Welcome to Astronomy!
FIND YOUR SEAT!!
8/30/2012 DMA
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3 x 5 card directions
On one side of the card, you will write 4 things about yourself:
1 . One thing you have in common with everyone in the class
(ex: I am a Kentridge student).
2. One thing you have in common with about half of the class
(ex: I am a boy or I am a girl)
3. One thing you have in common with 3 -4 people in this class
(ex: I like to snow board).
4. One thing unique to you!
(ex: My birthday is tomorrow).
MY ANSWERS!
 1. One thing you have in common with everyone in
the class

I live in Washington.
 2. One thing you have in common with about half
of the class

I have a dog and a cat.
 3. One thing you have in common with 3-4 people
in this class

I have snorkeled in Hanauma Bay, Hawaii
 4. One thing unique to you!
 I have held a lemur.
3 X 5 DIRECTIONS: PART 2
 On the other side of your card, answer these
questions:
 1) What has been your favorite school subject so
far?
 2) What has been your least favorite school subject
so far?
 3) What is one thing that you like to do outside of
school in your spare time?
 4) What is one extracurricular school sport, club, or
activity that you are participating in currently or are
interested in participating in this school year?
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN
ASTRONOMY
 Identify and describe the unique criteria for life.
 Describe how Earth is unique, among other solar bodies.
 Understand how social and technological development
contributes to new discoveries.
 Describe the factors that contribute to scientific revolution in
the area of astronomy.
 Understand how technology improves one’s ability to better
study the universe.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN
ASTRONOMY
 Apply data and evaluate varying models of solar system
patterns of movement.
 Understand what accounts for dif ferences among established
groups of planets.
 Identify and explain the limits of human space exploration and
travel.
 Predict the impact of space exploration on Earth and its
inhabitants.
 Describe the elements in the universe including stars and
galaxies
 Explain how Earth and the Solar System fit into the greater
universe.
GRADING
Tests and Quizzes
30%
Class assignments (Homework/Notebook)
30%
Lab Reports/Notebook
25%
Projects/Presentations
15%
Total
100%
EMPLOYABILIT Y
This grade will be based on effort, use of class
time, attendance and behavior.
Any missing assignments or poor attendance
(including tardies) will impact this grade.
ABSENT WORK
 Missed tests and quizzes (that arise from excused absences)
can only be made up before or af ter school in this room. Talk
to me to make other arrangements if your situation requires
it!
 Students must complete any, and all, make -up
assignments/quizzes before the end of the current unit or
they will receive zeroes.
 All absent work is due two days later for every day absent, but
by the end of the unit.
LATE WORK
 All work is due by the end of the school day of the assigned
due date.
 Must be completed by the next day after the due date for ½
credit. Other wise, it will receive a zero.
ACADEMIC INTEGRIT Y
 Cheating will not be tolerated. This includes copying
homework.
 See syllabus for school guidelines for Academic integrity.
 Be professional in your work —do your best work at all times.
HALL PASSES
Four hall passes per quarter
Ask permission
Sign out in hall pass binder
5 minute limit
No visiting vending machines!
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
What I expect from you
The KR way
To begin Class Each day:
On time
In your seat when the bell rings, working
on the DMA independently
Have necessary supplies and textbook
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
 During Class
Don’t talk when I am talking-common courtesy
Participate fully in all activities
Try your hardest-do your best work
Allow others to do their best work-Respect
Treat lab and classroom supplies, etc. with
respect
Absolutely no cell phones or eating!
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM
ME.
Respect
Understanding
High Expectations
SUPPLIES
Composition Notebook
These will be used for notes and
assignments
Paper
Calculator
Writing utensils:
Pen or Pencil
Highlighters
UNIT 1: ISLAND EARTH
Astronomy
DMA #1 8/31/12
Grab a DMA sheet and a book and turn to
page 1 (the beginning of Chapter 1)
Read the 3 paragraphs on page 1
Look at the pictures on pages 2-3.
Answer on your DMA sheet: What do you
think a Local Group is?
COSMIC POSTCARD PROJECT
OVERVIEW
Goal: apply knowledge of cosmic structures
(levels).
Role: Vacationer (to favorite spot on Earth)
Audience: Friend or family (not on vacation
with you.)
Strong Verb: Explain or describe
Product: Large-scale postcard
CH. 1:OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
DETERMINE YOUR COSMIC ADDRESS
Read the section titled “1.1A Modern View
of the Universe” on pages 4-5 for help &
information.
Your task:
Think about where you went OR the best thing
you did this summer
Where were you?
Make a postcard telling me where you were in the
Universe
FINISH THIS TODAY!
Standards:
Graphic: one side
Narrative/description of your trip
 Emphasize the location and activities done on
vacation
 Describe the unique traits of Planet Earth
Proper address using cosmic neighborhood
concept
DMA 9/04/12
• GET OUT YOUR POSTCARD SO WE
CAN FINISH THEM.
I HAVE A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR
YOU.
FINISHING YOUR POSTCARD
 Narrative Description of Trip:
 Destination description:
 Place names, geography are described
 Activities description:
 Specific and variety of activities are described with
clarity and well-chosen adjectives.
 Unique Properties of Earth:
 Unique and varied aspects of Earth are emphasized:
 Atmosphere: gases, winds, colors
 Geology: rocky surface
 Life forms
 Water
CHAPTER 1:
OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
Now, time for a pre-test
All you need is a pencil (no pens)
Clear your desk
Reminder-test time is quiet time
COSMIC POSTCARD:
GALLERY WALK
•Purpose: students will carefully
examine and evaluate the work
of their peers.
GALLERY WALK
PROCESS
•Please visit each student’s postcard
 You will visit all postcards, however you will give
written feedback to only five students.
•Using the Post-it™ notes provided to you, write
at least one “constructive” suggestion for each
student. In addition, please write a specific
“praise” for him or her.
SUMMARY
•In short, you will view all students’ work.
•Please choose five students, write two
comments per student, for a total of ten
comments.
•Lastly, select the student whose work is, in
your opinion, the best of the class.
 Write their name on a Post-it™ note and drop it in the
Comment Box.
WHAT IS THE NAME OF
THE GALAXY WE LIVE IN?
DMA
9/5/12
WHAT DO WE CALL THE
GALAXY CLUSTER WE
LIVE IN?
COSMIC ADDRESS POST CARD
GALLERY WALK
Place your post card spread out around the room
on the lab counters
Walk around and leave comments for 5
postcards.
o2 comments for each of the 5 you choose
o Helpful advice
oPositive comment—a compliment
Submit comment post-its with your postcard
Submit post-it to vote for Best Card up front.
DMA 9/6/12
NAME 3 THINGS WE
HAVE ON OUR
PLANET THAT WE
DON’T FIND ON
OTHER PLANETS.
CHAPTER 1:
OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
 Scale in the Universe by Bill Nye
 Draw a model of the solar system with a scale in inches
(i.e. 3 inches = 1 AU)
 Draw the sun on one edge of your paper
 Draw orbits (partial circles) the appropriate distances
for the planets per the scale.
 Place a filled circle on the appropriate orbit and label
with the name of the planet.
 Note: you may have to use several sheets and stack them
to fold out to show the whole system.
 Comment upon the size of the Solar System and distances
of the planets from the sun.
DISTANCES OF PLANETS FROM SUN
 Planet
 Mercury
 Venus
 Earth
 Mars
 Jupiter
 Saturn
 Uranus
 Neptune
 Pluto*
Distance (from Sun)
1A.U.=3in.
57,910,000 km
0.387 A.U.
108,200,000 km
0.723 A.U.
149,600,000 km
1.000 A.U.
227,940,000 km
1.524 A.U.
778,330,000 km
5.203 A.U.
1,424,600,000 km
9.523 A.U.
2,873,550,000 km 19.208 A.U.
4,501,000,000 km 30.087 A.U.
5,945,900,000 km 39.746 A.U.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Comment upon the size of the Solar System and
distances of the planets from the sun.
• What do you notice about the difference between
the distances to the first 4 planets and the
distances to the last 4 planets?
Video: “The Solar System: A First Look”
DMA 9/7/12
 Get out a blank sheet of paper or your
composition notebook and copy down the
following assignment:
 Assignment title: Are we alone?
 Please respond to the following question:
 “Are we (on Earth) alone in the universe?”
 Write your opinion and the reasons you believe this to be true.
 Include the question and write at least one paragraph (8
sentences).
 Use as many reasons, details, facts, and opinions as you can find
in support of your answer.
 Cite a minimum 2 websites.
 We will be going to the library to research the answer!
DMA 9/8/12
Is there life on another planet?
What was the most convincing argument you
read that argued that, yes, there is life out
there?
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 Tomorrow:
• Guest lecturer
• Thursday:
• Go to the Museum of Flight to hear about
the Mars rover “Curiosity” for extra
credit!! Starts at 7p.m.
 Saturday:
• Star party @ Snoqualmie Point park
• If you don’t go you will have an
alternate assignment
• More details on that from our Guest
lecturer tomorrow
DMA 9/11/12
What is a
constellation?
(Grab your
postcard from the
front counter!)
DISTANT MIRRORS
Objectives:
• Describe the suitability of Earth for study of
astronomy
• Explain how we use technology to determine the
existence of life on Earth and elsewhere
Distant Mirror
• Read the article quietly and individually for 15
minutes
• Answer the Discussion Questions as a team of 3
• Submit one team paper with all names
DMA 9/12/12
How did scientists
prove that they
could detect life
on other planets?
GO TO THE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT TO HEAR ABOUT
THE MARS ROVER “CURIOSIT Y” FOR EXTRA
CREDIT!! STARTS AT 7P.M.
STAR PARTY
• Star party @ Snoqualmie Point park
• 8-10 p.m.
• If you don’t go you will have an alternate assignmentthis will take at least 1-2 hours.
DISTANT MIRRORS
Objectives:
• Describe the suitability of Earth for study of
astronomy
• Explain how we use technology to determine the
existence of life on Earth and elsewhere
Distant Mirror
• Finish answering the Discussion Questions as a
team of 3
• Submit one team paper with all names
DMA 9/13/12
What signs of
life can be
detected from
space?
STARGAZING
Watch the video and take one page of
notes
At least 20 facts or statements
DMA 9/14/12
Get your book
and finish your
notes on sections
1.1 and 1.2.
COSMIC PERSPECTIVE
Modern View & Scale of the Universe
•Read Section 1.1 and 1.2
• In your notebook: Take 2 pages of
notes
STAR PARTY
• Star party @ Snoqualmie Point park
• 8-10 p.m.
• Carpooling is strongly recommended.
Parking at the Snoqualmie Point Park is very limited.
If the loop parking is filled, visitors will need to park
outside the Park gate and walk in.
TASK
 Please title today’s assignment on a sheet of
notebook paper:
o
o
o
o
Name
Date
Period
Title: Privileged Planet film
 Create a T-chart on your paper to form two
columns. You can also fold it down the middle.
DMA 9/17/12
When looking at
the night sky,
how can you find
the North Star?
THE PRIVILEGED PLANET: FILM HYPOTHESES
Hypothesis #1
Hypothesis #2
Earth possesses
the conditions
that, until proven
otherwise, allow
for intelligent life
to exist only on
Earth.
Earth’s properties
also make it
strangely wellsuited for viewing
and analyzing the
universe; in other
words the study of
astronomy.
FILM TASK
 For each of the two stated hypothesis, please
identify, record, and describe the various
observations and data that are used to support them.
 List a minimum of 3 items per hypothesis.
 Feel free to create a list of these items in each
column.
 These notes will be used as a basis for your post -film
reflection and Monday’s class discussion.
PRIVILEGED PLANET: REFLECTION
 Based on your examination of the evidence
presented in the film, please determine a
conclusion for one hypothesis.
 In doing so, please include these elements:
Rephrase the hypothesis
Indicate what the data “say”:
 Support hypothesis
 Do not support (can’t tell clearly one way or the
other)
 Contradict (reject)
Identify at least two data that your conclusion
relies on.
NAME 4 THINGS
THAT ALLOW EARTH
TO SUPPORT LIFE.
DMA#1
9/18/12
ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY
 http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
SPACESHIP EARTH
 The Earth travels through space at over 60,000 miles
per hour!
 How long does it take to go around the Sun once?
 One year, of course!!
 How long does it take the Earth to rotate on its axis?
 24 hours!
SPACESHIP EARTH
 The Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5 o
 What causes the seasons?
 As the Earth goes around the Sun, the Northern and Southern
hemispheres take turns being closer to the Sun.
SPACESHIP EARTH
Fall Equinox
Summer Solstice
Winter Solstice
Spring Equinox
SPACESHIP EARTH
 We are not only traveling
around the Sun, our entire
solar system is traveling
around the center of the
Milky Way Galaxy.
 It takes us 230 million
years to make one
rotation, which means…
 Our Solar system moves
around the galaxy at about
600,000 miles per hour!
SPACESHIP EARTH
 The Expanding Universe
 Edwin Hubble discovered 2 surprising facts:
 1. Virtually every galaxy outside the Local Group is moving away
from us
 2. The more distant a galaxy is, the faster it appears to be racing
away from us.
THE ADVENTURE OF ASTRONOMY
 As our circumstances and technology have advance, so
has our understanding of how the universe works.
 We’ve gone from thinking the Earth was the center of
the Universe, to knowing that we are part of an
infinite and expanding universe.
FOR THE REMAINDER OF CLASS
 Finish “Privileged Planet”
reflection.
 Finish your notes on
sections 1.1 and 1.2
 Read “ The Big Picture” on
page 35.
 We will have a quiz on
Friday (we will review
important concepts before
then)
 M57 we saw on Saturday!
 The Ring Nebula
WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
AN EQUINOX AND A
SOLSTICE?
DMA
#2
9/19/12
DMA#3 9/20/12
What element was the first to
be created during the Big Bang?
1. THE SUN AND PLANETS FORMED
FROM A SOLAR NEBULA.
 The most successful
model of the origin of the
solar system is called the
Nebular (or Accretion)
Hypothesis; some call it a
theory.
 According to this
hypothesis, the solar
system formed from a
cloud of interstellar
material called the solar
nebula
 This occurred 4.56 billion
years ago (as determined
by radioactive agedating).
2. THIS NEBULA FLATTENED INTO
A DISK.
 The solar nebula, by mass,
was 98% hydrogen and
helium; formed shortly
after the Big Bang.
 The 2% heavier elements
were produced much later
as heavy stars died.
 The nebula flattened into
a disk in which all the
material orbited the
center in the same
direction, just as do the
present-day planets.
 The heavier elements were in the form of ice and dust
particles.
 The Sun formed by “gravitational contraction” of the center of the nebula.
Meaning, the center grew by gobbling up the smaller bits of matter that
surrounded it.
 Af ter 100 million year s , temperatures at the protosun’s center became
high enough to ignite nuclear reactions that conver t hydrogen into helium
(forming a true star.)
3. THE PLANETS FORMED BY THE ACCRETION
(GATHERING) OF “PLANETESIMALS” (LITTLE
PLANETS) AND THE ACCUMULATION OF GASES IN THE
SOLAR NEBULA .
IN CONCLUSION…
DMA#4 9/21/12
Describe accretion.
ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY
 http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
TO DO TODAY
Explore Ch. 9
Answer questions in your composition
books
DMA#5 9/24/12
Why is it so difficult to study geology
on other Planets? What types of
features are easiest to study?
DMA#6 9/25/12
Name 2 differences between Jovian
and Terrestrial planets.
DMA#7 9/26/12
What creates Jupiter’s magnetic field?
The magnetic fields of
terrestrial planets are
produced by metals such
as iron in the liquid state
The magnetic fields of the
Jovian planets are
generated by metallic
hydrogen
 Also hypothesized is water
with ionized molecules
dissolved in it
TO DO TODAY
Finish “Extreme Planets”
Finish your vocabulary-the words can be
found in Chapter 8 on pages 198-211.
DMA#8 9/27/12
What is the difference in shape
between the Kuiper belt and the Oort
cloud?
DMA#2 10/3/12
Where is the asteroid belt located in
our Solar System?
DMA#3 10/5/12
Which planet
is the hottest?
Why?
Reminders:
Pay your $5
Turn in permission
slip a.s.a.p.
DMA#4 10/8/12
How do the
interiors of
planets get hot?
Reminders:
Pay your $5
Turn in permission
THIS WEEK!
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
Mercury
Made of: helium,
sodium, oxygen
No weather-there’s not
enough atmosphere!
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
Venus
Made of: mostly
Carbon dioxide
(96%) and a little
Nitrogen (3.5%)
Weather-slow winds
with no big storms
and lots of acid rain
from sulfuric acid
clouds
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
 Earth
 Made of: mostly
Nitrogen (77%) lots of
Oxygen (21%), argon,
water vapor, and other
trace elements
 Wind over the whole
planet-global wind
patterns, storms,
hurricanes
 Clouds made of water
vapor
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
 Mars
 Made of: mostly
Carbon dioxide
(95%), Nitrogen
(2.7%) and Argon
(1.6%)
 Weather-some wind
and dust storms, but
there is very little
pressure and the
atmosphere is very
thin
WEATHER ON MARS
 Video from Discovery Streaming
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
 What is an atmosphere?
 the layer of gases that surround a
world
 can be either molecules or atoms
which create pressure-we feel the
pressure of 1 atm, on Venus we
would feel the pressure of 90
atmospheres
 Where does the atmosphere end?
 There’s not a specific ending
place-it kind of fades away
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 3 things that would determine
how sunlight would heat a planet
with no atmosphere:
 1. Distance from the Sun
 the closer it is, the more energy from
sunlight reaches the surface
 2. How much sunlight the planet
absorbs vs. reflects
 3. How fast the planet rotates
 if it has a short day, the temperatures
will be more even than if there is a
really long day
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 How does an atmosphere
keep a planet warm?
 Gases can absorb infrared
light and heat up
 Greenhouse gases trap
infrared radiation and this
helps heat the lower
atmosphere (where we
live!)
 The greenhouse gases are
gases that are good at
absorbing infrared light:
 Water vapor
 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
DMA#5 10/9/12
Is the greenhouse
effect a good
thing or a bad
thing?Explain.
Reminders:
Pay your $5
Turn in permission
THIS WEEK!
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 Layers of the
atmosphere
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 7. How does the fact that
our atmosphere scatters
light benefit us? What
would it be like if our
atmosphere didn’t scatter
light?
 Without scattering we
would be able to see the
stars during the daytime!
 Also, shadows would be
pitch black, so walking
down the alley in a big city
would be like night!
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 Why is the sky blue?
Light scattering makes
the sky appear blue
Blue light is scattered
while the red light goes
straight through the
atmosphere
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 Why do sunsets appear red?
 Sunlight passes through more atmosphere to reach
you-most of the blue light is “scattered away”
leaving the red behind.
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 Describe how the greenhouse
ef fect works and why it is
important to life on Earth.
 Light from the sun warms the
atmosphere and ground
 The “greenhouse” gases absorb
heat, then re-emit it in all
directions
 This helps heat the surface and
keeps the troposphere warm
 Importance?
 Because it keeps us warm and
regulates our temperatures so
we don’t have very extreme
temperature shifts
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 Why is the stratosphere called the
stratosphere?
 There isn’t any convection, so the
air isn’t moving much and becomes
layered-AKA stratified
 Airplanes glide smoothly here
because of the lack of air movement.
 How does the ozone in the
stratosphere benefit us?
 It absorbs most of the Sun’s UV
radiation, which is very damaging to
us
ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE
 Figure 10.9
 a. Which one of the three
planets shows the biggest
temperature increase due to
the greenhouse effect?
 b. Which planet has the most
uniform temperature from
high to low altitude?
 c. Is the Earth’s temperature
higher at and altitude of 25km
or 50km?
10.3 MAGNETOSPHERES AND THE
SOLAR WIND
 Why is the magnetosphere so important to us?
 Solar wind = charged particles from the Sun
 The magnetosphere will either divert those particles
or trap them in the Van Allen Belts
 They can produce
beautiful auroras in
the North and
South poles-where
the North and
South poles of the
magnetosphere
come close to the
Earth’s surface
WHY IS THE SKY
BLUE?
DMA
10/10/12
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
 14. What is the difference
between weather and climate?
 Weather is the varying conditions
and combinations of wind,
clouds, temperature, and pressure
 Can change with the seasons and
atmospheric conditions, can vary
dramatically by the month, day
or even hour
 Climate is the long term average
of all the weather in an area and
generally stays the same over
long periods of time
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
 15. Why doesn’t Venus
experience seasons?
 Because it isn’t tilted!
Both hemispheres stay
in the same location
relative to the Sun.
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
 What are the 2 major factors affecting global wind patterns?
 1. Atmospheric heating: the air at the equator heats and
expands, then flows towards the poles and sinks, creating
convection cells
 Let’s compare Earth and Venus…
The circulation of the Venusian atmosphere is dominated by
two huge convection currents in the cloud layers, one in the
northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
 What are the 2 major factors affecting global wind patterns?
 2. Planetary rotation: basically the rotation of the planet
pushes the air sideways -called the Coriolis effect
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
 How does the Coriolis effect
change the shape and
movement of the circulation
pattern of winds on Earth?
 Breaks up the convection cells
so there are 6 instead of 2 (3
per hemisphere)
 Causes air to circulate counter
clockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and clockwise in
the Southern Hemisphere
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
EARTH VS. VENUS: CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION
Similarities:
Sun warms the
atmosphere at the
equator and creates
convection cells
Clouds are always
present
Clouds contain water
Rain forms and falls
Differences:
On VenusClouds contain Sulfuric
acid mixed with the
water(both of these are
replenished by volcanic
eruptions)
Rain that falls
evaporates long before
it hits the ground
10.4 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
 Mars
 Clouds can formespecially over its big
volcano-Olympus
Mons
 Barely any water in the
atmosphere, but there
is some hidden under
the polar CO2 ice caps
 There may be more
water under the surface
that helps form the
geologic features of
Mars
10.5 ATMOSPHERIC ORIGINS AND
EVOLUTION
 How are atmospheres
created?
 From 3 different processes
 Outgassing- the outpouring of
gases from the earth's
interior
 Evaporation/sublimationsurface liquids evaporate into
the atmosphere
 Bombardment-micrometeorites
can create only a very thin
atmosphere, this is the main
source of atmosphere for the
Moon and Mercury
10.5 ATMOSPHERIC ORIGINS AND
EVOLUTION
 20. What is outgassing? Why is it important?
 It’s important because it helps create and
replenish atmospheres
 21. What are some ways an atmosphere can
lose gas?
 Thermal escape-a molecule moves fast enough to
escape gravity
 Bombardment
 Atmospheric cratering
 Condensation
 Chemical reactions
10.5 ATMOSPHERIC ORIGINS AND
EVOLUTION
 What are the 3 things that
determine if a gas can be lost
by thermal escape?
 1. The planet’s escape velocitythe larger the planet the
stronger the gravity
 2. Temperature-higher
temperature means faster
movement
 3. Mass-it’s easier for lighter
particles to move fast enough
to escape
10.6 HISTORY OF THE TERRESTRIAL
ATMOSPHERES
 23. The Moon and Mercury:
what is their only source of new
gas?
 Bombardment from
micrometeorites
 How do they lose gas particles?
 Both are small so they have low
gravitational pull and the
particles can move fast enough
to escape
 Other times they are stripped
away by solar wind
10.6 HISTORY OF THE TERRESTRIAL
ATMOSPHERES
 24. Mars: what stripped
away the majority of its
atmosphere?
 it’s possible that Mars used
to have a thick atmosphere
from volcanic outgassing
 As the planet cooled it lost
its magnetosphere
 the atmosphere was then
stripped away by the solar
wind
10.6 HISTORY OF THE TERRESTRIAL
ATMOSPHERES
 25. Venus: Why is it hotter than
Mercury even though it is further
from the Sun?
 What is one piece of evidence that
Venus may have once had a lot of
water vapor in its atmosphere?
 An unusually high amount of
deuterium-an isotope of hydrogen
that can be left behind when water
molecules are broken apart by UV
radiation.
WHAT IS THE
CORIOLIS EFFECT?
DMA
10/11/12
THE CORIOLIS EFFECT
 The rotation of the planet pushes the air sideways
(ocean currents, too)
DMA
10/15/12
WHAT MYSTERY DID
ASTRONAUTS SOLVE
USING A BAGGIE OF
SUGAR?
TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERES
 Reflection-Answer in your
notebooks
 What makes our atmosphere
so unique and suitable for
life?
 Give at least 4 pieces of
evidence to support your
claim.
 Include information on the
atmospheres of at least 2
other terrestrial planets in
comparison with Earth.
DMA 10/17/12
OF THE 4 TERRESTRIAL
PLANETS, WHAT IS THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
SIZE AND THICKNESS OF
ATMOSPHERE?
DMA 10/18/12
HOW LONG AGO DID
THE BIG BANG OCCUR?
DMA 10/19/12
WHY DID MATTER WIN
THE BATTLE WITH
ANTIMATTER?
DMA 10/23/12
HOW CAN AN
ATMOSPHERE LOSE GAS?
HOW CAN AN ATMOSPHERE LOSE GAS?
 Thermal escape-a molecule moves fast enough
to escape gravity
 Bombardment
 Atmospheric cratering
 Condensation
 Chemical reactions
TO DO TODAY
You should have turned in:
Big Bang review
Cosmic Neighborhood review
You need to finish:
Unit 1 Review Questions:
p. 222:1-4, 6,7,10, 11, 12
P. 284-5: #1,3,4,6,7,10,11,13,14,15
New
Unit 1 Test Review
REMINDERS
Lunch-bring one or money to buy
Dress for the weather-cold and rainy
THINK, PAIR, SHARE
When we researched
“Are We Alone” many of you decided
that there is life elsewhere in the
Universe, then we watched
“Privileged Planet” and many of you
said there is no life out there.
Think about the evidence you learned
in both activities and now tell me
what you think.
COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY:
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
THERE ARE T WO BROAD CATEGORIES OF PLANETS:
EARTHLIKE (TERRESTRIAL) AND JUPITERLIKE (JOVIAN)
All of the planets
orbit the Sun in
the same direction
and in almost the
same plane
Most of the
planets have
nearly circular
orbits
m
D
V
DENSITY
 The average density of any substance depends in part on
its composition
 The terrestrial (Earth-like) planets are made of rocky
materials and have dense iron cores, which gives these
planets high average densities
 The Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets are composed primarily
of light elements such as hydrogen and helium, which
gives these planets low average densities
THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
 The four innermost planets are called terrestrial planets
 Relatively small (with diameters of 5000 to 13,000 km)
 High average densities (4000 to 5500 kg/m 3 )
 Composed primarily of rocky materials
JOVIAN PLANETS ARE THE OUTER PLANETS
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are Jovian planets
 Large diameters (50,000 to 143,000 km)
 Low average densities (700 to 1700 kg/m 3 )
 Composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.
S E V E N L A R G E S T S AT E L L I T E S A R E A L M O S T A S B I G A S T H E T E R R E S T R I A L P L A N E T S
 Comparable in size to the planet Mercury
 The remaining satellites of the solar system are much smaller
SPECTROSCOPY REVEALS THE CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION
OF THE PLANETS
The spectrum of a planet or satellite with an
atmosphere reveals the atmosphere’s
composition
If there is no atmosphere, the spectrum
indicates the composition of the surface.
The substances that make up the planets can
be classified as gases, ices, or rock,
depending on the temperatures and pressures
at which they solidify
The terrestrial planets are composed primarily
of rocky materials, whereas the Jovian planets
are composed largely of gas
PHASES AND PHASE DIAGRAM
TERRESTRIALS
JOVIANS
PLANET COMPOSITION
Hydrogen and helium are abundant on the Jovian
planets, whereas the terrestrial planets are composed
mostly of heavier elements
Mars
Jupiter
ASTEROIDS (ROCKY) AND COMETS (ICY)
ALSO ORBIT THE SUN
 Asteroids are small,
rocky objects
 Comets and Kuiper Belt
Objects are made of
“dirty ice”
 All are remnants left
over from the formation
of the planets
 The Kuiper belt extends
far beyond the orbit of
Pluto
 Pluto can be thought of
as the largest member
of the Kuiper belt
 But it’s still considered a
planet by IAU agreement
CRATERING ON PLANETS AND
SATELLITES
 Result of impacts from interplanetary debris
 when an asteroid, comet, or meteoroid collides with the surface of a
terrestrial planet or satellite, the result is an impact crater
 Geologic activity renews the surface and erases craters
 extensive cratering means an old surface and little or no geologic
activity
 geologic activity is powered by internal heat, and smaller worlds lose
heat more rapidly, thus, as a general rule, smaller terrestrial worlds are
more extensively cratered
Largest Volcano in Solar System (Olumpus Mons)
Craters on the Moon
A PLANET WITH A MAGNETIC FIELD
INDICATES AN
INTERIOR IN MOTION
 Planetary magnetic
fields are produced by
the motion of electrically
conducting substances
inside the planet
 This mechanism is called
a dynamo
 If a planet has no
magnetic field this would
be evidence that there is
little such material in the
planet’s interior or that
the substance is not in a
state of motion
THE DIVERSIT Y OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM IS A RESULT
OF ITS ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION
The planets, satellites, comets, asteroids, and
the Sun itself formed from the same cloud of
interstellar gas and dust
The composition of this cloud was shaped by
cosmic processes, including nuclear reactions
that took place within stars that died long
before our solar system was formed
Different planets formed in different
environments depending on their distance
from the Sun and these environmental
variations gave rise to the planets and
satellites of our present-day solar system
 Amid this vast and overwhelming space and in these
boundless solar archipelagoes, how small is our own sphere,
and the earth, what a grain of sand!
 — Hippolyte Taine, The Ancient Regime, 1881.
 When you're finally up at the moon looking back on earth, all
those dif ferences and nationalistic traits are pretty well going
to blend, and you're going to get a concept that maybe this
really is one world and why the hell can't we learn to live
together like decent people.
 — Frank Borman, Apollo 8, Newsweek, 23 December 1968.
 To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in
that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves a
riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness
in the eternal cold—brothers who know now they are truly
brothers.
 — Archibald MacLeish, American poet, 'Riders on ear th
together, Brothers in eternal cold,' front page of the New York
Times, Christmas Day, 25 December 1968
 I think the one overwhelming emotion that we had was when
we saw the earth rising in the distance over the lunar
landscape . . . . It makes us realize that we all do exist on one
small globe. For from 230,000 miles away it really is a small
planet.
 — Frank Borman, Apollo 8, press repor ts, 10 Januar y 1969.
 The view of the Earth from the Moon fascinated me —a small
disk, 240,000 miles away. It was hard to think that that little
thing held so many problems, so many frustrations. Raging
nationalistic interests, famines, wars, pestilence don't show
from that distance.
 — Frank Borman, Apollo 8, 'A Science Fiction World —Awesome
Forlorn Beauty,' Life magazine, 17 Januar y 1969.
 [The Moon] was a sobering sight, but it didn't have the impact
on me, at least, as the view of the Earth did.
 — Frank Borman, Apollo 8, Interview for the PBS T V show
Nova, 1999.
 We learned a lot about the Moon, but what we really learned
was about the Earth. The fact that just from the distance of
the Moon you can put your thumb up and you can hide the
Earth behind your thumb. Everything that you've ever known,
your loved ones, your business, the problems of the Earth
itself—all behind your thumb. And how insignificant we really
all are, but then how fortunate we are to have this body and to
be able to enjoy loving here amongst the beauty of the Earth
itself.
 — Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 & 13 astronaut, inter view for the 2007
movie In the Shadow of the Moon
 It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was
the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb
blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt
very, very small.
 — Neil Armstrong
 If somebody'd said before the flight, "Are you going to get
carried away looking at the earth from the moon?" I would have
say, "No, no way." But yet when I first looked back at the earth,
standing on the moon, I cried.
 — Alan Shepard
 A Chinese tale tells of some men sent to harm a young girl who,
upon seeing her beauty, become her protectors rather than her
violators. That's how I felt seeing the Earth for the first time. I
could not help but love and cherish her.
 — Taylor Wang
 What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that
man set foot on the Moon but that they set eye on the earth.
 — Norman Cousins, Cosmic Search magazine, volume 1, number
1, Januar y 1979.
 As we got further and further away, it [the Earth] diminished in
size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful
you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so
fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would
crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man.
 — James B. Irwin
 No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same
way again. More significantly can one say that no one will ever
look at the earth in the same way. Man had to free himself from
earth to perceive both its diminutive place in a solar system and
its inestimable value as a life -fostering planet. As earthmen, we
may have taken another step into adulthood. We can see our
planet earth with detachment, with tenderness, with some
shame and pity, but at last also with love.
 — Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Earth Shine, 1969.
 We were flying over America and suddenly I saw snow, the
first snow we ever saw from orbit. I have never visited
America, but I imagined that the arrival of autumn and winter
is the same there as in other places, and the process of
getting ready for them is the same. And then it struck me that
we are all children of our Earth.
 — Aleksandr Aleksandrov
 As I looked down, I saw a large river meandering slowly along
for miles, passing from one country to another without
stopping. I also saw huge forests, extending along several
borders. And I watched the extent of one ocean touch the
shores of separate continents. Two words leaped to mind as I
looked down on all this: commonality and interdependence.
We are one world.
 — John-David Bar toe
 Viewed from the distance of the moon, the astonishing thing
about the earth, catching the breath, is that it is alive. The
photographs show the dry, pounded surface of the moon in the
foreground, dry as an old bone. Aloft, floating free beneath the
moist, gleaming, membrane of bright blue sky, is the rising
earth, the only exuberant thing in this part of the cosmos.
 — Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher ,
1974.
 For those who have seen the Earth from space, and for the
hundreds and perhaps thousands more who will, the experience
most certainly changes your perspective. The things that we
share in our world are far more valuable than those which divide
us.
 — Donald Williams
 http://www.spacequotations.com/earth.html