The Solar System
Modeling the Solar System
__________ Model
Ancient __________
 Earth is at the center of the __________.
 The Earth stood __________ & never moved.
 __________ are on a separate sphere orbiting the Earth
 7 objects moved differently in the sky known as the “__________” or __________. Sun, Moon, Mercury,
__________, Mars, __________ & Saturn
__________
 Designed an updated model of the __________ model.
 The planets __________in circles around the Earth & also travel in __________ on the orbit.
__________ Model
Nicholas __________
 Earth revolves around the __________.
 __________ revolves around the Earth.
 Earth __________ on an axis.
 Planets revolved around the __________.
 Planets have __________ orbits.
__________ Brahe & Johannes __________
 Brahe charted the motions of celestial bodies before __________.
 ____________________ Kepler used Brahe’s data to form the Laws of __________ Motion:
1. The path of a planet around the Sun is an __________.
2. A planet will travel _________when it is closer to the Sun & cover a greater distance than when it is farther away.
3. The more __________ the planet’s orbit is from the Sun, the longer it takes to make a single revolution.
Revolutionary __________
Mercury = __________ Earth days
Earth = __________days
Jupiter = __________Earth years
Pluto = __________8 Earth years
__________Theory: Formation of the __________ System
1. More than __________years ago, the solar system was a cloud (nebula) __________ of gas, ice, & dust.
2. Gradually, this cloud fragment contracted into a large, tightly packed, _____________. The disk’s center was so hot
& dense that nuclear __________reaction occur forming the Sun.
3. The rest of the material in the disk cools enough to clump into __________solids.
4. Finally, these clumps __________ & combined to become the planets, dwarf planets, comets, __________, etc.
» The planets all orbit on the same __________ called the ecliptic.
» The 8 __________ occasionally line up in a straight line.
__________ and the Solar System
Galileo
 Believed that objects __________ to the Earth at the same rate despite the object’s __________.
 ____________________slows down falling objects.
Sir Isaac __________
 Law of Universal __________
» Gravity is a __________generated between two objects.
» Gravity depends on the mass of each object & the __________ between them.
Gravity Equation
F is gravitational __________
r is the distance between the 2 __________
m is the __________ of an object
G is the Gravitational __________
G= 6.673 x 10 -11
Albert __________
 Theory of General __________
» __________ tells space how to __________.
» Curved space__________ matter how to move.
» __________moves in the straightest possible __________in curved space-time.
Distances in the Solar System
 Astronomical __________
 Distances in space are __________of miles/kilometers in the solar system.
 One __________ units (AU) is the distance btw the Earth & Sun. 1 AU = __________miles = 150 million km
Terrestrial Planets
Mercury
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman messenger god (__________)
 Covered in __________ & cliffs, similar to the Moon.
 No true atmosphere; trace amounts of __________ & __________.
 As cold as __________in the dark & as hot as 425oC in the light.
Venus
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman goddess of love & beauty (__________)
 Thick atmosphere of __________ which causes a severe __________ effect producing temperatures well over
__________. (Hottest planet)
 Air pressure is __________ times greater than the Earth’s.
 __________ to Earth’s size.
 Has retrograde rotation (__________ backwards)
 Takes longer to __________ than to revolve around the Sun. (Day is longer than its year.)
 __________with inactive volcanoes.
 3rd brightest object in Earth’s __________.
Earth
 __________ AU from the Sun
 Also known as __________, __________, or Home.
 More than __________ of Earth’s surface is covered in water.
 Only planet known to have__________in existence.
 Has a __________ satellite (Moon/Luna.)
Mars
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman god of war (__________)
 __________ (rust) in the soil gives it a reddish color.
 Polar ice caps made mostly of frozen __________ (dry ice) & some water.
 Mars is __________the size of the Earth.
 __________dust storms.
 Ranges from __________at night & 20oC during the day.
 Olympus Mons, the largest __________in the solar system is on Mars.
 Thin __________ atmosphere of Nitrogen & CO2
 Mars has two small moons that came from the __________ belt.
__________ Planets
Jupiter
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman king of the gods.( __________)
 Completely made of Hydrogen & __________ gas (gas giant)
 __________of the solar planets.
 Swirling bands of __________clouds in the upper atmosphere.
 Large rotating hurricane called the ______________________________. (2 Earth sizes)
 4 faint __________in orbit.
 __________times greater in mass than all of the other planets combined.
 Has at least __________ natural satellites, 4 largest are known as the __________ Moons.
 Ganymede



» Largest __________ in the solar system (bigger than __________,but less mass.)
» Covered with a crust of __________ & ice that is heavily cratered.
» Thin atmosphere of __________.
Callisto
» __________largest moon in the solar system
» Most heavily__________object in the solar system.
» Thin atmosphere of __________
Europa
» Covered in a shell of __________
» A deep __________beneath the ice shell.
» Thin atmosphere of __________.
Io
» About the size of the __________ Moon.
» Most __________ active body in the solar system. Erupts sulfur.
» Thin atmosphere of __________ dioxide.
» No__________.
Saturn
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman god of agriculture. (__________
 Made of __________ & Helium (gas giant)
 __________ poles from spinning very fast.
 Less dense than __________.
 Most elaborate system of rings (rock & ice __________)
 __________ or more rings.
 56 or more natural __________.
 Titan
» __________largest moon in the solar system.
» Has a thick, dense atmosphere mostly of __________ & some __________.
» Surface is “__________” & has lakes of liquid hydrocarbons.
Uranus
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Greek god of the __________.
 Gas giant made of __________, Helium & methane.
 __________ on its side.
 System of __________s.
 __________or more moons.
Neptune
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman god of the sea (__________)
 Gas giant made of __________, Helium, & methane.
 Near-_____________ & dynamic storms.
 __________ ring system.
 13 known moons
 Triton
» Icy, __________ surface.
» Coldest body in the solar system (__________)
» Icy volcanoes & __________erupting Nitrogen, dust & __________
Dwarf Planets
Ceres
 __________AU from the Sun
 Largest object in the __________ belt (__________ in diameter.)
 __________an asteroid for over 150 years.
 It is believed to have a rocky core, icy water __________, & a thin, __________ crust.
Pluto
 __________AU from the Sun
 Named after the Roman god of the __________ (Hades)
 __________largest dwarf planet in the solar system.
 Pluto’s companion, __________ , is half the size & doesn’t __________ around Pluto.
 Pluto & Charon are small enough to fit __________ the United States.
Eris
 __________AU from the Sun
 Largest known dwarf planet in the solar system with a diameter of __________km.
 At least one moon, __________.
Other Possible Dwarf Planets
 Orcus
 __________
 Charon
 Possibly __________ others
Other Solar Objects
Comets
 Large chunks of __________ gases, rock & dust orbiting the Sun. (Dirty __________
1. __________ – main portion of the comet
2. Coma – thawed gases & dust form a bright cloud surrounding the __________.
3. __________ – solar winds push away the gases of the __________ forming a blue ion tail & a yellowish-white dust
tail.
Famous Comets
__________ Comet
» Most famous comet
» Returns roughly every __________years.
Comet Hale-__________
» Comet discovered by __________astronomers.
» Last seen Spring of 1997.
Comet Shoemaker-__________9
» Broke into several pieces and collided with __________ in 1994.
» They created several __________marks in the atmosphere that eventually disappeared.
Asteroids
 Large chunks of rock material left over from the __________ of the solar system.
 Most __________ are found in the asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter.
Meteoroids, Meteors, & Meteorites
 __________ are pieces of rock & dust left behind by orbiting comets.
 Small meteoroids that ____________in the Earth’s atmosphere are called __________ or “shooting stars.”
 Larger meteoroids that don’t burn up in the atmosphere and hit the Earth are called __________.