Solar System: Inner and Outer Planets

Introduction

Before you can begin your space travel as an astronaut, you need to learn about the planetary bodies that are capable of travel. In this training module, we will look at the inner and outer planets of our solar system and learn about characteristics of each one.

Essential Questions

What characteristics separate the inner planets from the outer planets in our solar system?
Which planets could support life?

Key Terms

Coriolis Effect - the apparent deflection of a body in motion with respect to a planet, as seen by an observer on the planet

Dwarf Planet - a celestial body resembling a small planet but lacking certain criteria that are required for it to be classified as a planet

Geyser - a jet or stream of liquid or ice

Giant Red Spot - a large long-lived oval feature, south of Jupiter's equator, that is an anticyclonic disturbance in the atmosphere

Greenhouse Effect - the trapping of the Sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to gases in the atmosphere

Jet Streams - a narrow band of very strong air currents encircling a planet

Liquid Metallic Hydrogen -a state of hydrogen which results when it is sufficiently compressed to form a liquid and conduct electricity

Planet - a celestial body moving in an elliptical orbit around a star that meets four criteria

Retrograde - moving backwards

Solar Day - the time between the high point of the Sun's transit to the next occurrence of this position

Solar System - the collection of planets and their moons in orbit around a sun, together with smaller bodies such as asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets

Vortex - a mass of whirling fluids or air

Wind Shear - variations in wind velocity occurring along a direction at right angles to the wind's direction

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