Earth Space Science

Front 1

terrestrial planets

Back 1

planets that are small and rocky- Mercury, Venus, Earth, and mars.

Front 2

Jovian planets

Back 2

huge gas giants-Jupiter, saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. pluto does not fit into either the Jovian or the terrestrial category.

Front 3

Size

Back 3

the most obvious difference between the terrestrial and Jovian planets.

Front 4

Density, chemical makeup

Back 4

other ways in which the two groups of planets differ.

Front 5

Interiors

Back 5

the substances that make up the planets are divide into three groups: gases,rocks, and ices.

Front 6

Atmosphere

Back 6

the Jovian planets have very thick atmospheres of hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia. By contrast, the terrestrial planets, including Earth, have meager atmospheres at best.

Front 7

Nebular theory

Back 7

the sun and planets formed from a rotating disk of dust and gases.

Front 8

nebula

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a cloud of gas and/or dust in space.

Front 9

planetesimals

Back 9

small,irregularly shaped bodies formed by colliding matter.

Front 10

Mercury:The innermost planet-

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Mercury is the inner most and second smallest planet; it is hardly larger than Earth's moon.

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surface features

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mercury has cratered highlands much like the moon, and vast smooth terrains that resemble maria.

Front 12

surface temperatures

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mercury has the greatest temperature extremes of any planet.

Front 13

Venus: The veiled planet

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venus is similar to Earth in size density, mass, and location in the solar system.

Front 14

surface temperatures

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reaches 475 C, and its atmosphere is 97 percent carbon dioxide

Front 15

surface features

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venus is covered in thick clouds that visible light cannot penetrate. About 80 percent of Venus's surface consists of plains covered by volcanic flow.

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The Martian atmosphere

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Has only 1 percent of the density of Earth's. Although the atmosphere of mars is very thin, extensive dust storms occur and may cause the color changes observed.

Front 17

surface feature of mars

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most martian surface features are old by Earth's standards. The highly cratered southern Hemisphere is probably 3.5 billion to 4.5 billion years old.

Front 18

water on mars

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Some areas of mars exhibit drainage patterns similar to those created by streams on Earth. images form mars global surveyor indicate that groundwater has recently migrated to the surface.

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mass

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is 2 1/2 times greater than the mass of all the other planets and moons combined

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structure of Jupiter

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hydrogen-helium, also contains small amounts of methane, ammonia, water, and sulfur compounds.

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Jupiter's moons

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Jupiter's satellite system, including the 28 moons discovered os far, resembles a miniature solar system.

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Jupiter's rings

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Jupiter's ring system was one of the most unexpected discoveries made by voyager 1.

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Saturn's most prominent feature

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it's system of rings

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features of Saturn

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its atmosphere is very active with winds roaring at up to 1500 kilometers per hour. Large cyclonic "storms" similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot, although smaller, occur in Saturn's atmosphere.

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Saturn's rings

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until the discovery that Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune have ring systems, this phenomenon was thought to be unique to it.

Front 26

Saturn's moons

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Saturn's satellite system consists of 31 moons. Titan is the largest moon, and it is bigger than Mercury

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Uranus: The sideways planet

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instead of being generally perpendicular to the plane of its orbit like the other planets, uranus axis of rotation lies nearly parallel with the plane of its orbit.

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Neptune: The windy planet

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winds exceeding 1000 kilometers per hour encircle Neptune, making it one of the windiest places in the solar system.