The Universe

Star Meteor
Sun
Moon Planet
Galaxy Universe
Earth
Asteroid
Can you put them in
Cluster order of size?
Solar System:
Planets and

Interplanetary
Objects
Objectives
By the end of our discussion you
should be able to
• Discuss the bodies in space that make
up the Universe
• Distinguish the relative size and
relationship between the solar system,
galaxy, and universe
• Contrast inner and outer planets with
Universe
 Objects in the Universe
ordered from largest to smallest
LARGEST
Universe
Galaxy
Solar System

Smallest
 Our universal address would be:

Universe La Salle University,

Burgos St.,

Cluster Ozamiz City,

Northern Mindanao,
Galaxy Philippines,
Asia,
Star and Sun
Earth,
Planet and Earth Sol,
Moon Milky Way Galaxy,
Asteroid
Andromeda Cluster,
Meteor
The Universe.
The Universe is….

everything
that
exists
 The Universe
• There are millions of other galaxies which are seen
further and further away in space
• Galaxies themselves are millions of times further
apart than the stars are within a galaxy
• All these galaxies make up the Universe (which
includes all the empty space between galaxies)
• The Universe is perhaps 20 000 million light years
across
 What is a galaxy?
• A galaxy is made up of billions of stars
• Our galaxy is called the Milky Way galaxy, that has a
spiral shape
• Our Sun is just one of the stars that form the Milky
way galaxy
• The Milky Way is 100 000 light years across, and the
nearest star to Earth (apart from the Sun) is 4.2 light
years away
 The Milky Way galaxy

Our solar system is here

 What is a light year?
• A light year is not a period of time
• A light year is a distance
• A light year is the distance that light travels in one year
• As light travels at a speed of 300 000 000 m/s (or 300 000
km/s) then if we multiply this by the number of seconds in a
year we will see that light will have travelled 9.5 x 1015 m (9
500 000 000 000 000 m )
• Our galaxy is 100 000 times this distance across
Galaxies

Galaxies are giant structures

made of BILLIONS of stars

There are
hundreds of billions of
galaxies in the universe.
Solar systems
are located around individual stars in a galaxy.

Our solar system is located on the outer edge of a

spiral galaxy called the Milky Way.
Which is smaller?

UNIVERSE or Galaxies

Solar Systems or Galaxies

Stars or Solar Systems

Galaxy or Stars
 What is a Solar System?

• A region of space where the gravitational force

of a star influences all other objects.

• In our solar system, the gravitational pull of the

sun keeps the planets in orbit
 The Sun
• 93,000,000 miles away from Earth
• Rotates
• Has dark spots that are cooler areas called sunspots
• Has solar flares large amount of energy leaves the
sun.
• Has layers
• Different layers act different
• Sun is made of gas
The Moon
• Moons are ‘natural satellites’
• Moons orbit around a planet
• The moon stays in its orbit due to the
gravitational pull of the planet
• Our moon has a circular orbit
• We see the moon because it reflects light
The Planet

• an object that is a sphere

• Revolve around a star
• Large enough to have enough gravity to clear all
objects out of it’s orbit
• Orbit is on the same plane as other planets in the
solar system
The nine planets
(starting with the closest to the Sun)

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
 How do these planets move?
• The Sun is a star which the nine planets move
around.
• The path each planet travels around is called it
orbit.
• The planets are kept in their orbits due to the
pulling force of the Suns gravity.
On a piece of paper, sort the following characteristics into 2
groups. 1: inner planets 2: Outer planets
Small Closer to the Longer year Hotter
sun temperatures

large Farther from Shorter year Cooler

the sun temperatures

Made of gas More Longer More dense

gravitational revolution
pull

Made of rock Less Shorter Less dense

gravitational revolution
pull
 Inner Planets vs. Outer Planets
INNER PLANET OUTER PLANETS
Closer to the sun Farther from the sun
Small Large
Rocky Gas
Less mass More mass
More Dense Less Dense
(More mass within a given space) (Less mass within a given space)
Close to each other Far from each other
Hotter temperatures Colder temperature
Shorter Year Longer Year
Shorter revolution Longer revolution
 orbit, revolution and rotation
Revolution When one object goes around another object.
(Revolve) Ex. Planets revolves around the sun
Ex. The moon revolves around the earth

Rotation Spinning on an axis

(Rotate) Ex. The Earth spins on it’s axis
Ex. The moon spins on it’s axis once every 28 days.

Orbit The path an object takes as it revolves around another object

Ex. Planets orbit the sun in an elliptical path.
What keeps the planets in orbit around
the sun?
Gravity is the attractive force
between 2 objects.
The force of gravity is dependent on the size of the objects &
the distance between the 2 objects.

Size: Larger objects with more mass have more gravitational

pull
Distance: Objects farther away from each other have less
gravitational pull.
 Gravity in
action:

Ex. The moon and the Earth are pulling on each other. However,
the Earth is larger and has a greater gravitational pull, so the
moon is trapped in Earth’s gravitational pull. However, the moon
doesn’t crash into Earth, because it’s pulling on the Earth in the
opposite direction creating a balance of gravitational force. We
 Effects of GRAVITY is observed
throughout the universe
• Formation of all objects in space-planets, moons,
stars, galaxies
• Keeps the planets in orbit around the sun
• Keeps the moons in orbit around the planets
• Causes the tides on Earth
• Causes the same mass to have different weights
on different planets.
 Can you describe how the
force of gravity maintains
orbits within a solar system?
 What else is found in our
Solar system?
• Asteroids • These are minor planets found in their
thousands between Mars and Jupiter

• These are probably fragments of asteroids

• Meteorites that broke up

• These are lumps of ‘dirty ice’ a few km

• Comets
across that travel in highly elliptical orbits.
As they near the Sun they warm up. This
causes a tail of dust and cloud.