Building Our Solar System Model

Exploring Our Cosmic Home

What Makes Up Our Solar System?

The Sun - our central star Eight planets in specific order Moons orbiting planets Asteroids and comets Dwarf planets like Pluto

Think About Scale

If Earth were the size of a marble, how big would Jupiter be? How far apart would the planets really be?

Planet Order and Characteristics

Inner vs Outer Planets

{"left":"Rocky and small\nClose to the Sun\nFew or no moons\nMercury, Venus, Earth, Mars","right":"Gas giants\nFar from the Sun\nMany moons and rings\nJupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune"}

Scale Model Challenge

Work in groups of 3 students Each group gets 1-2 planets to create Use styrofoam balls or paper circles Place planets at correct scaled distances Prepare to present your planets

Building Our Model

Size scaling vs distance scaling Why we can't do both accurately Focus on relative planet sizes Use measuring tape for orbit positions Sun would be too big for our classroom!

Reflection and Next Steps

One thing I learned today about our solar system is... Share your answer with a partner One question I still have about space is... Share your answer with a partner Keep exploring the wonders of space!