Amazing Space- Graphic Organizer: Rocky and gas planets compared

	Homepage
	A Hubble gallery
	Servicing Mission 4
	Online explorations
	The Star Witness news
	Capture the cosmos Astronomy materials, by topic
	Tonight's Sky
	Homework help

Capture the cosmos > Solar system > Graphic Organizer: Rocky and gas planets compared

Graphic Organizer:

Comparison of rocky and gas planets

Teacher PDF (91KB) As presented below

Student PDF (85KB) Pictures and blank chart

Rocky planets	Gas planets
Example: Mars as seen in 2003	Example: Uranus and its faint rings
Also known as the terrestrial planets	Also known as the Jovian planets
Include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars	Include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
Composed of rock with solid surfaces upon which spacecraft can land	Composed of thick, gaseous atmospheres with liquid interiors; spacecraft cannot land on these planets
Have thin or no atmospheres	Have thick atmospheres
Travel around the Sun in nearly circular paths	Travel around the Sun in nearly circular paths
Found close to the Sun in the warmer region of the solar system	Found far from the Sun in a colder region of our solar system
Small in size	Large in size
Have few or no moons	Have many moons
Do not have ring systems	Have ring systems

Capture the cosmos > Solar system > Graphic Organizer: Rocky and gas planets compared