Our solar system is just one small part of a large star

group called galaxy. The entire universe is filled with

many galaxies.
WHICH AM I? Identify the members of solar system
described.
1. I am the most familiar sight in the night sky.
2. I am bigger than all other planets combined.
3. I am teeming with life and over two-thirds of me are
oceans.
4. I used to be one of them but now I have been
categorized as a small, icy dwarf planet.
5. I am barren, scarred by impact craters and scorched by
intense solar radiation.
6. I am a rusty planet because of high concentration of
iron in my rocks.
7. I have a system of rings which makes me one of the
beautiful sights in the solar system.
8. I would be a far less interesting planet and a much less
impressive sight without my rings.
9. I have a striking blue color because of the
presence of methane gas in my atmosphere.
10. I am tilted sideways to the sun that each of my
poles get 42 ears of uninterrupted sunlight.
Astronomy is the science that deals with the study of
stars, planets and other physical objects beyond Earth.
The earliest astronomers observed the sky with their
unaided eyes and minds. They formulated different
theories that were the basis for the study of astronomy
today.
Some theories were developed by the early
astronomers about the solar system.
The Earth-as-the-Center Model
Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek
astronomer, formulated the
Ptolemic Theory, which stated
that Earth was the center of the
universe. He proposed that the
planet, the sun and the moon
moved in a perfect circles
around the Earth.
He imagined the planets to
go occasionally in small
circles, and then return to
their orbits. This explained
the retrograde motion of
some planets.
The Sun-as-the-Center Model

In 500 A.D.,
Philolaus, a Greek
philosopher, stated that
Earth was moving
around the central fire
in a west to east
direction.
The Sun-as-the-Center Model
Much later, a Greek
astronomer, Aristarchus, taught
that Earth rotates and moves in
an orbit around the sun like
other planets. But this theory
was not accepted by the learned
men of the time because no one
could prove it.
The Sun-as-the-Center Model
Then Nicolas Copernicus,
a Polish astronomer in 1543
published a theory that the
sun is the center of the
universe and the planets
orbit the sun and this was
known as the Copernicus
model.
The Sun-as-the-Center Model
He proposed that the planets
including Earth revolve around the
sun and that the closest to the sun is
Mercury, followed by Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The other
planets were not yet known during
that time.
This theory was universally accepted after hundred of
years.
Modern astronomers
Tycho Brahe, a Danish
astronomers and his
assistant Johannes Kepler,
a German astronomer Tycho Brahe Johannes Kepler
contributed much to
improved the Sun-centered
model of the solar system.
Through their
mathematical computations,
observations and records of
the positions of the stars,
moon, and planets,

they discovered that all planets revolves around the sun in

elliptical orbits, not circles and that the sun is not in the
exact center of the orbits.
The study of the solar
system was improved through
the invention of the telescope.
The invention of the telescope
led to greater precision in the

study of bodies in space. Galileo Galilei was the first

astronomer to use the telescope to observe celestial bodies.
More discoveries were made with the inventions of more
sophisticated telescope.
Theory on the Formation of the Solar System
The most widely accepted theory on the region of the
solar system is the nebular hypothesis.
The nebular hypothesis states that the solar system was
formed from a huge nebula which contracted, rotated, and
condensed into hot lumps of matter to form the sun, the
planets, and the minor members.
Theory on the Formation of the Solar System
The Members of the Solar System
The solar system is the sun and all the space objects
travelling around it. If you look at the sky on a clean night,
you can see many twinkling lights. With the unaided eye,
planets and stars are look alike.
A planet is a space object that moves around the sun.
planet, according to ancient people, means “wanderer”
since they are moving objects. Planets travel around the
sun in paths called orbit.
The pull of the sun’s gravity affect the direction of the
motion of a planet. Thus, a planet’s orbit is a football-
shaped pathway called an ellipse.
The Planets
In the ancient times, people knew only five planets.
These were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Earth was not considered a planet that time. Later,
scientists discovered nine planets, including Earth.
However, recently, the number of planets was reduced to
eight with the latest discovery that Pluto is not a planet,
instead, it is a dwarf planet. A dwarf planet has a smaller
size and does not have its own orbit around the sun.
Classification of Planets
The planets of the solar system can be classified in different
ways. It may be according to the following:
• By size:
- Small planets have diameters less than 13,000 kilometers.
The small planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
- Giant planets have diameters greater than 48,000
kilometers. The giant planets also referred to as the gas
planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
• By composition or what they are made of:
- Terrestrial or rocky planets are the ones made up mostly of
rocks and metal. They have relatively high densities, slow
rotation, solid surfaces, no rigs and have few satellites.
These planets are Mercury, Venus, earth and Mars.
- Jovian or gas planets are made up mostly of hydrogen and
helium. They usually have low densities, rapid rotation,
deep atmospheres, rings, and several satellites. These
planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
• By their distance from the sun:
- The inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and
Mars.
- The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.
• By history – date when they were discovered
- Classical planets have been known since prehistorical
times. They can all be seen from Earth, with the
unaided eye. This group includes Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
- Modern planets have been discovered since the
invention of telescopes because they are only
visible through telescope.
Terrestrial Planets
Mercury:
Mercury is the sun’s neighbor.
It is the smallest and nearest
planet to the sun, and has the
shortest period of revolution
about the sun. It has the highest
average orbital speed of about 48
km/s. It is just a little larger

than our moon. Its mass is only 1/18 that of Earth. It is one
of the five planets that can be seen with the
naked eye.
The surface of
Mercury is extremely
hot during the day and
frozen at night. It has
many craters and with a
unique
pattern of ridges and rocks. The surface of Mercury is
rocky and heavily crated because of the meteors crashing
into it. The high surface
surface temperature of
mercury is due to its
closeness to the sun. mercury
rotates very slowly; such that
one day is equal to 59 earth
days.
Mercury’s orbital period is about 88 days. How often
would you have birthday in Mercury?
Venus:
Venus could Earth’s
twin in size, mas, density
though its features are very
different from those of
Earth. Venus has very
unpleasant environment. Its
clouds are actually swirling
mists of acid droplets.
The surface of Venus is hot enough
to melt lead and zinc. Its surface
appears to be covered with rolling
hills, mountains, valleys and several
large volcanoes.
Venus rotates in a clockwise
direction. In Venus, the sun rises in
the west and sets in the east.

You might think that Mercury is the hottest planet

because of its nearness to the sun. However, Venus has
a very thick atmosphere. Its thick cloud hold the sun’s
heat making it extremely hot. Venus considered the
brightest object in the night sky. It sometimes appears as
“evening star” and sometime as “morning star”.

evening star morning star

Earth:
Earth is the only planet in
the solar system where life
exists. It is a living planet
because it has liquid water,
oxygen in the atmosphere, and
moderate temperature and
pressure. Earth’s surface has
mountains, canyons, deserts
and few craters.
Earth has one natural
satellite, the moon. It moves on
an orbit around the Earth. The
moon has a weak gravity,
known to be only 1/6 that of
Earth. Earth rotates on its axis
causing day ang night
equivalent to 24 hours, one
Earth day.
Earth also revolves on an orbit around the sun, a period of
365 ¼ days, one Earth year.
Thin ice crystal clouds form on
Mars in the afternoon. There are
strong winds on Mars, which
blow soil into the atmosphere
causing large dust storms, which
in turn cause seasonal changes of
polar caps.
Mars is visible on Earth with the
unaided eye.
Mars has two satellites
or natural moons.
They are Deimos
(Panic), orbiting Mars
every 30 Earth hours
and Phobos (Fear)-

discovered in 1887 by American astronomer Asaph Hall,

circling in less than 8 Earth hours.
The Giant Outer Planet or Jovian Planets
Jupiter:
Next to the sun, Jupiter is the
largest and most massive
object in the solar system.
Jupiter’s diameter is about
11 times larger than Earth’s,
with 300 times more

mass. It is mostly a ball of hydrogen and helium gas. It has

at least 16 known moons. Four of them are
large enough to be
seen through
binoculars. They
are Ganymede,
Callisto, Io, and
Europa.
It takes Jupiter 12 Earth years to make one revolution
around the sun. One day on Jupiter lasts only about 10
Earth hours.
Jupiter is famous for its Great
Red Spot which is over three
times the size of the Earth. The
Great Red Spot is a high-
pressure region, rotating
counterclockwise like a giant
hurricane. It completes one
rotation in about 12 Earth days.
Saturn:
Saturn is the second
largest planet, nearly as
large as Jupiter, but has
only 1/3 of
Jupiter’s mass. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is
about twice as fast as Jupiter. The rotation period is 10
hours and 39 minutes. It completes one revolution around
the sun in about 29 ½ Earth years. Saturn has a
spectacular ring system about 1000 of them made of
millions of small particles of ice and
rock, and 23 or more
moons. The
atmosphere of Saturn
has two wind systems
operating in two
opposite directions
blowing
from east to west and the other blows west to east.
Uranus:
Beyond Saturn is Uranus, the third
largest planet. Uranus is the seventh
planet from the sun and also called the
gas planet. It was discovered on March
13, 1781 by German-
English astronomer, Sir Wiliam Herschel. When viewed
through a telescope, it appears greenish or like a blue-
green ball because of methane gas in its atmosphere. It
revolves on its side, causing the
The sun to be always in a position over one
pole of the planet. This is because the planet
is tilted at about 98º. This unusual tilt
creates very strange seasons. The sun does
not rise or set anywhere on Uranus.

Uranus has 11 rings, 10 narrow and one large, composed

of particles about 20 cm in size. It was calculated that its
rotational period is about 17 hours and 14 minutes.
Uranus have 5 major satellites that can be seen through
a telescope. They are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and
Oberon. Other space probes revealed that this planet has
about ten much smaller satellites that likewise move
around it. They do not, however, reflect much light since
they are dark in color. Its axis of rotation is nearly parallel
to the plane of its orbit. It has 15 moons.
Neptune:
The eighth planet from the sun
appears to be much like Uranus.
It is also the last gas planet. It is
pale blue in color made of water,
ammonia, hydrogen, helium,

methane, and molten rock. It has broken rings called

arcs.
It has eight moons.
Neptune was
discovered in 1846
through the work of
two mathematicians
John Adams and

Jean Laverrier. There are several dark spots on the surface

which are believed to be storms.
The Great Dark Spot, the
largest of them all is
about the size of Earth.
Scooter, a smaller storm
has a bright interior
which may be due to the
presence of wispy

clouds.
Neptune has two satellites, Triton and Nereid,
which were discovered after the discovery of the
planet. Triton seems unusual due to its retrograde
orbit around Neptune. The planet has six smaller
satellites orbiting around it. Neptune’s orbit is very
large due to its great distance from the sun. its year is
equal to 165 Earth years.
Other Members of Solar System
Asteroids:
Between Mars and Jupiter
are billions of rocky bodies
called asteroids. The zone
where the asteroids are found
is called asteroid
belt. Many astronomers believe the belt is primordial
material that never glommed into a planet because of
Jupiter’s gravitational pull. Other astronomers say
the belt is a planet that was broken apart during a collision.

Asteroids are billions of icy,

irregularly-shaped bodies
travelling around the sun in the
same direction as that of the
planets. Their sizes range from a
few
Centimeters to several hundred kilometers in diameter.
There are about 2000 big asteroids.
Meteoroids:
Billions of bodies in space
smaller than asteroids also
travel around the sun; they are
called meteoroids. Some of
them are about 2 km or more
in diameter, but most of

Them are tiny as sand grains. They travel at very high

speeds up to 42 km per second. Some
meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere and are seen as
streak of light. Meteoroids that enter Earth atmosphere
are called meteors or “shooting stars”.

Most meteors burn completely upon reaching

Earth’s atmosphere and only their ashes reach the Earth.
The unburned pieces that reaches the Earth’s surface are
called meteorites. There are times that
hundred of meteors appear in
the night sky and they appear
as “showers”. Astronomers
called this event meteor
shower. This event usually
occurs when
Earth passes through the orbit of comet.
Comet:
The comet is the most
spectacular body observed in the
solar system because of its
luminous head called coma and
its thin veil-like
tail. Some comets do not have tail at first but they grow tails as
they near the sun. Comets also follow regular path as they
travel around the sun. Their orbits are long and narrow.
Hailey’s comet is an example. It was observed to cross the solar
system every 76 years.
A. Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following statements best describes

the planets?
a. They move around the sun.
b. They are made of gases.
c. They are bright and light.
d. They possess a life-sustaining atmosphere.
2. Why does Mercury have the shortest period of
revolution?
a. It is small.
b. It is nearest the sun.
c. It is hot during the day.
d. It rotates and revolve fast.
3. Neptune has the biggest orbit of all the eight planets.
Which statement does not support this statement?
a. It has the longest year.
b. It is the smallest planet.
c. It is the farthest in the solar system.
d. It has the longest period of revolution.
4. Earth is unique of all planets. Why is this so?
a. It can support life.
b. It rotates from east to west.
c. It is made of solid, liquid and gas.
d. It has only one natural satellite.
5. Why does Neptune become the farthest planet?
a. The orbit of Neptune expands.
b. Neptune moves faster than all the planets.
c. Neptune has the biggest orbit.
d. The orbit of Uranus is bigger than Neptune’s
6. Which group of planets are the giant planets?
a. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
b. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Mars
c. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Venus
d. Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
7. What makes Venus the hottest and brightest planet?
a. Its size and shape
b. Its nearness to the sun
c. Its very thick atmosphere
d. Similarity of its feature to Earth
8. Which group of astronomers made a declaration that
Pluto is no longer an official planet?
a. New Horizon Mission
b. Astronomical International Union
c. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
d. International Astronomical Union
9. Which statement best describes our solar system?
a. It is the sun and all the space objects travelling around
it.
b. It is the sun and the eight official planets revolving
around it.
c. It is the sun and all the heavenly bodies above us.
d. It is the arrangement of all heavenly bodies as they
move around Earth.
10. Five of the eight planets can be seen by the
unaided eye. Which of the following is not one of
them?
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. Mars
d. Neptune
B. Explain why Pluto is no longer a planet.
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C. Name the other members of the solar system and

describe each.
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