Inner Planets
How many inner planets are there?
4
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
How many outer planets are there?
4
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptun
How many Dwarf Planets are there in our Solar System?
5
There are more than 5 dwarf planets, but there are only 5 in our solar system. These are Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eres.
Describe some characteristics of an inner planet?
Inner planets need to be close to the sun. All of the inner planets are the closest planets to the sun. Also, these planets can not have any rings, or any more moons than 2. Lastly, these planets have very slow and short orbits around the Sun.
What are the main type of planets?
Our solar system contains three types of planets: rocky, terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars); gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn); and ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). Planets orbiting distant stars come in an even wider variety, including lava worlds and “hot Jupiters.
What is the closest planet to the Sun?
Mercury. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It only takes 88 days to make 1 full orbit around the Sun. Also, Mercury is 38.567 million miles away from the Sun.
What is the farthest planet away from the Sun?
Neptune. Neptune is the farthest planet away from the Sun. It is 2.7814 billion miles away and the orbit takes 60,200 days for 1 complete orbit.
What does it take to become a Dwarf Planet?
Must directly orbit the Sun. It must be massive enough for gravity to pull it into a roughly spherical shape. Dwarf planets haven't cleared other smaller celestial debris out of its orbital path.
What are some characteristics of the outer planets?
The outer planets have really fast but long orbits. They also have lots of rings and moons. These planets are the furthest away from the Sun and are made up of gas, this is why these planets are called gas giants.
What is the main 2 elements of the outer planets?
The outer planets are gas giants, so they are made up of hydrogen and helium. These are the same elements that the Sun is made out of.
Which inner planet has 2 moons?
Mars. Mars has 2 moons and the names are Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is a small, irregularly shaped object with a mean radius of 11 km (7 mi) and is seven times as massive as the outer moon, Deimos. Phobos is named after the Greek god Phobos, a son of Ares (Mars) and Aphrodite (Venus) and the personification of fear
Which planet is known for its Great Red Spot.
Jupiter. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a dusty storm. It has been the longest consistent storm ever. Also, this red spot is considered to be the most powerful storm in the entire solar system.
What is the largest dwarf planet?
The largest dwarf planet is Eris. The radius of it is 722.65 miles. Eris became a dwarf planet on August 24, 2006.
Why are Kepler's Laws important?
Kepler's laws describe how planets (and asteroids and comets) orbit the sun. They can also be used to describe how moons orbit around a planet. But, they do not just apply to our solar system --- they can be used to describe the orbits of any exoplanet around any star.
Describe the surface and interior of the outer planets.
What one word describes inner planets?
Terrestrial Planets. Terrestrial mean relating to Earth, so these are the planets that are most likely to have life.
Why are they called outer planets?
They are called outer planets because these planets lay outside of the asteroid belt. Another name for the outer planets is Jovian planets because they are gas giants.
What is the difference in a dwarf planet and a real planet?
The difference between a planet and a dwarf planet is the area surrounding each celestial body. A dwarf planet has not cleared the area around its orbit, while a planet has. Since the new definition, three objects in our solar system have been classified as dwarf planets. Also, planets have more mass than dwarf planets.
What type/shape of orbit do all the planets orbit in?
All of the planets orbit around the sun in the shape of an ellipse with 2 foci. This is known as Kepler's first law.
What is the composition of the inner planets?
The terrestrial inner planets are composed largely of refractory minerals, such as the silicates, which form their crusts and mantles, and metals such as iron and nickel which form their cores. Three of the four inner planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) have atmospheres substantial enough to generate weather.
How were the inner planets formed?
As the disk of gas and dust cooled, matter condensed, and planets formed through the process of accretion—dust grains collided with each other to form clumps, which in turn collided to form larger and larger bodies. Small objects in the solar system are known as planetesimals.
What are three things they have in common?
As well as all being huge and being made up mostly of gases, all four have rings spinning around them, and all of them have large numbers of moon orbiting them.
In what year did the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopt the definition of a dwarf planet?
In 2006, with the discovery of several other rocky bodies similar in size or larger than Pluto, the IAU decided to re-classify Pluto as a dwarf planet. The official definition of a dwarf planet is a celestial body resembling a small planet but lacking certain technical criteria that are required for it to be classed as such.
How many laws does Kepler have, and what are they?
Kepler has 3 laws. The first law is that planets orbit around the sun in the shape of an ellipse with 2 foci. The 2nd law is that planets move faster when they are closer to the sun and vice versa, they orbit slower the farther away they are from the sun, this is caused by the Sun's gravitational pull. Lastly, the third of Kepler's is that the square of a planets period is directly proportional to the cube of the planet's mean distance from the Sun. This is 2x the time of the planets orbit divided by 3x the average distance that planet is from the sun.
How do we know the composition of planets?
By using spectroscopy on the starlight that pours through a planet's atmosphere, we can learn the composition of the planet based on the wavelengths of light present. Every element has a certain atomic structure, which leads each to absorb/reflect different wavelengths.