our solar system. the sun for each of the elliptical orbits of the planets, the sun is found at one...
TRANSCRIPT
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
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The Sun
• For each of the elliptical orbits of the planets, the Sun is found at one (or the other!) of the foci
• 99.85% mass of Solar System
• Source of solar wind and space weather
Inner Planets
• “Terrestrial Planets”• Rocky• Dense• Metal cores (iron)• Thin, or NO atmosphere
Asteroid Belt
• “Minor planets” or “planetoids” less than 1000 km across
• Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter
• Occasionally run into Earth and other planets (oops)
Ida
Outer Planets
• Large!
• “Gas Giants”
• No solid surface
• May have a small solid core
• Tumultuous atmospheres - rapid winds, large storms
• Rotate relatively quickly
Kuiper Belt
• Disk of debris at the edge of our Solar System
• Pluto is a KB Object (sorry!)
• Source of short-period comets
• Kuiper Belt is found 30-100AU from Sun
Oort Cloud• Sphere consisting of billions of comets, &dust• 50,000 AU from Sun• Long-period comets (random time and direction)
Comets
• Dirty snowballs - small objects of ice, gas, dust, tiny traces of organic material
Comet Parts
As a comet approaches the Sun, their ice SUBLIMATES This gas and dust forms the COMA As the comet orbits, the gasses and dust stream behind, forming the TAIL(s)
Inner Planets!
“My Very Excellent Mother…..”
• Smallest planet
• Closest to Sun
• Fastest orbital velocity
• Large temperature changes: -173 to 427 ºC (-300 to 800 ºF)
• No atmosphere-lots of craters!
Mercury
Venus • Nearly the same size as Earth
• Slowest rotation of any planet (243 days)
• Spins backwards
• Extreme greenhouse effect
• Very thick atmosphere, mostly CO2!
• Surface pressure is 100 times higher than Earth’s
• Hotter than Mercury: 377 to 487 C/ 710 to 908 F
Where Do Atmospheres Come From?
Volcanism!!!
Pancake Domes on Venus - What formed these features?
Earth7900 mile (12756 km)
diameter
23 degree axis tilt (seasons!)
Surface temps –73 to 48 C
(-100 to 120F)
Thick atmosphere, mild greenhouse effect
Liquid water – lots! - at surface
Very cold: -117 to -27 F Thin atmosphere: 95% CO2, & 3% N No liquid water at surface, but features indicate that there once was! Two small moons: Phobos & Deimos
Mars
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The Gas Giants
• 11x Earth diameter• Methane, water,
ammonia, rock • Rocky core – liquid
metallic hydrogen – electrical conductor, generates magnetic field
Jupiter
Giant Red Spot:at least 300 years old3 x size of EarthWinds up to 400 km / hr
• 9x the size of Earth
• Water, methane, ammonia and "rock“
• -290 F
• Rings – 185,00 miles wide /2 mi thick
• Water ice in rings
• 56 moons and counting
Saturn
Rather chilly in the rings
Red: -261 F Blue -333 F
Green -298 F
Dirty Snow
Turquoise= water iceRed = “dirty”
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Uranus
Uranus• 4x the size of Earth• Blue from methane absorption of red light (atmosphere) atmosphere has mostly hydrogen and helium• -350 F at surface• Spins on an axis inclined almost 90 degrees
Keplar’s 3rd Law:⁌The further out a planet is from the Sun, the longer its period of REVOLUTION.⁌Uranus is pretty far out there!
Neptune
Neptune
• Ices and rock - 15% H and little He
• Methane atmosphere (blue!)
• Uniform through out; small rocky core?
• Had storm “Great Dark Spot” MIA since Voyager 2
• Pretty Good White Spot (Scooter) zipped around every 16 hours….
• 4 Rings – unknown composition
• 13 moons
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Pluto
Is Pluto a Planet?
Yes No
It has always been considered a planet
Very smallVery elliptical orbitOut of plane of eclipticSame material as Kuiper belt objectsFound other “non-planets” that were larger
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