Solar System Basics

Sun

Inner Planets

Mercury

Mars

Venus

Earth

Asteroids

Outer Planets

JupiterSaturn

UranusNeptune

Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud

Comparisons

Inner Planets vs. Outer Planets

Asteroids vs. Comets

Inner vs. Outer Planets

SurfaceSur. CompositionMassDensity

AtmosphereAtm. Composition

Magnetic fieldRotation rate

MoonsRings

Asteroids vs. Comets

General Planetesimal PropertiesAsteroid Feature CometsRock and metal Surface Ice and rockBetween Mars & Jupiter Main Location Beyond NeptuneYes Moons Unknown0 to 630 miles Size (diameter) 0 to 1500 miles???

Formation of Our Solar System

The Solar Nebula Theory

A Star is Born

• After the core of the Sun ignited its nuclear fusion reaction, the lighter material like dust and gas was blown away into the outer solar system

Clearing the Inner Solar System

• Solar Wind – The Sun is constantly sending a stream of material (mostly hydrogen gas) outward at 0.5 to 2.0 million mph. This wind carries the lighter material out to the outer solar system

• Radiation Pressure – The intense light of the Sun exerts pressure on the lighter material sending it outward into the outer solar system

Heavy Bombardment

Main Asteroid belt

Kuiper Belt

The Kuiper Belt consist of the comets that formed from the same disk that formed the planets 4.6 billion years ago. This group of objects is the source of the short orbit comets. Orbital periods >200 years.

Kuiper Belt

Kuiper Belt

This is not entirely accurate. The spacing between these comet nuclei are millions of miles. Once in a while these cold, frozen objects are disturbed and get sent into the inner solar system where they develop a coma and sprout a long tail of gases and dust

Kuiper Belt

Notice the size of these objects compared to the Earth!

Kuiper Belt

Oort Cloud

• The Oort cloud is not part of the material that made it into the disk so these objects have random orbits that cross the plane. Their orbit can be more than 50,000 years and may appear from anywhere

Kuiper Belt

Scale Size Comparison

Scale Size Comparison

Scale Size Comparison

Scale Size Comparison

Scale Size Comparison

Scale Size Comparison