26. Introduction to the Solar System page 1

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1 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 1 A. To get a sense of scale: Here is a "scale model for the Solar System" illustrating the relative sizes of, and distances between, the planets and the Sun. In this scale model the Sun is a sphere 8" in diameter. EXERCISE 26.1 How much of this model solar system fits on the ISU campus? If the Sun is placed in Rm 5 Physics, where might you place Pluto? The Oort cloud? The nearest star? Note: All distances in this table are to 2 or 3 figure accuracy; the graphing program that I used to produce the table makes it awkward to display this fact in the usual way.

2 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 2 There are various ways to "picture" a set of numbers such as those in the table above. Here, for example, are plots of the relativel sizes of the planets in order of their distance from the Sun; Sun This plot includes the Sun; the planets are quite small in comparison Just the planets are shown in this plot

3 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 3 Another way is to show circles of the appropriate relative sizes. EXERCISE Label the objects in this set of circles representing the planets shown to scale: In the above sketch, there are two copies of each of the smaller circles -- one set is arranged concentrically (with centers in the same place) and the other is arranged in a graceful S. Label both sets.

4 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 4 One may also illustrate the spacing of the planets in various ways: EXERCISE 16.2 (a) Make a graph (like those shown above illustrating the sizes) that illustrates the relative spacing of the planets. (b) Label the orbits of the planets on this sketch to scale. Where two orbits cross (so the bigger orbit is temporarily inside the smaller one)

5 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 5 B. Inventory of the members of the Solar System (many slides will be shown in lecture): The Sun % of the mass, the Sun also produces nearly all of the heat and radiation that keeps the planets warm, allows life to exist on Earth, etc. The Planets (in order of mass/size) The Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets: Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune The Terrestrial (Earth-like) planets: Earth Venus Mars Mercury The odd-ball: Pluto (You should know the order from the Sun, the order in terms of mass or size, and the classification into terrestrial and jovian planets. In order of increasing orbital period we have: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. Pluto is usually (230 out of every 250 years) farther from the Sun than Neptune. Right now ( ), however, Pluto is inside Neptune's orbit, so it is closer to the Sun than Neptune.) The minor planets include Ceres (diameter 940 km, compared with Pluto's 2200 km, Mercury's 4878 km, or Earth's 12,756 km), Pallas (540km), Vesta (510km), and about 100,000 more down to about 1 km. If you discover an asteroid, you get to select a name for it. Most of the asteroids (=minor planets) are located between Mars and Jupiter, but some come whizzing through the inner solar system (Earth-crossing asteroids) and some spend a lot of time near or beyond Jupiter's orbit. Comets are temporary (but spectacular) visitors to the inner solar system. If you are the first to discover a comet, it will be named after you. Comets are short-lived; to provide the ones we see, there must be a "reservoir" of comet nuclei, and one of these is the "Oort cloud" Meteoroids/meteors/meteorites A meteor is the phenomenon we observe (that is sometimes called, inaccurately, a "shooting star" or "falling star"). A meteorite is what one may be able to pick up from the ground after a meteor is observed. A meteoroid is a small body in space that may, if it hits Earth, become a meteor and possibly even a meteorite. Meteors / meteorites come from asteroids from comets from splashups from moons & planets The Solar wind, interplanetary dust The solar system in some sense extends to the edge of the heliosphere, the region filled by the Solar Wind. At the edge of the heliosphere, the heliopause, the solar wind smashes into the interstellar medium. This is a collision of two good vacuums, which means that our senses probably wouldn't detect this directly if we sailed through it. However, it does give off radio signals that may have been detected by U. of Iowa space scientists last year.

6 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 6 C. Describing the planets and other bodies of the Solar System: There are some general terms that you need to know before we can talk about the nature and origin of the planets etc.. These are: Mass: The amount of matter contained in a body. There are two ways to measure the mass of something: (1) Inertial mass: how fast is it accelerated by a force? (Newton's F = ma is used to find this mass).(2) Gravitational mass: with what force does it respond to gravity (F = mg = GMm/r 2 ; this force is the weight of the body). It was a great insight of Newton's that these both measure the same property of material, that is, inertial mass = gravitational mass. Another way to think of the mass: Every hydrogen atom has a certain mass (call it 1 unit). Every carbon atom has a mass, about 12 units. Every oxygen, 16 units; etc. Add up all the units: mass = # of H atoms x 1 + # of C x 12 + # of O x Since the number of H atoms, C atoms etc. that make up your body won't change if we send you to the moon, your mass does not depend on where you are. However, your weight on the Moon, F = GMmoonm/rMoon 2 is less than your weight on Earth, F = GMEarth/rEarth 2. [Strictly speaking pounds are units of weight or force (with "slugs" being the corresponding mass unit), while kilograms are units of mass (with Newtons being the corresponding force or weight units). A 100 lb person (on Earth) has a mass of 100/32.2 or 3.1 slugs; a 50 kg person has a weight of 9.8*50 = 490 Newtons or 2.2*50 = 110 pounds on Earth.] volume: Amount of 3D space occupied. For a rectangular box with width w, length l and height h, volume = l x w x h; for a sphere of radius r, volume = (4/3) π r 3. composition: A description of the contents in terms of atoms and molecules, such as "80% H and 20% He" or "mostly hydrogen with some helium". Earth's composition is nickel-iron (core) plus silicate-rich rocky material (mantle), and Earth's atmosphere is composed of nitrogen molecules, oxygen molecules, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and a few other things in very small amounts. state: whether some particular collection of atoms and molecules is presently in the form of a solid, a liquid, a gas or an ionized gas (plasma). Water in solid state is ice; in liquid state is water; and in gas state is water vapor. Water decomposes into hydrogen and oxygen before it gets hot enough to form a plasma. density: this is the mass-per-unit-volume, or mass / volume. We will talk about mean density, which is the total mass divided by the total volume, and represents an average of the density throughout a planet. Liquid water at sea-level has a density of about 1 gm per cubic cm, written 1 gm/cm 3 or 1 gm cm -3. Since there are 1000 gm in a kg and 1000 cm 3 in a liter, what is the density of water at sea-level in kilograms per liter, kg/l? Density of water = 1gm/cm 3 = kg/l. Typically, the density of a material depends both on its composition and on its state: liquids and solids are denser than gases, in general, and a solid lump of iron or gold is denser than a solid lump of water (ice). To test whether a solid is denser than water, one can simply see whether it floats. If it sinks, it is denser. If it floats, the water is denser. Two liquids that don't mix, like oil and water, can also be tested this way. EXERCISE 26.3: Which is denser: vinegar or oil? liquid water or ice? Describe the experiment that you performed to determine which has the higher density.

7 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 7 How can we tell what is inside a planet? There are two simple clues: the surface composition, and the mean density. The surface composition can be discovered in a variety of ways; the most direct are (1) by picking up samples (Earth, Moon, Mars); and (2) by looking at the color or the spectrum of the surface (Moon, Mars, Mercury, and the moons of the Jovian planets). The mean density of a planet typically depends on (a) its composition and (b) its gravity. A planet composed entirely of ices of water, ammonia, and methane (Pluto) will have a lower mean density than a planet the same size composed of rock and/or nickel and iron. For two planets of the same composition, the one with higher gravity will be more compressed and hence denser. EXERCISE 26.4: Look at the table of planetary information at the end of this section. Consider the mean densities of the Jovian planets. Does the difference in mean density between Jupiter and Saturn mean that these two planets have different composition, or is there another likely explanation? Mean density arguments provide the first, and in many cases the strongest evidence about the internal composition of the planets. Exercise To calculate the mean density of a planet, one needs to measure somehow its mass and its volume, so that one find mass/volume. (a) With reference to the concepts of Section 19, explain why Mercury's mass could not be determined until a space probe was sent to fly by or orbit around Mercury. When the Mariner 10 spacecraft went to Mercury, it discovered that the mass of Mercury was quite a bit higher than people had expected, based on the assumption that the composition of Mercury would not be much different from the composition of Earth, Venus, and Mars. If Mercury had the same composition as Earth, woud you expect it to have a higher, lower, or the same mean density? Explain. The discovery that Mercury's mass was high meant that the mean density was higher than expected. What explanation(s) can you think of to account for this fact?

8 26. Introduction to the Solar System page 8

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