SOLAR SYSTEM NOTES Our Solar System is composed of: 1. The Sun 2. The Planets 3. Asteroids 4. Comets 5. Meteors 6. Natural & Artificial satellites Remember: How old is our Solar System? Scientists believe its at least 4.6 billion years old!!! ENERGY TRANSFERS Radiation - a process in which energy travels through vacuum (without a medium) Conduction a process in which energy travels through a medium Convection - The transfer of heat through the movement of particles RADIATION FROM THE SUN 99.86% of the mass of the solar system Primary source of energy, light, and heat. The planets are lit because of the light we see reflected from the Sun. SUN S STRUCTURE Under the Surface Photosphere Convection zone Radiation zone Core Above the surface: Sunspots Corona Solar flares Solar Wind 1
Surface of the Sun appears granulated: Hot material (light) rises to top while cold material (dark) drops down SUN SPOTS temporary phenomena on the photosphere dark spots compared to surrounding regions Early astronomers like Galileo observed these to prove the Sun rotates on an axis. Proof of convection underneath surface!!! PHOTOSPHERE Photo in Latin means light Outer layer of the Sun Where the light we see comes from. CORONA Latin for crown extending millions of kilometers into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse (moon in front) 2
HELIOSCOPE Helio Greek for Sun scope optical device an instrument used in observing the sun and sun spots SPICULES Short-lived, narrow jets of gas spewed from surface Typically last only minutes. PROMINENCE Loop or arc of glowing gas ejected from the surface. *Follows magnetic field lines. AURORA by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the atmosphere near the poles. Aurora Borealis Northern lights Aurora Australis Southern Hemisphere AURORAS 3
ORBITAL ROTATION All planets orbit the same direction around the sun from the original spinning disk. REASONS THE PLANETS ARE SO DIFFERENT Making the Inner Planets - Accretion in the inner solar system: Initially, many moon-sized planetesimals orbited the Sun. Over the course of a hundred million years or so, they gradually collided and coalesced, forming a few large planets in roughly circular orbits. The material closest to the Sun would have vaporized by the Sun's heat. The materials with a higher melting point (metals) could condense closer The materials with lower melting points (gases) were able to condense out further PLANET NOTES Inner planets small, solid, dense materials Outer planets large, mostly gas, rings 4
Dense elements condense at higher temperatures closer to sun, forming rocky planets. Terrestrial Planets : inner, rocky, denser, smaller Planet Density SATURN WOULD FLOAT IN WATER! Saturn is the only planet that is less dense than Water! MERCURY Rotation Time: 58.6 Earth days Orbit Time: 88 Earth days Difficult to observe from Earth Thick iron core planet and thin crust no atmosphere VENUS Rotation Time: 243 days Orbit Time: 224 days Earths' sister atmosphere is made up mostly of carbon dioxide and Clouds are filled with sulfuric acid Runaway greenhouse effect hottest planet Rotates backwards Widest volcanoes like a pancake 5
EARTH Rotation Time: 24 hours Orbit Time: 365.24 days the only planet known to have stable bodies of liquid water on its current surface Atmosphere mostly of Nitrogen The world is not round. It is an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator 1 moon - Luna MARS Rotation Time: 24.6 hours Orbit Time: 687 Earth days Mars is red because it is rusty thin atmosphere of Mars is made of mostly carbon dioxide Valleys and Canyons and other fluvial features suggest that the planet once had large amounts of surface water and frozen water still at the poles 2 moons Phobos & Deimos VALLES MARINERIS OLYMPUS MONS Olympus Mons is about 3 times taller than Mount Everest 6
JOVIAN PLANET S RING SYSTEMS Jovian Planets: outer, gas, larger, rings, less dense Jupiter Uranus Saturn Neptune SEEING SPOTS The Great Red Spot The Great Dark Spot Jupiter s Super Storm- Great Red Spot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hjvp-3-djo JUPITER Rotation Time: 10 hours Orbit Time: 12 Earth years largest planet Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a +300 years hurricane Hydrogen and Helium Thick atmosphere. Small rock and ice core Would have to be 70-80x as much mass to be a star. 67 known moons JUPITER AND SATURN HAVE AURORAS SATURN Rotation Time: 11 hours Orbit Time: 29.46 Earth years Most know for the beautiful rings! Rings - Floating chunks of ice, rocks and dust Saturn has the lowest density Atmosphere comprises mostly of Hydrogen and Helium (lightest elements) and small rock/ice core Also had auroas! 53 known moons 7
URANUS Rotation time: 17.6 hours Orbit Time: 30,685 Earth days Has rings Axis - almost parallel to the plane (98 degrees) Uranus is the coldest planet Methane gas/ice makes it blue NEPTUNE Rotation Time: 16.11 hours Orbit Time: 165 Earth Years Has rings.. But actually arcs. 12 years for Voyager 2 to reach it Stormiest planet winds up to 1,240 mph methane ice/gas makes it Blue Great Dark Spot another storm I <3 storms PLUTO Found and called a planet in 1930 demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006 Does not rotate on the same orbital plane Hasn t cleared it s orbital path from debris Smaller than Our Moon Just recently have better pictures of one side Sometimes orbits inside Neptune Recent photos lead us to believe its not as old as once thought less craters => Orbits of the planets all lie in nearly the same plane (the ecliptic plane) except Mercury (7 ) & Pluto (17 ). Mercury SOMETIMES PLUTO IS CLOSER Pluto- 249 year orbit Where is it now? Pluto 17 o 7 o? Aphelion? 8
MOONS WORTH LOOKING AT scientists believe that water could exist below the surface of Europa. (Jupiter moon) Io (another Jupiter Moon) features over 400 active volcanoes Saturn s largest moon is named Titan, it is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere. 9
Solar System in a nutshell https://youtu.be/ksf_hdjwjjo?t=1s 10