SOLAR SYSTEM NOTES
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
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 IS A 2 ND OR 3 RD GENERATION STAR HOW DO WE KNOW THAT? Shortly after the big bang, most of the atoms in the universe were hydrogen. (Trace amounts of helium and lithium, but for all intensive purposes, hydrogen was pretty much 'it.') Those first stars, through fusion, began creating heavier elements, as heavy as iron. Some of those stars were massive enough to "go" supernova, and create even heavier elements. Our sun, and the planets that orbit it, all formed from a nebulous cloud of a star that had previously gone supernova. Based on the amount of heavy elements in our solar system, there must have been at least two predecessor stars to have been "precursors" to our sun and it's planets. The sun, being about 4.5 billion years old, vs. a galaxy that is estimated to be about 13.7 billion years old, seems to have formed in the timespan when 2nd and 3rd generation high-mass stars would have been going supernova. So we have methods that support this statement.
SUN S STRUCTURES Photosphere Sunspots Corona Solar flares Convection zone Radiation zone Core
Surface of the Sun appears granulated: Hot material (light) rises to top while cold material (dark) drops down Proof of convection underneath surface!!!
PHOTOSPHERE Photo in Latin means light Outer layer of the Sun Where the light we see comes from.
SUN SPOTS dark spots compared to surrounding regions Early astronomers like Galileo observed these to prove the Sun rotates on an axis.
HELIOSCOPE Helio Greek for Sun scope optical device an instrument used in observing the sun and sun spots
CORONA Latin for crown most easily seen during a total solar eclipse
SOLAR FLARES a sudden brightening observed over the Sun's surface a large energy release Has knocked out power in parts of the World.
SPICULES Short-lived, narrow Jets of gas spewed from surface
SPICULES Short-lived, narrow Jets of gas spewed from surface *Punch out from surface and fold back in. Follows magnetic field lines.
AURORA by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere Aurora Borealis Northern lights Aurora Australis Southern Hemisphere
So we re all gonna die??? Well yeah *since the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, the Sun has lost less than 0.1 % of its total mass.
TERRESTRIAL PLANETS MERCURY VENUS EARTH MARS JOVIAN PLANETS JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE
ORBITAL ROTATION All planets orbit the same direction around the sun, Counterclockwise.
Axis Tilt
Planets orbit Sun in an elliptical path (oval shape)
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.
Inner planets small, solid, dense minerals Iron cores Outer planets large, mostly gas, rings, with solid core
REASONS THE PLANETS ARE SO DIFFERENT The material closest to the Sun was the hottest, and therefore any lighter materials such as gases would have vaporized by the Sun's heat. The materials with a higher melting point (metals) could condense at these higher temperatures and could stay closer to the sun and it s heat. The materials with lower melting points (gases) were able to condense out further from the Sun where it was cooler
Planet Density Saturn is the only planet that is less dense than Water!
MERCURY Rotation Time: 58.6 Earth days Orbit Time: 88 Earth days Does not rotate on same orbital plane as the rest. iron rich planet Mercury has virtually no atmosphere Craters like the Moon
VENUS Rotation Time: 243 days Orbit Time: 224 days Earths' twin sister because same size = same mass = similar density similar gravity similar composition (are made of the same material). atmosphere is made up mostly of carbon dioxide Clouds are filled with sulfuric acid
EARTH Rotation Time: 24 hours Orbit Time: 365.24 days the only planet known to have stable bodies of liquid water on its surface The world is not completely round. It is an oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator
MARS Rotation Time: 24.6 hours Orbit Time: 687 Earth days The planet's surface undergoes a chemical process which results in the formation of iron oxide (rust). thin atmosphere of Mars is made of mostly carbon dioxide Valleys and Canyons on Mars suggest that the planet once had large amounts of surface water
JUPITER Rotation Time: 10 hours Orbit Time: 12 Earth years largest planet, has the most moons great red spot on Jupiter is a storm that has been going on for over 300 years Has rings Hydrogen and Helium Would have to be 60x as much mass to be a star
SATURN Rotation Time: 11 hours Orbit Time: 29.46 Earth years Most know for the beautiful rings! Rings are floating chunks of ice, rocks and dust Saturn has the lowest density Atmosphere comprises mostly of Hydrogen and Helium (lightest elements)
URANUS Rotation time: 17.6 hours Orbit Time: 30,685 Earth days Has rings Axis - almost parallel to the plane The nearly horizontal tilt of the axis produces the most extreme seasons in the solar system Uranus is the coldest planet
NEPTUNE Rotation Time: 16.11 hours Orbit Time: 165 Earth Years Has rings Stormiest planet winds up to 1,240 mph methane gas makes it Blue 12 years for Voyager 2 to reach it
PLUTO Considered a planet since 1930 was demoted to a dwarf planet in 2006 Does not rotate on the same orbital plane Smaller and less dense than all planets and Our Moon atmosphere contains traces of methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide (not a gas giant like other Jovian planets) Sometimes orbits inside Neptune There are similar objects inside the Kuiper Belt
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.