1. By Mason Easley
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2. The Solar System is a collection
of planets orbiting the Sun.
Among these planets is Earth, the
planet we call home.
Earth is the third planet from the Sun. See if
you can locate Earth on this map by clicking
on the correct planet above.

3. Great job! Earth is the small
blue ball located between the
planets of Venus and Mars. This
is where you are right now in the
Solar System.
Correc
t!
Hit the “Next” button to
continue your journey!
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4. Oops!
Sorry, but that is incorrect.
Please click the arrow to try again.
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5. The Sun
The Sun is the largest
object in the Solar System,
and the closest star to Earth.
All of the planets, including
Earth orbit this massive object
that provides heat and energy
that powers everything from the
weather, the tides, to even life
itself. Without the Sun, Earth and
the other planets would be lifele
spheres in space.
Click on the Sun to learn
more about it, or click
the arrow to continue
your journey.
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6. Mercury
Mercury is the closest
planet to the Sun. It has
an orbit of 88 days, and
it’s surface is heavily
cratered. In many ways, it
resembles Earth’s moon.
The side that faces the Sun
is extremely hot, yet its
night side is extremely
cold. Mercury is the
smallest planet in the
Solar System.
Click on Mercury to see it in
motion, or click the arrow to
continue your journey!
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7. Venus
Venus was once considered Earth’s
twin due to its size and proximity to
our home planet. Often associated w
beauty because of its brilliant
appearance in the evening sky, it was
later discovered to have an ugly
interior. The planet is a massive
furnace, with temperatures that
actually exceed that of the surface
Mercury.
Click on the planet to learn more
about the Atmosphere, Surface, and
Interior of the planet. Or, click on
the arrow to continue your journey
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8. Earth is the third planet from the
Sun, and the largest planet in the
Earth inner Solar System. Earth is the only
known planet that contains life. From
a distance, the planet appears as a
shimmering blue ball. This is because
of its massive oceans that cover the
majority (71%) of its surface.
Earth is a highly active planet. Tides
and currents keep its large oceans in
motion. Magma beneath its crust
causes continents to move from one
side of the planet to another. Varying
weather conditions shape and reshap
its surface.
Click the planet to learn more, or
click the arrow to continue your
journey.
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9. Mars Mars is the final inner planet. Famous
for its red color, and proximity to Eart
Mars has long been a target of human
exploration due to its distance from
Earth, favorable rotation and gravity, a
its fairly stable surface.
Scientists theorize that at one time, life
may have existed on its surface. Recent
discoveries of frozen water and possibl
fossilized remains of simple organisms
has only enhanced that belief. Mars wil
undoubtedly play a major part in futur
human space exploration.
Click on the planet to learn more, or cl
the arrow to complete you journey.
Next

10. The Sun
The Sun is the largest
object in the Solar System,
and the closest star to Earth.
All of the planets, including
Earth orbit this massive object
that provides heat and energy
that powers everything from the
weather, the tides, to even life
itself. Without the Sun, Earth and
the other planets would be lifele
spheres in space.
Click on the Sun to learn
more about it, or click
the arrow to continue
your journey.
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11. As mentioned before, the
Mercury
entire surface of Mercury
is heavily cratered. Due to
a lack of atmosphere,
some of the craters are
millions of years old.
Though it appears to be
spinning quickly in this
picture, the average day
on Mercury lasts 59 earth
days!
Click on the arrow to
continue your journey!
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12. Venus
Venus was once considered Earth’s
twin due to its size and proximity to
our home planet. Often associated w
beauty because of its brilliant
appearance in the evening sky, it was
later discovered to have an ugly
Atmosphere interior. The planet is a massive
furnace, with temperatures that
actually exceed that of the surface
Surface Mercury.
Click on the planet to learn more
Interior
about the Atmosphere, Surface, and
Interior of the planet. Or, click on
the arrow to continue your journey
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13. Venus Venus is covered by a thick layer of cloud
These clouds are made mostly of sulfuric
acid and are very fast moving, going up
to 220 miles per hour (350 km per hour).
The clouds rotate 60 times faster than th
planet rotates. The clouds circle Venus in
four Earth days; the planet rotates aroun
its axis in 243 Earth days. These quickly-
moving clouds distribute the heat around
the planet, making the night side hot also
V-shaped cloud patterns are visible in the
middle latitudes when the clouds are
examined in ultraviolet light.
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14. Venus
These are actual images from the
surface of Venus taken from
the Russian probe Venara 9 which
reached Venus’ surface in 1976. It
was the first probe to show images
from another planet’s surface. Late
probes mapped out Venus’ surface,
revealing a planet mostly shaped b
volcanic activity.
Venus’ surface temperature is very
hot, with the average temperature o
about 864 degrees. Needless to say,
nothing can survive on Venus’ hot
surface.
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15. Venus
Like all planets within the inner
Solar System, Venus is probably
Crust made up of a rocky surface, a large
mantle, and a metal core. However, sin
no probes have actually studied Venus
Mantle Interior, the planet’s interior composi
is largely unknown. Due to its
comparative size to the Earth, it is
Core assumed that Venus’ interior is similar
Future probes will solve this mystery
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16. Mars Mars is the final inner planet. Famous
for its red color, and proximity to Eart
Mars has long been a target of human
exploration due to its distance from
Earth, favorable rotation and gravity, a
its fairly stable surface.
Scientists theorize that at one time, life
may have existed on its surface. Recent
discoveries of frozen water and possibl
fossilized remains of simple organisms
has only enhanced that belief. Mars wil
Exploration undoubtedly play a major part in futur
human space exploration.
Click on the planet to learn more, or cl
the arrow to complete you journey.
Next

17. Earth is the third planet from the
Sun, and the largest planet in the
Earth inner Solar System. Earth is the only
known planet that contains life. From
a distance, the planet appears as a
shimmering blue ball. This is because
of its massive oceans that cover the
majority (71%) of its surface.
Earth is a highly active planet. Tides
and currents keep its large oceans in
Climate motion. Magma beneath its crust
causes continents to move from one
side of the planet to another. Varying
The Moon weather conditions shape and reshap
its surface.
Click the planet to learn more, or
click the arrow to continue your
journey.
Next

18. Earth
Earth (and most planets) have
an elliptical orbit (as opposed
to a circular orbit). The Earth’s
orbit lasts for 365.24 days, and
the
planet spins on its axis every
24 hours. The Earth’s distance
from the Sun creates a fairly
temperate climate that has
allowed life to flourish on its
surface. Scientists are now
searching the cosmos looking
for planets in positions similar
to the Earth’s to find planets
that can support life.
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19. The Earth has the widest
Earth
range of climates within
the solar system. Due to
its temperate climate, the
planet has numerous
climate zones. Life exists
on every portion of the
planet. From the cold
depths of the ocean, to the
scorching desert sands.
Life has existed on the
surface of Earth for
millions of years. Evolution
and extinction has caused
countless species of animal
and plant life to appear, and
die out.
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20. The Moon is the Earth’s only
The Moon natural satellite, and is the most
prominent object in the sky besides
the Sun. The Moon has played a
vital part in Earth’s development. Not
only has the Moon’s gravity slowed
down Earth’s spin, but the Moon’s
gravity also manipulates the tides
(along with the Sun). It is theorized
that without the Moon’s influence,
life would be far different and far
more violent on Earth. Some
scientists even believe that life could
not exist on Earth without the
Moon’s influence.
Click on the Moon to learn more,
or click the arrow to go back.
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21. The Moon is the Earth’s only
The Moon natural satellite, and is the most
prominent object in the sky besides
the Sun. The Moon has played a
vital part in Earth’s development. Not
only has the Moon’s gravity slowed
down Earth’s spin, but the Moon’s
gravity also manipulates the tides
(along with the Sun). It is theorized
Phases that without the Moon’s influence,
life would be far different and far
more violent on Earth. Some
Tides scientists even believe that life could
not exist on Earth without the
Moon’s influence.
Click on the Moon to learn more,
or click the arrow to go back.
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22. The Moon
On the surface, people see the Moon in
phases. Phases are caused by the Sun’s
light, and the Earth’s shadow. The lunar
are as follows; New Moon, Waxing
Crescent, Quarter, Gibbous, Waning
Crescent, and Full. The Dark phase is when
the Moon cannot be seen on the surface.
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23. The Moon
The Moon is tidal locked with the
Earth. In other words, the Moon does
not spin on its axis like the Earth does.
Because of this, only one side of the Moon
Is seen on the Earth’s surface. The “dark
side” of the Moon is shrouded in darkness,
and was only recently explored by
astronauts.
On Earth, we experience tides. Tides are
when the Moon’s gravity pulls on the Earth
oceans, causing a rise or fall of sea level t
lasts about six hours. There are two low ti
and two low tides every day. The picture to
The left shows how this works.
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24. Mars The Martian surface is a barren
desert full of dust and large
rocks.
Huge dust storms roll over the
surface, and the largest
mountains in the solar system
dominate the landscape.
The temperature on the Martian
surface is cold. Averaging about -
67f. However, temperatures at the
Equator can reach as high as 95f.
Mars’ thin atmosphere causes
these temperature extremes.
Due to large amounts of human
exploration, Mars has one of
most photographed surfaces
outside of Earth.
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25. Mars
The belief in life on the red
planet has been a powerful theme
throughout popular culture for
decades, and is a large reason the
current push for Martian
exploration is strong.
The picture to the left is a map
from the 1880s depicting what
the Martian surface was believed
to be like. The lines on the Martian
Surface were once believed to be
canals created by an advanced race o
aliens. Future space exploration de-
bunked myths about an advanced
civilization living on Mars.
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26. Martian exploration has been
Mars ongoing. Currently, several
probes are orbiting the planet,
or on the surface mapping it.
Future manned trips to the red
planet are in the works by
numerous countries. Most agree
that the first manned Martian
mission could take place as early
as 2030.
One of the major hurdles
is the question of long-term life liv
outside of Earth’s gravity. Mars is
about half the size of Earth, and thu
has less gravity, and it takes about
six months to reach Mars in modern
spacecraft.
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27. Beyond Mars lies the outer Solar
System. These planets are far
And beyond…. different than the ones we just
explored. Instead of rocky surfaces,
these worlds are massive gas giants,
surrounded by dozens of moons, and
covered with huge swirling clouds
of storms. We will explore these
worlds at a later time.
Their size and beauty showcase the
wonders of our solar system. From
the rocky deserts to firey surfaces o
lava, to brilliant blue oceans, our So
system is full of amazing things to
see and explore.
Until next time, take a look up into
The sky. You will enjoy what you see
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