A period of revolution is directly related to a planets distance from the sun. Have students use the provided worksheet and formula to calculate the orbital periods and distances from the sun for mercury and venus. The table below shows the eight planets and the average distance between them. However, that distance varies as earth orbits the sun, from a maximum aphelion to a minimum perihelion and back again once a year. There is, however, a relationship between a planet s distance from the sun and its period of revolution. The table below concerns various elongation configurations for hypothetical a superior planet. However, the latest theories say that jupitersized planets tend to form at a distance that is governed by the location of the frost line of the early solar system. The eight planets orbit the sun along slightly elliptical paths, with sun located at one of the foci.
Measures of the planets from the sun planet distance to the sun in miles mercury 35,983,610 venus 67,232,360 earth 92,957,100 mars 141,635,300 jupiter 483,632,000 saturn 888,188,000 uranus 1,783,950,000 neptune 2,798,842,000 in order to figure out the distance of each planet from the sun, you will have to use a scale model. Dwarf planets do not clear the neighborhood around its orbit. Au astronomical unit, which is the distance from the earth to the sun. Point out that as one travels to the outer solar system, the great distance from the sun means that it is quite cold.
With the distance to the moon known, the stage was set for another greek astronomer, aristarchus, to take the first stab at determining the earths distance from the sun. If you could drive the same distance, it would take 1,396 years. Pocket solar system teacher and youth education, 2015 2 to travel an equivalent distance on earth, you would need to circle the globe 3,700 times. You can see in the plot below that there is no correlation between the planetary rotation period and the distance from the sun. The au column is the distance in astronomical units.
The planet venus has domes that are thought to have been created when lava pushed rock to the surface. Problem 1 the table below gives the distance from the sun of the eight planets in our solar system. Its closest approach to the sun is called its perihelion, while its farthest distance from the sun is called its aphelion. Making a scale model of the solar system is easy if you remember to use each planets distance from the sun, measured in au, and convert it by moving the decimal place one space to the right, and measure the distance in centimeters. From an average distance of 93 million miles 150 million kilometers, earth is exactly one astronomical unit away from the sun because one astronomical unit abbreviated as au, is the distance from the sun to earth.
A planet s distance from the sun varies in the course of its year. And yet there is so much space between the sun and theses inner planets. Astronomyplanets and the distance from the sun by texas. Is it true that the further a planet is from the sun, the. You have the gravitational force gmmd canceled out by the centrifugal mv2d.
As distance decreases, the period of revolution decreases. The closest distance between earth and the sun is 147 million kilometers or 91 million miles, the farthest is 152 million kilometers or 94 million miles, with an average distance of 150 million kilometers or 93 million miles. The 9 planets of the solar system and their characteristics. Another large body is pluto, now classified as a dwarf planet or plutoid. Compared to the rings of saturn, the rings of uranus are. From an average distance of 36 million miles 58 million kilometers, mercury is 0.
The planet s orbit lies in a plane, called the orbital plane. The distance of each planet from the sun is a determinant of its basic composition. To calculate the distance from the model sun to each model planet, you need to calculate a scaling factor. In this activity we will investigate how the distance a planet is from the sun affects its period of revolution. The table below first created by universe today founder fraser cain in 2008 shows all the planets and their distance to the sun, as well as how. The sun is offset from the center of the planets orbit. It is a unit of length equal to the average distance from earth to sun, approximately 149,600,000 kilometers 92,957,000 miles. Only their large size makes them visible from the earth from such long distances. A planets distance from the sun varies in the course of its year. The period of revolution for a planet is how long it takes the planet to orbit around the sun. Planets and dwarf planets by shauna hutton write true or false for each statement. Planet orbits in the solar system staff portal camas. Distances between the planets of the solar system the.
D note that the radius of the planet cancels and the equilibrium temperature depends only on the luminosity of the sun and the distance of the planet from the sun t 279 aud12 k for the earth, this is close to freezing 273k and colder than the actual mean temperature 293k. Complete any missing elongations, tettered labelerminology, or s on the l drawing where the sun and earth are shown. The planets distance from the sun, the atmosphere and the availability of liquid water makes it the most earth habitable planet. The planets orbit lies in a plane, called the orbital plane. Eyes on the solar system lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, comets and the spacecraft exploring them from 1950 to 2050. Negative values of rotation period indicate that the planet rotates in the direction opposite to that in which it orbits the sun. The distance between a planet and the sun changes as the planet moves along its orbit. You can also move backward and forwards in time by sliding the hand cursor along the red timeline. The distance between the earth and the sun is 93,000,000 miles. Planetary distances on the playground elementarymiddle grades lesson summary in this activity, each student or small group of students represents a planet in order to illustrate the spacing of the planets. Uranus is so far from the sun that, even though tipped on its side and.
Uranus and neptune are even farther, orbiting the sun from a distance. Therefore, a year length is different for each planet. Because the distance between earth and the sun 1 au is 149,600,000 km and one earth year is 365 days, the distance and orbital period of other planets can be calculated when only one variable is known. For instance, mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Exploring exoplanets with kepler activity nasajpl edu. Planets and dwarf planets super teacher worksheets. Nov 26, 2009 there is no general rule for how far a planet has to be from its sun. The dark, cold planet s average distance from the sun is a little over 3.
In our system, we have 4 terrestrial planets, 4 gas giants, and a mysterious 9th planet. It focuses on the planets distance from the sun and how that distance effects the potential for water and life on earth. The eight planets that orbit the sun are in order from the sun. Continue on your journey, placing each planet on the ground when you come to the appropriate distance. One astronomical unit abbreviated as au, is the distance from the sun to earth.
Kepler discovered that by using a planets orbital period, it is possible to determine its distance from the sun. Astronomers usually measure distances within the solar system in astronomical units au. Planet fact fans distance learning by amanda garcia tpt. Jan 04, 2015 with the distance to the moon known, the stage was set for another greek astronomer, aristarchus, to take the first stab at determining the earths distance from the sun. Using the four buttons at the top, select either distance from the sun, distance from the earth, size in the sky, or brightness to control how the planets are displayed press the play button at the bottom of the chart to make time move in fast forward mode. From uranus outward to the edge of the solar system, the distances are truly great. Planet distance from sun au distance to planet km scale distance from sun cm actual diameter km model diameter mm. Mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune. Determine the scaling factor by dividing the distance 394 cm by the distance.
Explain that the distance of the planets affects the amount of time needed to orbit the sun. Our solar system revolves around the sun, hence the name solar system. The order of the planets given here is based on the planets average distances from the sun. Distance earth lies near the inner edge of the solar systems habitable zone, defined as the range of distances from a star, in this case the sun, where a planet can sustain liquid water with enough atmospheric pressure to keep it in place.
Order of the planets by the distance from the sun sciencing. State orally or in writing that the planets are not evenly spaced some are very far from the sun while others are very close. For simplicity, use a scale distance from the sun to pluto of 394 cm. As the planets orbit the sun, they travel at different speeds. Explain to students that an astronomical unit, or au, is a simplified number used to describe a planets distance from the sun. Planet true average distance to the sun in miles rounded average distance to sun in miles distance to sun in sheets 10,000,000 miles sheet 4inch toilet paper squares distance to sun in inches distance to sun in feet distance between each planet in sheets mercury 35,983,610 36,000,000 3. Click on a planet or the sun for details on composition, mass, gravity, and number of moons. To emphasize how far this is try to take 26 paces across the room. The ones outside its orbits are known as gas giants or, in the case of the two outermost planets, ice giants. Apr 22, 2014 the table below first created by universe today founder fraser cain in 2008 shows all the planets and their distance to the sun, as well as how close these planets get to earth. Originally conceived as the average of earths aphelion and perihelion, since 2012 it has been defined as exactly.
Mars and the planets inside its orbit are known as terrestrial planets because they are composed mostly of rock. Atmosphere temperature volume and mass distance will happen. The orbit of a planet around the sun is an ellipse, with the sun in one of the focal points of that ellipse. The farther the planets are from the sun, the greater their distance from each other. It is the combination of both their mass and their speed. Explain that the distance from the sun affects the climate of the planet. This is a detailed scripted lesson plan including goals and learning outcomes, essential questions, along with timed activities. Apr 21, 2014 the table below first created by universe today founder fraser cain in 2008 shows all the planets and their distance to the sun, as well as how close these planets get to earth. However, that distance varies as earth orbits the sun, from a maximum to a minimum and back again once a year. The type of atmospheres of terrestrial planets depend on the planets distance from the sun, the radius, the mass, the amount of geological activity, and surface organisms.
Uranus uranus, the mysterious bluegreen planet, is the seventh planet from the sun. Planetary distances on the playground laspcuboulder. Uranuss magnetic field is unusual in that the magnetic axis is tilted 60 degrees from the planets axis of rotation and is offset from the center of the planet by onethird of the planets radius. There is, however, a relationship between a planets distance from the sun and its. Each planet speeds up when it is nearer the sun and travels more slowly when it is far from the sun this is kepler s second law of planetary motion. Pocket solar system california academy of sciences.
The planetary data table at the beginning of these activities lists the distance of each planet from the sun in astronomical units. It focuses on the planet s distance from the sun and how that distance effects the potential for water and life on earth. In their models of the solar system, the greeks held to the aristotelian belief that objects in the sky moved at a constant speed in circles because that is their natural motion. Scale model of the solar system university of new mexico. Lets go over them, but first, heres a quick rundown of each planet in order of size and distance from the sun. Instructional objectives during this lesson, students will. Talk about what a solar system model that demonstrates the relative average distances between the planets and the sun and the relative sizes of the planets would look like. Planetary size and distance comparison national geographic. Distances between the planets of the solar system the planets. In addition, planets also rotate on their axis at different speeds. There is a huge amount of different in the distances between the planets depending on their. We can see venus when it is near the setting sun on our horizon. Mars sits within the habitable zone too, but closer to the outer edge.
This unit provides an easy way to quickly compare planets distances from the sun. Temperatures are a scalding 380c 715f on mercury, 70c 94f on mars, 143c 225f at jupiter, and a frigid 235c 390f at neptune and pluto. The eccentricity e is a number which measures how elliptical orbits are. This focal point is actually the barycenter of the sunplanet system. Distances of the planets from the sun in light years sciencing. Both planets and dwarf planets revolve around the sun. Dwarf planets are listed in a separate table below. The sun warms the tiny peppercorn earth from this far away. There is no general rule for how far a planet has to be from its sun. The frost line existed when there was much more water vapor in interplanetary space. What determines the distance of a planet from the sun.
In fact, its common to measure planet distances from the sun in light minutes or light hours as opposed to light years, since those numbers are smaller and easier to comprehend. There is a huge amount of different in the distances between the planets depending on their position on their orbit path. In this activity we will investigate how the distance a planet is from the sun affects its. Astronomers use the distance between earth and sun, which is 93 million miles, as a new unit of measure called the astronomical unit.
Gather information about the planets and moons in our solar system. If you tried to step off this distance, you would be over two miles away from your sun when you reached the location of pluto. Create a scale model of our solar system that includes distance from the sun and the diameter size of the planets. Ride with the curiosity rover as it lands on mars or fly by pluto with the new horizons spacecraft all from the comfort of your home computer. Distances of the planets from the sun in light years. Jupiter is about 778 million kilometers from the sun, while saturn is almost 1. How does a planets distance from the sun affect its period or revolution.