SPACE AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Discover the expanses of space and our neighbours in the solar system. You will find out about the different planets, their unique features and the different types of objects orbiting the Sun.

Topics we will cover;

  1. The names and order of the planets in the solar system.

  2. The difference between natural and artificial satellites.

  3. The features of the terrestrial, gas and ice planets.

This activity is designed for Key Stage 3 (Years 7 - 9) but everyone is welcome to work through the activities and put their astronomy skills to the test.

You can find and download all the activities below as the part of the Space Activity Pack here.

Our Solar System

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Before we venture into the wonderful worlds in our solar system, how much do you already know about our neighbouring rocky, gas and ice planets? 

Put your planetary science skills to the test and complete the ‘Solar System’ activity sheet below to learn how to spot the planets from home, colour and label the solar system and match up the property to the planet. 

Image credit: Mercury: NASA // Venus: NASA/ JPL Caltech // Earth: NASA Goddard // Moon: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University // Mars: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems // Jupiter: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester) // Saturn: NASA/JPL // Uranus: NASA/JPL // Neptune: NASA.

There are two broad categories of satellite; natural satellites and artificial satellites. Natural satellites such as the Earth (orbiting the Sun) and the Moon (orbiting the Earth) can be found throughout the Solar System and shouldn’t be confused with artificial satellites. Artificial satellites are ‘man-made’. GPS satellites currently in orbit around the Earth and orbiters elsewhere in the solar system are all examples of artificial satellite.

Earth’s natural satellite; the Moon. Credits: Data Visualization by: Ernie Wright (USRA) Video Produced & Edited by: David Ladd (USRA) Music provided by Universal Production Music: "Visions of Grandeur" - Frederick Wiedmann

Want to find out more about Earth’s natural and artificial satellites and test your understanding of orbits? Try out the ‘Satellites of the Solar System’ activity below.

The Terrestrial Planets

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Source: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This mosaic of NAC images shows the impact crater Hokusai, located on Mercury at a latitude of 58°N.

Mercury

Mercury’s surface is heavily cratered. The bright spots and pits that you can see litter the planet’s surface making it look similar to the Earth’s moon in many ways.

Craters are formed when an asteroid or comet collides with the planet’s surface.

Mercury’s craters vary in size with some very large impact basins. Caloris basin is 1550 km in diameter!

In this activity, learn more about craters by making your very own cratered planetary surface. Watch the video below and use the instructions in ‘The Terrestrial Planets’ worksheet to help you. We’d love to see what you make so you can share your unique planetary surfaces with us on our twitter page @GeoBus_UCL!

 

As well as being the hottest planet, Venus has over 1600 major volcanic features.

Source: NASA/JPL

Maat Mons is displayed in this computer generated three-dimensional perspective of the surface of Venus. The viewpoint is located 634 kilometers (393 miles) north of Maat Mons at an elevation of 3 kilometers (2 miles) above the terrain.
Lava flows extend for hundreds of kilometers across the fractured plains shown in the foreground, to the base of Maat Mons.

VENUS

Venus is similar in size to the Earth, but the conditions of it’s surface are worlds apart.

Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system. It’s thick atmosphere traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, creating a surface so hot it could melt lead!

What is the greenhouse effect?

This is when gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide trap the Sun’s heat causing an increase in global temperatures.

Discover more about the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere of Venus experiment below or follow along with the instructions as part of the ‘Terrestrial Planets’ activity pack.

The Atmosphere of Venus

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You can also try this experiment with a glass jar (that can be sealed). Check out the GeoBus time-lapse to see what happened when we tried out the ‘Atmosphere of Venus’ experiment to explore the warming effect of greenhouse gases. How much did the temperature increase? Why do you think this was?

Would you like to know more about the conditions of Venus’ surface and why it is so hot? Learn about all the rocky planets in ‘The Terrestrial Planets’ activity or download all the activities here.

 

Earth

The Earth is sometimes referred to as the blue planet, which isn’t surprising considering that oceans cover over 71% of the Earth’s surface.

This meteorite is roughly 4cm wide and entirely made of metals called iron and nickel. It is very dense and heavy. Iron meteorites are thought to be fragments of a core (the centre) of a big asteroid, similar to the Earth’s metallic core. It is shiny because it has been polished through handling, and is a favourite for its distinctly metallic smell!

Features such as the craters that can be seen on the surface of the Moon and Mercury can also be found on Earth. Compared to the Moon significantly less craters can be found on Earth, but why? Most craters on Earth have been destroyed over time through erosion by wind, rain, ice, and because the crust of the Earth is slowly destroyed by plate tectonics. One of the best preserved craters is Barringer Crater in Arizona, America which is nearly a mile wide! You can take an aerial view of Barringer Crater here.

Meteorites are solid rock-like fragments that have landed on Earth. They can come from asteroids, comets, meteoroids, the Moon or even Mars. Meteorites are extremely interesting to study because they can help scientists understand more about the origins of our Solar System and how the Earth formed.

Find out more about the structure of the Earth and how we find out about the different layers on the Earthquakes activity page here, or by downloading the Earthquakes activity pack here.

 

Mars

Mars, commonly referred to as the red planet, has all kinds of fascinating features from volcanoes to polar ice caps, weather and even large canyons.

Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, can be found on the surface of Mars. Olympus Mons stretches 25 km into the Martian sky (over 2.5x the height of Mount Everest) and spans 624 km in diameter. You can venture further into the topic of super-volcanoes on Mars here.

You will find lots of craters and volcanic features across Mars’ surface. In this activity you will create your own 3D glasses to use to explore the surface of Mars using NASA 3D images.

Ready to explore the surface of Mars in 3D? You’ll find lots of NASA 3D Images of the surface of Mars here on NASA’s website.

Now its time to try your hand at creating your own Martian volcano. Find instructions on how to create craters, take part in your own greenhouse gas experiment, build an erupting volcano and more in ‘The Terrestrial Planets’ activities below!

The Gas Giants

Jupiter

Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and can boast over 79 moons in orbit around it, including Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system. Jupiter also has the shortest day lasting only 10 hours, but one year on Jupiter would last a lengthy 11.86 Earth years.

A famous feature of Jupiter is the great red spot. This spot is actually a large storm (larger than the Earth) that has been raging for hundreds of years! Follow the instructions below to ‘create your own storm in a bottle’. In this activity you will use household items to create a storm in a bottle. Get creative and add glitter or food colouring to make yours unique.

Jupiter’s Storm in a Bottle

You will need: 2 x plastic bottles (of the same size), 1 x metal washer (or you can use a sports bottle lid), water and duct tape. To make your creation unique try adding glitter, food colouring or dish soap (but only 1 or 2 drops).

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A full length GeoBus ‘How to make Jupiter’s storm in a bottle’ video is coming soon!

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Saturn

Saturn is another gas giant in the Solar System, primarily made of hydrogen and helium, this planet is not very dense and would even float in water! One of the most famous features of Saturn are its extraordinary rings! The rings of Saturn stretch 282,000 km from end to end but are only 1 km thick!

Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Saturn's rings were named alphabetically in the order they were discovered. The narrow F ring marks the outer boundary of the main ring system.

The Ice Giants

Uranus and Neptune

Uranus and Neptune are collectively known as the ice giants and with temperatures reaching as low as -224.2 degrees Celsius on Uranus its not hard to see why! But, did you know that scientists suspect there may not be very much solid ice on these planets and that liquid oceans could be lurking beneath their clouds?

You have now been introduced to all the planets in our solar system, from the rocky inner planets, the massive gas giants and the cold ice giants. Each planet has a variety of unique features but there are also features you’ll find throughout such as craters, moons and even rings!

In this next activity you will design your own unique planet and label all it’s unique features. Help and guidance can be found in ‘The Ice Giants’ worksheet below but watch the video if you want to turn your planet into a fizzing bath bomb!

Safety precautions: Be careful when creating your bath bombs making sure to follow any safety instructions listed on your individual ingredients and wear gloves if you have any cuts or have sensitive skin. The bath bombs you create are not edible - but will create colourful displays in the bath, just make sure to rinse the bath afterwards to prevent any stains!


Other Things To Try!

Eager to learn more about Earth Sciences? Try out our other activities, worksheets, crosswords and more!