THE SOLAR SYSTEM

(Its properties and Planets’ classification)

 Properties and Current Information
1. The orbits of all the planets are almost in the
same plane. This means that the Solar System is
flat.

2. The planetary orbits are nearly circular. The

elliptical orbits depth on slightly from being perfect
circle.
Properties and Current Information

3. The orbits of the planets are nearly in the

same plane as the rotation of the sun.

4. Planets revolve around the sun in counter

clockwise direction. Most planets rotate around
their own axis in a counter clockwise fashion.
Properties and Current Information

5. The distances of the planets from the sun can

be expressed in a similar relationship called
Bode’s Law, named after German astronomer
Johann Bode.

6. The satellite systems of Jupiter and Saturn are

nearly identical in their arrangements with the
Solar system.
Properties and Current Information

7. The satellites and planets contain almost all the

rotational motion of the Solar System.

8. The solar system also contains asteroids and

comets.
Asteroids
■ Are made up of rocks and sometimes referred
to as minor planets. They are atmosphere-free
and they orbit around the sun. They tend to
congregate in what is known as main asteroid
belt.
■ The first known asteroid is named Ceres.
■ Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs)- these are the
asteroids that can be perturbed out of their
main belt.
Comets
■ Composed mainly of ice (frozen water and gas) and non-
volatile dust (silicate minerals and carbon grains). They only
become active when the orbits take them near the sun.
■ The Kuiper belt is often called the Solar Sytem’s “final
frontier”. Short period comets like Halley’s comet come from
the Kuiper belt. Short period comets orbit the sun in less
than 200 years.
■ The Oort cloud is located farther than the Kuiper belt. Long
period comets have orbits ranging from 200 years up to
millions of years. Objects orbiting beyond Neptune are called
trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)
CLASSIFICATION OF
PLANETS
 Why do planets coming from the same
cloud of gas have different compositions?

frost line – is the distance of the solar nebula

from the protostar
Position relative to the sun
■ Inner planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

■ Outer planets include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and

Neptune

■ Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter form the

boundary between the inner and outer planets.
Position relative to Earth

■ Inferior planets are located inside the orbit of Earth,

which include Mercury and Venus.

■ Superior planets are located outside the orbit of

Earth, which includes Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune.
Mercury

The smallest planet in our solar

system and nearest to the Sun,
Mercury is only slightly larger than
Earth's Moon.
Venus

Second planet from the Sun

and our closest planetary
neighbor, Venus is similar in
structure and size to Earth, but
it is now a very different world.
Venus spins slowly in the
opposite direction most planets
do.
Earth
Our home planet is the third
planet from the Sun, and the
only place we know of so far
that’s inhabited by living things.
It is the only world in our solar
system with liquid water on the
surface. Just slightly larger than
nearby Venus, Earth is the
biggest of the four planets
closest to the Sun, all of which
are made of rock and metal.
Mars

The fourth planet from the Sun,

Mars is a dusty, cold, desert
world with a very thin
atmosphere
Jupiter

Jupiter is, by far, the largest

planet in the solar system –
more than twice as massive as
all the other planets combined.
Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet

from the Sun and the
second largest planet in
our solar system. It is a
massive ball made mostly of
hydrogen and helium.
Uranus

It’s the seventh planet

from the sun and it
rotates at a nearly 90
degree from the plane of
its orbit.
Neptune

Dark, cold and whipped by

supersonic winds, ice giant Neptune
is the eighth and most distant planet
in our solar system.
 Name of Planet Diameter of Distance from the Length of the No of satellites
Planet sun Year

Mercury 4880km 58*106 88 Earth days none

Venus 12100 km 108*106 225 Earth days none
Earth 12760km 150*106 365 Earth days 1
Mars 6780km 228*106 687 Earth days 2
Jupiter 142800km 778*106 4,333 Earth days 79(53 confirmed)
Saturn 120000km 1427*106 10,759 Earth 62(53 confirmed;
days 9 waiting )
Uranus 50800km 2870*106 30,687 Earth 27
days
Neptune 48600km 4504*106 60, 190 Earth 14
days
A dwarf planet is a celestial body that has the
following characteristics
■ Is in orbit around the sun
■ Has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome
rigid body forces so that it assumes nearly-round
shape
■ Has not cleared the neighbourhood around it
■ Is not a satellite