the solar system. how should we categorize the objects in the solar system?
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Our Star, the SunTRANSCRIPT
The Solar System
How should we categorize the objects in the Solar System?
Our Star, the Sun
Our Star, the Sun
The Sun is the Largest Object in the Solar System
• The Sun contains more than 99.85% of the total mass of the solar system
• If you put all the planets in the solar system, they would not fill up the volume of the Sun
• 110 Earths or 10 Jupiters fit across the diameter of the Sun
How big is the Sun?
Tutorial: Sun Size (pg – 63)
• Work with a partner!• Read the instructions and questions carefully.• Discuss the concepts and your answers with one
another. Take time to understand it now!!!!• Come to a consensus answer you both agree on.• If you get stuck or are not sure of your answer, ask
another group.
Debrief Tutorial: Sun Size
• The Sun is HUGE!• Any questions?
The Sun has a diameter of approximately 1.4 million kilometers. Roughly how many Earths would fit across the diameter of the
Sun?
10 100
1000
1000
0
1 milli
on
3%
80%
8%6%3%
1. 102. 1003. 10004. 10,0005. 1 million
The Sun has a diameter of approximately 1.4 million kilometers. Roughly how many Earths would fit across the diameter of the
Sun?
10 100
1000
1000
0
1 milli
on
3%
80%
8%6%3%
1. 102. 1003. 10004. 10,0005. 1 million
If you were constructing a scale model of the solar system that used a Sun that was the size of a basketball (~ 12”
diameter), which of the following lengths would most closely approximate the scaled distance between Earth and the Sun?
3 fee
t (len
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u...
10 fe
et (h
eight
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100 f
eet (h
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300 f
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ength
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.
6%19%
69%
7%
1. 3 feet (length of an outstretched arm)2. 10 feet (height of a basketball goal)3. 100 feet (height of an 8 story building)4. 300 feet (length of a football field)
If you were constructing a scale model of the solar system that used a Sun that was the size of a basketball (~ 12”
diameter), which of the following lengths would most closely approximate the scaled distance between Earth and the Sun?
3 fee
t (len
gth of an o
u...
10 fe
et (h
eight
of a b...
100 f
eet (h
eight o
f an ...
300 f
eet (l
ength
of a f..
.
6%19%
69%
7%
1. 3 feet (length of an outstretched arm)2. 10 feet (height of a basketball goal)3. 100 feet (height of an 8 story building)4. 300 feet (length of a football field)
Comparisons among the nine planets show distinct similarities and significant
differences
How should we divide the Solar System?
How should we divide the Solar System?
How should we divide the Solar System?
How should we divide the Solar System?
Jupiter Mercury
Mercury Jupiter
Mercury Jupiter
• Which of these is Earth-like?• Which of these is Jupiter-like?• Or are they the same (both Earth-like
or Jupiter-like)?
How should we divide the Solar System?
The Inner Planets(Family Portrait)
The Outer Planets(Family Portrait)
Inner (Terrestrial) Planets• Mercury• Venus• Earth• Mars• Characteristics
– Small– Rocky– Very close to the Sun– Have few moons– Have no rings
Mercury
Photographs from Mariner
10 reveal Mercury’s lunar-like
surface
Mercury Moon
The surface of Venus is
completely hidden beneath
permanent cloud cover
The Venusian Surface
Venus is covered with gently rolling hills and numerous volcanoes
EARTH
• More on this planet later
Mars, as seen from Earth
Mars, as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope
Valles Marineris is as big as the entire United States of America
Enormous shield volcanoes
Ice caps dominate the poles during different times of the year
Olympus Mons - the largest volcano in the solar system has a base larger than the state of Arizona
Early space probes to Mars found no canals but did find some
controversial features
Surface features indicate that water once flowed on Mars
Ohio River valley on Earth
River channels on Mars
Viking I Lander Picture from 1976
1999 Picture from the Mars
Pathfinder Lander
Note the remote-control rover,
Sojourner, next to a Martian rock
Mars Water/Ice Discovered
Prather • Offerdahl • Slater
Activities Manual
The Martian meteorite found in Antarctica has not provided conclusive
evidence about life on Mars
2004 testing Opportunity Lander at JPL
2004 “Opportunity” Landing Site – and tracks
2004 “Opportunity” picture of Crater Wall
2004 “Opportunity” drilling holes in crater wall with robotic
2004 Spirit tracks back to landing site
Most asteroids orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter
In general, asteroids are small
Asteroid Ida and its tiny moon, Dactyl
Outer Planets
• Jupiter• Saturn• Uranus• Neptune• Pluto
• Enormous• Gaseous• Far from Sun• Separated by large
distances• Have ring systems• Have many moons
Outer (Jovian) Planets
Inner planets are vastly different than outer planets in terms of orbital distances
The Outer Planets(Family Portrait)
Jupiter is the Largest of the Gas Giant Planets
Besides being the largest planet,
Jupiter is probably best known for its
Great Red Spot - a hurricane-like
storms that has been observed ever since the invention of the
telescope.
Jupiter has four large moons and lots of small ones
Io’s surface is sculpted by volcanic activity
Europa may harbor
liquid water below its
icy surface
Ganymede is larger than Mercury
Callisto wears the scars of a huge asteroid
impact
Saturn has the most extensive ring system in the solar system
Saturn’s spectacular rings are composed of fragments of ice and ice-coated rock
Titan is Saturn’s largest moon
Titan has a thick, opaque
atmosphere rich in nitrogen,
methane and other hydrocarbons
(including ethane, acetylene, ethylene,
and propane)
Saturn and Jupiter share the same basic structure
Uranus has a hazy atmosphere with
few clouds
A system of rings and satellites revolves around Uranus
Uranus’ tilt gives it very exaggerated seasons
Uranus’ odd moon Miranda
Brilliant blue Neptune has a giant storm too
Neptune’s Rings
Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, was probably captured by Neptune’s gravity
Uranus and Neptune have similar interiors
Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 by comparing photographs taken
a few days apart.
Pluto and its moon, Charon, are about the same
size
PLANET “X”!!!
• In 2005, after a search of about half of the sky and the discovery of dozens of objects almost the size of Pluto, we found 2003 UB313, the first object larger than Pluto and the largest object found in the solar system since 1848
Collisions dominated the early solar system
• dust collects together into planetesimals• planetesimals collect together into protoplanets• Protoplanets gather up left over debris and
became planets
The solar system formed from a cloud of cold gas and dust called the solar nebula about 4.6 billion
years ago
The planets formed by the accretion of planetesimals and the accumulation of gases
in the solar nebula
Which planet formed at the furthest location from the Sun where it was hot enough to boil water ?
A. MercuryB. MarsC. JupiterD. NeptuneE. None of the above
Which planet formed at the furthest location from the Sun where it was hot enough to boil water ?
A. MercuryB. MarsC. JupiterD. NeptuneE. None of the above
Tutorial: Temperature and Formation of Our Solar System – p. 57
• Work with a partner!• Read the instructions and questions carefully.• Discuss the concepts and your answers with one
another. Take time to understand it now!!!!• Come to a consensus answer you both agree on and
write complete thoughts into your LT.• If you get stuck or are not sure of your answer, ask
another group.
The standard model of solar system formation offers what explanation for the different compositions of the terrestrial and
Jovian planets?1. During the condensation, the heavier elements tended to sink nearer
the Sun and only provided enough material to build the relatively small terrestrial planets.
2. During the collapse of the gaseous nebula, most of the material tended to collect far from the Sun because of the large centrifugal forces, which provided the necessary material to build the large Jovian planets
3. The large gravitational forces of Jupiter tended to prevent plant formation in the inner solar system and eventually attracted most of the material into the region of the Jovian planets
4. The terrestrial planets were formed near the Sun where, because of the high temperatures, only heavier elements were able to condense
The standard model of solar system formation offers what explanation for the different compositions of the terrestrial and Jovian planets?
1. During the condensation, the heavier elements tended to sink nearer the Sun and only provided enough material to build the relatively small terrestrial planets.
2. During the collapse of the gaseous nebula, most of the material tended to collect far from the Sun because of the large centrifugal forces, which provided the necessary material to build the large Jovian planets
3. The large gravitational forces of Jupiter tended to prevent plant formation in the inner solar system and eventually attracted most of the material into the region of the Jovian planets
4. The terrestrial planets were formed near the Sun where, because of the high temperatures, only heavier elements were able to condense
Which planet formed closest to the Sun at temperatures near the Sun below the freezing
point of water?
1. Venus2. Earth 3. Mars4. Jupiter5. Saturn
Which planet formed closest to the Sun at temperatures near the Sun below the freezing
point of water?
Jupiter
Astronomers have discovered massive gas giant planets like Jupiter orbiting companion stars at closer than .7 AU (about distance of Venus’s orbit) Why don’t astronomers
believe that these gas giants originally formed at these locations?
1. The planets’ gravity would have been too large to form that close to the star
2. The temperature in th eearly solar nebula was too high at these distance
3. Their orbital periods are too long for them to be located that close to their companion stars
4. A young star’s solar wind would have blown the planets farther away.
Astronomers have discovered massive gas giant planets like Jupiter orbiting companion stars at closer than .7 AU (about distance of Venus’s orbit) Why don’t astronomers
believe that these gas giants originally formed at these locations?
The temperature in the early solar nebula was too high at these distance
Vagabonds of the Solar System
Comet Kohoutek and Comet West
Comets have two tails
Comets often have two tails: a thin ION tail and a curving DUST tail
ion tail
dust tailcoma
The anatomy of a comet
Comets lack tails until they enter the inner solar system. A comet’s tails always point away from the Sun, no matter
which way the comet is moving!
Anatomy of a comet
15 km long by 8 km wideComet Halley nucleus
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the dusty tail debris left by a passing comet. Dust particles burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere, like bright light shooting from a single point in the sky.