look best in a darkened room. If
2.
you can, turn off the lights and close the curtains.
Switch on the light at the base of the tower. Stars and constellation outlines will be
3.
projected onto the walls and ceiling of the room. The farther light travels before hitting a
surface, the bigger the image will appear. Try moving the tower closer to and farther from
the walls or ceiling to get the best image.
Constellations – Pictures in the Sky
On a clear, moonless night, you may be able to see thousands of stars. Since ancient times,
people have noticed patterns in the stars. A constellation is a group of stars that form a
pattern as seen from Earth. Breaking up the thousands of stars visible on a dark night into
constellations helps people easily find and remember the names and locations of stars.
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