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SOLAR SYSTEM
SYLVIA MÁRQUEZ
INTRODUCTIONImagine a place where the sun shines 11 times brighter than in Earth. What would happen if scientists try to visit and investigate more about a planet such as Mercury? What would they do to protect a spacecraft sent to this planet? That’s what engineers had to do when designing the Mercury MESSENGER spacecraft. They covered the ship with sunshades that could protect the instruments from temperatures that reach 370°. The sunshades were made of a ceramic fabric from different elements: silicon, aluminum, and boron. This fabric was resistant to heat and reflected the sun’s heat away from the spacecraft, keeping it at a comfortable room temperature of 20°
ASSESS
• Why did engineers need to design a sunshade for Mercury MESSENGER?
• What other challenges do you think there would be for engineers designing a spacecraft to travel to Mercury?
• What challenges did engineers have to overcome designing a ship for a mission to Neptune?
VOCABULARY• radiation zone
• convection zone
• photosphere
• chromosphere
• corona
• solar wind
• sunspot
• prominence
• solar flare
• terrestrial planets
• greenhouse effect
• geocentric
• heliocentric
• ellipse
• solar system
• astronomical unit (UA)
• planet
• planetesimals
• core
• nuclear fusion
VOCABULARY
• gas giant
• ring
• asteroid belt
• Oort cloud
• Kuiper belt
• comet
• coma
• nucleus
• asteroid
• meteoroid
• meteor
• satellite
• meteorite
MODELS OF THE EARTH
• Many ancient scientists, including the Chinese, Mayans, and Greeks noticed that the stars were aligned in a specific pattern that didn’t change throughout time. Although stars seemed to move, they stayed in the same position relative to one another.
• Many thought that Earth was the center of the universe
• Chinese believed Earth was under a dome of stars
• Greek astronomers believed Earth was inside rotating spheres nested inside each other, these spheres contained the stars and planets
GEOCENTRIC MODEL• The theory of Earth as the center of the universe is known as the geocentric
model. Ge is the Greek word that means earth and centric means center
• The geocentric model states that Earth is the center of the revolving stars and planets
• About A.D. 140, the Greek astronomer Ptolemy further developed the geocentric model
• Like earlier Greek, he believed Earth was the center of the universe
• However, in his model, the planets moved in small circles carried along in bigger circles
• This model explained the motion observed in the sky fairly accurately
• This model was accepted for nearly 1,500 years after Ptolemy
HELIOCENTRIC MODEL
• Not everybody believed in Ptolemy’s model, an ancient Greek scientist Aristarchus developed a sun- centered model called a heliocentric system
• Helios is the Greek word for sun
• In a heliocentric system, Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun
• This model was not well received in ancient times, because people couldn’t accept that Earth was not the center of the universe
COPERNICUS REVOLUTION
• The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus further developed the heliocentric model
• Copernicus was able to work out the arrangements of the known planets and how they move around the sun
• He published his theory in 1543 and he revolutionized the science of astronomy
• At first many people refused to accept his theory, they needed more evidence
BRAHE AND KEPLER
• In late 1500s, the Dutch astronomer Tycho Brahe made much more accurate observations to Copernicus model
• With the help of his assistant, Johannes Kepler, they discovered that planets did not move in circular orbits
• After years of observations, Kepler found that the orbit of each planet is an ellipse
• An ellipse is an oval shape
GALILEO’S EVIDENCE
• In the 1500s and early in the 1600s people still believed in the geocentric model
• Evidence collected by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei, gradually convinced other that the heliocentric model was correct
• In 1610, Galileo used a telescope to discover four moons around Jupiter
• These moons proved that not everything in the sky revolved around Earth
• He also discovered that Venus goes through a series of phases similar to the moon’s, this could not be possible if Venus and the sun circled around Earth
Ancient Greek Model Ptolemy‘s Geocentric Model Copernicus‘s
Heliocentric Model
WHAT MAKES UP THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
Our solar system consists of the sun, the planets, their moons, and a variety of smaller objects. The sun is the center and the rest is orbiting around the sun. The force of gravity holds the solar system together.
DISTANCES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Distances in the solar system are so large that they cannot be easily measured in meters or kilometers.
Instead, scientists use a unit called astronomical unit (AU) equal to the average distance between Earth and the sun.
The distance between Earth and the sun is 150,000,000 kilometers
The solar system extends more than 100,000 AU from the sun.
CONVERTING UNITS
• To convert from astronomical units (AU) to kilometers (km), you can multiply the number of AU by 150,000,000
• Calculate: Mars is 1.52 AU from the sun. About how many kilometers is Mars from the sun?
• The answer is 228,000,000 km
• If you know the distance of the object from the sun, you can find its distance in AU.
• For example: Let’s say that there is a moon that is at a distance of 352,000,000 from the sun. Find the distance in AU.
• The answer is: 2.35 AU
AVERAGE DISTANCE OF THE PLANETS
Find the distance of each planet in kilometers
THE SUN
It is the center of the solar system. It is about 99.85 percent of the mass of the whole solar system. Despite being more than a million times the volume of Earth, our sun is a very ordinary mid-sized star. There are stars that have volumes thousand times greater than our sun. This is a good thing, because large stars tend to burn and die quickly, but our sun will last for five billion more years.
PLANETS
• There are many different objects in the solar system
• In 2006, astronomers decided that a planet must be round, orbit the Sun, and have cleared out the region of the solar system along its orbit
• The first four planets are small and are mostly made of rock and metal
• The last four planets are very large and are mostly made of gas and liquid
• Each planet has a “day” and a “year”
• Its day is the time it takes to rotate on its axis, this is known as rotation
• Its year is the time it takes to orbit the Sun, this is also known as revolution
DWARF PLANETS• For many years, Pluto was considered the ninth planet in the solar
system, but Pluto shares the area of its orbit with other objects
• Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet
• A dwarf planet is an object that orbits the Sun and has enough gravity to be spherical, but has no cleared the area of its orbit
• There are five dwarf planets in our solar system: Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Eris, and Haumea
• As scientists observe more distant objects, the number of dwarf planets might grow
DWARF PLANETS
HOW DID THE SOLAR SYSTEM FORM?
• Scientists think the solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a cloud of hydrogen, helium, rock, ice, and other materials pulled together by gravity
• The process began as gravity pulled the cloud’s material together
• The cloud collapsed and started to rotate, forming a disk
• Most of the material was pulled to the center
• As the material got tightly packed, it got hotter and the pressure increased
• Eventually, the temperature and pressure became so high that hydrogen atoms were pressed together to form helium
• This process, called nuclear fusion, releases large amounts of energy
• Once nuclear fusion began, the Sun gave off light and became a stable star
• Sunlight is one form of energy produced by fusion
THE PLANETS FORM
• Away from the Sun, planets began to form as gravity pulled rock, ice, and gas together
• The rock and ice formed small bodies called planetesimals
• Overtime, planetesimals collided and stuck together, and eventually, they combined to form all the other objects in the solar system
ORDER OF THE PLANETS FROM THE SUN
Inner Planets
• Most water evaporated, preventing ice forming
• Close to the Sun
• Comparatively, low in mass
• Small and rocky
• Gravity was too weak to hold on to light gases such as hydrogen and helium
Outer Planets• Greater distance from the Sun
• Cooler temperatures
• Ice formed, adding mass
• Gravity was strong enough to hold hydrogen and helium, forming the gas giant planets
• Beyond the gas giants, temperatures were even lower
• Ice and other materials produced comets and dwarf planets
WHAT’S IN THEIR NAMES
• Where in the solar system could you find Lewis and Clark’s guide Sacagawea, artist Frida Kahlo, writer Helen Keller, and abolitionist Sojourner Truth all in the same place? On Venus! In fact, almost every feature on Venus is named for a real, fictional, or mythological woman.
• In general, the person or people who discovered an object or feature in the solar system get to choose its name. But scientists have agreed on some guidelines. Features on Mercury are named for authors, artists, and musicians. Many craters on Mars are named for towns on Earth. And most craters on Earth’s moon are named for astronomers, physicists, and mathematicians.
MERCURY
• Diameter: 4, 879 km.
• Period of Revolution: 88 days
• Period of Rotation: 58.9 days
• Moons: 0
• Rings: 0
• It’s the smallest terrestrial planet and the closest to the Sun
• Temperature can raise to 430° to below -170°
• Its interior is probably made up mainly of the dense metal iron
• It has plains and craters on its surface
• Has no water and not much atmosphere
• Its gravity is weak
• Astronomers detected small amount of sodium and other gases around the planet
• During the day, its temperature reaches high numbers, but because there is so little atmosphere, the planet’s heat escapes at night
VENUS
• Diameter: 12, 104km.
• Period of Revolution: 224.7 days,
backwards
• Period of Rotation: 244 days
• Moons: 0
• Rings: 0
• Astronomers believed the weird rotation was because the planet was impacted by another large planet
• It is known as Earth’s twin sister for its size
• It has a dense atmosphere made up by carbon dioxide and nitrogen
• Has a lot of volcanoes
• It is the hottest planet of the solar system
• Its average temperature is 424 °
• Heavy clouds of sulfuric acid cover the planet
• Scientists believe it doesn’t have any moon because it was hit by another planet
• Discovered by Galileo Galilei, and he also discovered it has phases as our moon
• No temperature differences between day and night
• Most corrosive planet of the solar system
• It has the longest day of the solar system
• Diameter: 12, 756 km.
• Period of Revolution: 1 year or 365.3days
• Period of Rotation: 1 day (24 hours)
• Moons: 1
• Rings: 0
Earth
• Every four years is a leap year, one day is added to the calendar
• It is the only planet that is not named after a Greek or Roman god
• The Moon is one of the largest natural satellites in the solar system, it is dark even though it looks white
• Plato believed the planet was a sphere
• Gravity is not distributed equally
• Magnetic poles could switch
• Mount Everest is the highest elevation
• Diameter: 6, 794 km.
• Period of Revolution: 687 days
• Period of Rotation: 1.03 days or 24 hours
39 minutes
• Moons: 2
• Rings: 0
Mars
• Its two moons: Phobos and Deimos
• A person that weighs 100 pounds on Earth, will weigh 38 pounds on this planet
• It was discovered by Copernicus
• In 1659, Christian Huggens discovered a strange feature on the planet known as SyrtisMajor. It is a dark spot located on one of its southern quadrants
• It has volcanoes, plate tectonics, and liquid water
• Ancient cultures believed the planet was a star
• Its tallest mountain is Olympus Mons, that is three times the size of Mount Everest, and it is the tallest mountain/volcano in the solar system
• Hellas basin is a huge crater in the southern hemisphere
• Has the largest dust storm, it can last months and can cover the whole planet
• Doesn’t have rings, but scientists believe that in the next 20-40 million years its moons will be turned into rings by gravitational forces
• It looks red because of the iron oxide or iron rusting
• Its color has to have formed a long time ago when there was liquid water
• Scientists believe there was a flood billions of years ago, and because of its cold temperature and thin atmosphere, water in its liquid stage doesn’t last too long
• It has four seasons
• If a human being goes to Mars, its oxygen will turn into bubbles and explode because of its thin atmosphere
• 68 missions had been launched to Mars
• Diameter: 142, 984 km.
• Period of Revolution: 11.9 years
• Period of Rotation: 9.9 hours
• Moons: 63
• Rings: 4
Jupiter
• More than 1,000 Earth’s fit in Jupiter
• It has rings not easily seen, made out if dust
• Atmosphere made out of hydrogen and helium
• Its surface is covered in thick, red, brown, yellow, and white clouds
• It has not surface
• It’s frigid even in its warmest weather
• Heat is driven by its interior energy, not by the sun
• Known as the solar system vacuum cleaner
• It’s believed that it is a failing star, that it was 80x bigger
• Of its 67 moons, only 63 are official, the most important ones are: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Calisto
• Io=more than 40 volcanoes
• Europa=frozen world, maybe has life
• Callisto=most impacted and full of craters in the whole solar system
• Ganymede=bigger than Mercury
• Diameter: 120, 536 km.
• Period of Revolution: 29.5 years
• Period of Rotation: 10.7 hours
• Moons: 61
• Rings: 7
Saturn
• Doesn’t have any landmarks because it is made out of gas
• Its composition is mainly hydrogen and helium
• Has a solid core because it has seismic waves
• Discovered by Galileo
• Visible at naked eye
• It has hexagon poles
• 9x wider than Earth’s diameter
• Made from rock and ice
• Its rings have a colorful image when the sunrays touch them
• There are seven levels of rings divided from order of being discovered
• Its most important moons are:
• Titan- its biggest moon, bigger than Mercury, its atmosphere is similar to Earth’s
• Enceladus-brightest small object in the solar system
• Telesto
• Pan
• Pandora
• Cassini
• Prometheus
• Diameter: 51, 118 km.
• Period of Revolution: 83.8 years
• Period of Rotation: 17.2 hours
• Moons: 27
• Rings: 13
Uranus
• It is a gaseous planet and that makes it easier to rotate faster
• Its moons are named after characters from Shakespeare's stories and Alexander Pope’s poems
• Its moons are divided in three groups: 13 inner moons, 5 major moons, and 9 irregular moons
• Its biggest moon is Titania
• Other moons are:
• Oberon
• Ubmriel
• Ariel
• Miranda
• Juliet
• Francisco
• There is no difference in temperature during day and night
• It has a magnetic field
• Mainly made out of ice formed by water, ammonia, and methane as a liquid mixture
• It tilts up and down
• There will be a possible collision between the moons and the planet because of their orbit
• If there was just one collision, its moons would display retrograde motion, orbiting in the opposite direction than that which astronomers observe today
• Scientists have long suspected that some manner of violent impact by a single object several times more massive than Earth knocked Uranus off kilter
• Its atmosphere is made out of hydrogen, helium, water, and ammonia
• It has three different kinds of rings: faint rings, inner rings that are narrow and dark, and outer rings that are brightly colored
• Its blue color is because the methane in its atmosphere
• It could contain billions of diamonds due to the great pressure its rocky surface makes
• It rotates from North to South with a 98° inclination
• The hottest part of the planet is one of the poles because it is facing the sun
• Diameter: 49, 528 km.
• Period of Revolution: 163.8 years
• Period of Rotation: 16.1 hours
• Moons: 13 satellites and 1 provisional satellite
• Rings: 5
Neptune
• Its largest moon is Triton that has icy lava, rotates in the opposite direction than the planet (retrograde orbit) because it wasn’t formed as the other moons
• The coldest planet in the solar system
• Lacks physical features
• Atmosphere made out of hydrogen and helium
• It has hurricanes, geysers, volcanoes
• It has the famous Great Dark Spot that is a constant and strong hurricane, also known as Mystery Storm
• It has the most extreme weather
• 60 Earth’s fit inside Neptune
• Summer lasts 40 years
• Since its discovery in 1846, it had orbited only twice
• Fastest winds of the solar system
• In 1994, its Great Dark Spot disappeared and the New Dark Spot appeared
This is it! Study for the
test and always do your best.
Love you!
