Celebrating National Science Week Day 7 – Make Your Own Solar System

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It’s almost the end of the National Science Week activities. In yesterday’s article, Fruits Magnified, fruits were the main subject being studied in detail under a stereo microscope. What we saw was the structure and strange details of various fruits that we could not see using the naked eye. Today, we will also be using fruits, however, they will help us remember things about our Solar System.

What is the Solar System?

The Solar System refers to a collection of stars, planets and their natural satellites, and other smaller objects that are a part of the gravitational cycle we belong to. Out of all of the objects within the Solar System, the most prominent objects in the Solar System that we refer to are the Sun and the nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. As well as a special mention for the dwarf planet Pluto. Keep reading for more fascinating information regarding our planetary system.

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Mercury
Mercury

  • Smallest planet in the Solar System
  • The closest planet to the Sun.
  • Geological features: lobed ridges or rupes
  • No natural satellites
  • Bright orangey red colour.
  • Rocky body like Earth

The smallest planet in our solar system and the closest planet to our Sun. Named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger to the gods. The earliest recordings of Mercury date back to the 14th Century with mentions in ancient Babylonian texts. The first telescopic observations of Mercury were made by Galileo in the early 17th Century. Mercury is tidally locked to the Sun and has a rotation cycle that is unique in the solar system. Due to Mercury’s solar orbit being within Earth’s orbit it can be seen in the morning or the evening but not in the middle of the night. It’s close proximity to the Sun makes Mercury a difficult planet to observe.

Venus
Venus

  • Bright orangey lava red colour.
  • Larger than Mercury
  • No natural satellites
  • Similar size to Earth

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It has the longest rotation period (243 days) of any planet in the solar system and rotates in the opposite direction to most other planets. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Again, Venus has recordings in ancient texts and was known to ancient civilizations as both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star”. Venus is one of the four terrestrial planets in the Solar System (Earth, Mars and Mercury making up the other three) meaning that it has a rocky surface similar to Earth.

Earth
Earth

  • Blue and green colour with marbled white pattern on top
  • Third closest planet to the Sun
  • The densest planet in the Solar System
  • Only known planet to harbour life
  • Similar size to Venus

We live here! Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the densest planet in the Solar System. Earth is estimated to be around 4.5 Billion years old and is the only planet in the solar system (that we know of) that has an abundance of water, with around 71% of the Earth’s surface covered in water. When the Apollo 17 astronauts captured an image of Earth from around 45,000 kilometers out they dubbed it The Blue Marble due to the striking resemblance to a glass marble.

Mars
Mars

  • Orange brown colour with large black patches
  • Second smallest planet in the Solar System
  • Fourth closest planet to the Sun
  • Often referred to as the ‘Red Planet’

Mars, commonly known as the Red Planet due to its distinct reddish appearance, a side-effect of the abundance of iron oxide that is present on the surface of Mars. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and arguably the most interesting terrestrial planet in our Solar System (After Earth, of course!). It has long been speculated that Mars used to have liquid water on its surface. After several successful rover missions and flyby missions to Mars, we now know that although Mars is now a dry and desolate world, water can still be found on the surface. The Mars Rover “Spirit” observed in 2008 that briny salt water flowed on mars and polar ice caps can be clearly seen on the Red Planet. With companies like SpaceX ramping up their efforts to send humans to Mars, The Red Planet may be the first planet that we as a species visit and some speculate that we could visit Mars as early as the mid 2020’s.

Jupiter
Jupiter

  • The largest planet in the Solar System (Around 2.5x larger than other planets combined)
  • Fifth closest planet to the Sun
  • Light beige colour with white and dark brown stripes stretching around the centre of the planet
  • Classified as a ‘gas’ giant – predominantly composed of hydrogen with a ¼ mass of helium alongside Saturn

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. Named after the Roman god of sky and thunder, Jupiter has a high magnitude and is the third brightest object in the night sky (After the Moon and Venus). Jupiter is primarily composed of Hydrogen with a quarter of its mass being Helium. Jupiter has at least 67 moons in is orbit including the four large Galilean moons that were discovered by, yup, you guessed it, Galileo Galilei! Seriously, Galileo discovered a lot of cool stuff in the 17th Century. Of the four Galilean Moons, Ganymede is the largest. So large in fact that it has a diameter greater than that of the planet Mercury! Jupiter is one of the most interesting sights in the night sky and one of the easiest to observe with a telescope. You can observe the Great Red Spot on the surface of the planet, a giant storm that has been raging on the planet since at least the 17th century when it was first observed. Also keep an eye out for the Galilean moons, all four should be easily seen through a telescope.

Saturn
Saturn

  • Pale yellow colour
  • Most notable for its large ring
  • Second largest planet in the Solar System
  • Sixth planet from the Sun
  • Argued to be composed of iron-nickel and rock
  • Classified as a ‘gas giant’ as is consists primarily of helium and hydrogen alongside Jupiter

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second biggest planet in the Solar System behind Jupiter. Named for the Roman god of agriculture, Saturn is best known for its prominent ring system that orbits the planet which is composed mostly of ice particles. Saturn, like Jupiter, has an abundance of satellites with at least sixty-two known moons to orbit the planet. The largest of which is Titan. Titan is the second largest moon in the Solar System and is larger than the planet Mercury although less massive. It is also the only moon in the Solar System that has a substantial atmosphere.

Uranus
Uranus

  • Seventh planet from the Sun
  • A light blue colour
  • Coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System
  • Sometimes referred to as an ‘ice giant’ because of its large proportion of various ices in its composition (eg. water)
  • Also composed of gases (eg. helium and hydrogen)

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is the only planet in the Solar System to have a name derived from a Greek god and not a Roman god. Named after the Greek god of the sky Ouranos, Uranus is a gas giant, yet it’s composition is different than that of Saturn and Jupiter. Uranus contains more ices such as, water, ammonia and methane. It is the coldest planet of Solar System with temperatures dropping as low as -224°C. Uranus also has a unique configuration amongst the Solar System planets as it’s axis of rotation is tilted sideways. It’s north and south poles lie where most planets have their equators.

Neptune
Neptune

  • Furthest planet from the Sun
  • Bright deep blue colour
  • Fourth largest planet in the Solar System
  • Also sometimes referred to as an ‘ice giant’ alongside Uranus as it comprises a greater proportion of ices in its composition.

Neptune is the eighth and furthest planet from the Sun (For those Pluto lovers out there, don’t worry, we will cover the lovable Dwarf Planet below). Named after the Roman god of the sea. Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and is the only planet to be found by mathematical prediction rather than observation. Telescopic observation didn’t occur until the mid 19th century. Due to it’s distance from Earth Uranus has a very small apparent size making it a challenge to study with Earth Based Telescopes. Voyager 2 flew-by Neptune in 1989 and the advent of the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground based telescopes have allowed for additional detailed observations to be made of Neptune.

Pluto
Pluto

  • Originally considered the tenth planet of our Solar System
  • Reclassified as a Dwarf Planet in 2006
  • Second-most-massive known Dwarf Planet in the Solar System
  • Made of primarily rock and ice.

Pluto, although technically not a planet, deserves a spot on this list due to how fascinating and adorable this little dwarf planet is. First discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, a 23 year old who had just arrived at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, the discovery made headlines across the globe and the naming of the then dubbed “Planet X” was opened to the public by Lowell Observatory and received more than 1,000 suggestions from all over the world. The name Pluto, after the god of the underworld from classic Greek mythology, was proposed by Venetia Burney, a then 11-year old schoolgirl from Oxford, England. Most recently the New Horizons spacecraft, after traversing the solar system for nine and a half years, arrived at Pluto to take the first high resolution images of both Pluto and it’s moon Charon.

Materials

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  • Get fruit of varying sizes and shapes
  • A pack of long skewers
  • Super glue
  • Thick Styrofoam Board
  • Permanent Marker

*Our recommendations are:

  • Pineapple – the Sun
  • Mercury – red grape
  • Venus – apricot
  • Earth- Kiwi
  • Mars – cherry
  • Jupiter – Orange
  • Saturn – Mandarin
  • Uranus – Plum
  • Neptune – Blueberry

Instructions

  1. Gather as many different fruits as you can.
  2. Based on the size and shape of each Planet, select a fruit that will best represent that.
  3. Carefully, push a skewer through the middle of the fruit (if you are using a heavy fruit, you may need more) and then coat the bottom end of the skewer with super glue before you insert it into the styrofoam board.
  4. Label the fruit according to the planet it represents.
  5. Repeat until you have created a skewer for each Planet.
  6. Label all of the fruits according to the planets they represent.
  7. Take a photo of your creation!

If you have any questions about what you have learned today, please leave a comment down below. We would also love to see your creations so please send them to us if you do create a model solar system.

Catch up on the previous days:
Fruits Magnified Banner (1)

Testing Water Banner

Moon Phases Banner

 

 

 

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