Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Welcome, Space Explorers! Put your Thinking Helmets on and get ready to crack the code as you go through your worksheets! Good luck on your mission!

3, 2, 1, ... BLASTOFF!





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Mercury



  • Mercury is the 1st planet from the sun.
  • Mercury has no moons!
  • Mercury has a rocky surface with craters.
  • Mercury is very hot.
  • The length of one day on Mercury is equal to 59 Earth days.
  • Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.
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Venus



  • Venus is the 2nd planet from the sun.
  • Venus has no moons!
  • Venus is covered in thick, yellow clouds.
  • Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system.
  • The length of one day on Venus is equal to 243 Earth days.
  • Venus is the second brightest object in the night sky (the Earth's moon is the brightest!)
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Earth



  • Earth is the 3rd planet from the sun.
  • Earth has 1 moon.
  • Earth is mostly covered by water.
  • Earth is not too hot, and not too cold.
  • The length of one Earth day is 24 hours.
  • Earth is the only planet with plants, animals, and people (as far as we know!)
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Mars



  • Mars is the 4th planet from the Sun.
  • Mars has 2 moons.
  • Mars looks red because there is iron in its soil.
  • Mars is very cold.
  • The length of one day on Mars is equal to 24 and a 1/2 Earth hours.
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Jupiter



  • Jupiter is the 5th planet from the sun.
  • Jupiter has 16 moons.
  • Jupiter is a ball of gas.
  • Jupiter is very cold, but has a hot centre.
  • The length of one day on Jupiter is equal to 10 Earth hours.
  • Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system!
  • Jupiter has a Great Red Spot, which is a giant windstorm
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Saturn



  • Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun.
  • Saturn has at least 18 moons.
  • Saturn is a huge ball of gas.
  • Saturn has rings orbiting around it (the rings are made of: rocks, dust, and ice).
  • Saturn is very cold, but hot at its center.
  • The length of one day on Saturn is equal to 10 and a 1/2 Earth hours.
  • Saturn is the second largest planet!
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Uranus



  • Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun.
  • Uranus has 5 large moons and 10 small moons.
  • Uranus is a ball of gas.
  • Uranus has thin rings orbiting around it.
  • Uranus is extremely cold.
  • The length of one day on Uranus is equal to 17 Earth hours.
  • Uranus is a blue-green colour.
  • Uranus tilts on its side.
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Neptune





  • Neptune is the 8th planet from the sun.
  • Neptune has 8 moons.
  • Neptune is a big ball of gas.
  • Neptune has a Great Dark Spot (like Jupiter's Great Red Spot) which is just like a big storm!
  • Neptune has really thin rings orbiting around its body.
  • Neptune is extremely cold.
  • The length of one Neptune day is equal to 16 Earth hours.
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Extras:

Congratulations, Space Explorer: you've cracked the code! Now that you have completed your worksheet, click HERE to compare planet sizes!
Some interesting planets to compare are: Jupiter and Mercury, Earth and Jupiter, and Saturn and Venus. Check it out: this will help you to visualize how the size of the planets relate to each other.

References for Website and Worksheet:

Moor, J. E. (1998). Exploring space. Monterey, CA: Evan-Moor.

Simon, S. (1992). Our solar system. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Solar system. (1997). Chicago, IL: World Book in association with Two Can.

Website Images: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/index.html

Nasa Image Policy:

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html

Worksheet Images: Microsoft Office Clip Art

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