The Solar
System
How should we categorize the objects in
the Solar System?
Our Star, the Sun
Our Star, the Sun
The Sun is the Largest Object in
the Solar System
• The Sun contains more than 99.85% of the
total mass of the solar system
• If you put all the planets in the solar system,
they would not fill up the volume of the Sun
• 110 Earths or 10 Jupiters fit across the
diameter of the Sun
How big is the Sun?
Tutorial: Sun Size (pg – 63)
• Work with a partner!
• Read the instructions and questions carefully.
• Discuss the concepts and your answers with one
another. Take time to understand it now!!!!
• Come to a consensus answer you both agree on.
• If you get stuck or are not sure of your answer, ask
another group.
Debrief Tutorial: Sun Size
• The Sun is HUGE!
• Any questions?
The Sun has a diameter of approximately
1.4 million kilometers. Roughly how many
Earths would fit across the diameter of the
80%
Sun?
10
100
1000
10,000
1 million
on
1
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10
00
10
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8%
6%
3%
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10
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Sun has a diameter of approximately
1.4 million kilometers. Roughly how many
Earths would fit across the diameter of the
80%
Sun?
10
100
1000
10,000
1 million
on
1
m
ill
i
0
00
10
00
10
10
8%
6%
3%
0
3%
10
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
If you were constructing a scale model of the solar system
that used a Sun that was the size of a basketball (~ 12”
diameter), which of the following lengths would most closely
approximate the scaled distance between Earth and the Sun?
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3 feet (length of an outstretched arm)
10 feet (height of a basketball goal)
100 feet (height of an 8 story building)
6% 7%
300 feet (length of a football field)
3
1.
2.
3.
4.
If you were constructing a scale model of the solar system
that used a Sun that was the size of a basketball (~ 12”
diameter), which of the following lengths would most closely
approximate the scaled distance between Earth and the Sun?
69%
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3 feet (length of an outstretched arm)
10 feet (height of a basketball goal)
100 feet (height of an 8 story building)
6% 7%
300 feet (length of a football field)
3
1.
2.
3.
4.
Comparisons among the nine planets show
distinct similarities and significant
differences
How should we divide the Solar System?
How should we divide the Solar System?
How should we divide the Solar System?
How should we divide the Solar System?
Jupiter
Mercury
Mercury
Jupiter
Mercury
Jupiter
• Which of these is Earth-like?
• Which of these is Jupiter-like?
• Or are they the same (both Earth-like
or Jupiter-like)?
How should we divide the Solar System?
The Inner Planets
(Family Portrait)
The Outer Planets
(Family Portrait)
Inner (Terrestrial) Planets
•
•
•
•
•
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Characteristics
–
–
–
–
–
Small
Rocky
Very close to the Sun
Have few moons
Have no rings
Mercury
Photographs
from Mariner
10 reveal
Mercury’s
lunar-like
surface
Mercury
Moon
The surface of
Venus is
completely
hidden beneath
permanent cloud
cover
The Venusian Surface
Venus is covered with gently rolling hills and
numerous volcanoes
EARTH
• More on this planet later
Mars, as seen from Earth
Mars, as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope
Enormous
shield
volcanoes
Valles Marineris is as big as the entire United States of America
Ice caps dominate the poles during
different times of the year
Olympus Mons - the largest volcano in the solar
system has a base larger than the state of Arizona
Early space probes to Mars found no
canals but did find some
controversial features
Surface features indicate that
water once flowed on Mars
Ohio
River
valley
on Earth
River
channels
on Mars
Viking I Lander Picture from 1976
1999 Picture
from the Mars
Pathfinder
Lander
Note the remotecontrol rover,
Sojourner, next to
a Martian rock
Mars Water/Ice Discovered
Activities Manual
Prather • Offerdahl • Slater
The Martian meteorite found
in Antarctica has not
provided conclusive evidence
about life on Mars
2004 testing Opportunity Lander at JPL
2004 “Opportunity” Landing Site – and tracks
2004 “Opportunity” picture of Crater Wall
2004 “Opportunity” drilling holes in crater wall
with robotic
2004 Spirit tracks back to landing site
Most asteroids orbit the Sun
between Mars and Jupiter
In general, asteroids are small
Asteroid Ida and its
tiny moon, Dactyl
Outer
Outer
(Jovian)
Planets
Planets
•
•
•
•
•
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
•
•
•
•
Enormous
Gaseous
Far from Sun
Separated by large
distances
• Have ring systems
• Have many moons
Inner planets are vastly different than outer
planets in terms of orbital distances
The Outer Planets
(Family Portrait)
Jupiter is the Largest of the Gas Giant Planets
Besides being the
largest planet,
Jupiter is probably
best known for its
Great Red Spot - a
hurricane-like storms
that has been
observed ever since
the invention of the
telescope.
Jupiter has four large moons and
lots of small ones
Io’s surface is sculpted by volcanic activity
Europa may
harbor
liquid water
below its
icy surface
Ganymede is larger than Mercury
Callisto wears
the scars of a
huge asteroid
impact
Saturn has the most extensive ring
system in the solar system
Saturn’s spectacular rings are composed of
fragments of ice and ice-coated rock
Titan is Saturn’s largest moon
Titan has a thick,
opaque
atmosphere rich
in nitrogen,
methane and other
hydrocarbons
(including ethane,
acetylene, ethylene,
and propane)
Saturn and Jupiter
share the same
basic structure
A system of rings and
satellites revolves
around Uranus
Uranus has a hazy
atmosphere with
few clouds
Uranus’ tilt gives it very
exaggerated seasons
Uranus’
odd moon
Miranda
Brilliant blue
Neptune has
a giant storm
too
Neptune’s
Rings
Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, was
probably captured by Neptune’s gravity
Uranus and Neptune have similar
interiors
Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in
1930 by comparing photographs taken
a few days apart.
Pluto and its moon,
Charon, are about the same
size
PLANET “X”!!!
• In 2005, after a search of about half of the
sky and the discovery of dozens of objects
almost the size of Pluto, we found 2003
UB313, the first object larger than Pluto and
the largest object found in the solar system
since 1848
Collisions dominated the early solar system
• dust collects together into planetesimals
• planetesimals collect together into
protoplanets
• Protoplanets gather up left over debris and
became planets
The solar system formed from a cloud of cold
gas and dust called the solar nebula about 4.6
billion years ago
The planets formed by the accretion of
planetesimals and the accumulation of gases
in the solar nebula
Which planet formed
at the furthest location
from the Sun where it
was hot enough to boil
water ?
A. Mercury
B. Mars
C. Jupiter
D. Neptune
E. None of the above
Which planet formed
at the furthest location
from the Sun where it
was hot enough to boil
water ?
A. Mercury
B. Mars
C. Jupiter
D. Neptune
E. None of the above
Tutorial: Temperature and Formation
of Our Solar System – p. 57
• Work with a partner!
• Read the instructions and questions carefully.
• Discuss the concepts and your answers with one
another. Take time to understand it now!!!!
• Come to a consensus answer you both agree on and
write complete thoughts into your LT.
• If you get stuck or are not sure of your answer, ask
another group.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The standard model of solar system formation offers what
explanation for the different compositions of the terrestrial and
Jovian planets?
During the condensation, the heavier elements tended to sink nearer
the Sun and only provided enough material to build the relatively
small terrestrial planets.
During the collapse of the gaseous nebula, most of the material
tended to collect far from the Sun because of the large centrifugal
forces, which provided the necessary material to build the large
Jovian planets
The large gravitational forces of Jupiter tended to prevent plant
formation in the inner solar system and eventually attracted most of
the material into the region of the Jovian planets
The terrestrial planets were formed near the Sun where, because of
the high temperatures, only heavier elements were able to condense
The standard model of solar system formation offers what explanation for
the different compositions of the terrestrial and Jovian planets?
1.
2.
3.
During the condensation, the heavier elements tended to sink nearer the Sun and
only provided enough material to build the relatively small terrestrial planets.
During the collapse of the gaseous nebula, most of the material tended to collect
far from the Sun because of the large centrifugal forces, which provided the
necessary material to build the large Jovian planets
The large gravitational forces of Jupiter tended to prevent plant formation in the
inner solar system and eventually attracted most of the material into the region of
the Jovian planets
4. The terrestrial planets were formed near the Sun
where, because of the high temperatures, only
heavier elements were able to condense
Which planet formed closest to the Sun at
temperatures near the Sun below the freezing
point of water?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Which planet formed closest to the Sun at
temperatures near the Sun below the freezing
point of water?
Jupiter
Astronomers have discovered massive gas giant planets like Jupiter orbiting companion
stars at closer than .7 AU (about distance of Venus’s orbit) Why don’t astronomers
believe that these gas giants originally formed at these locations?
1. The planets’ gravity would have been too large to
form that close to the star
2. The temperature in th eearly solar nebula was too
high at these distance
3. Their orbital periods are too long for them to be
located that close to their companion stars
4. A young star’s solar wind would have blown the
planets farther away.
Astronomers have discovered massive gas giant planets like Jupiter orbiting companion
stars at closer than .7 AU (about distance of Venus’s orbit) Why don’t astronomers
believe that these gas giants originally formed at these locations?
The temperature in the early solar nebula was
too high at these distance
Vagabonds of the Solar System
Comet Kohoutek and Comet West
Comets have two tails
Comets often have two tails:
a thin ION tail and a curving DUST tail
The anatomy of a comet
ion tail
coma
dust tail
Comets lack tails until they enter the inner solar system. A
comet’s tails always point away from the Sun, no matter
which way the comet is moving!
Anatomy of a comet
15 km long by 8 km wide
Comet Halley nucleus
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the dusty tail debris
left by a passing comet. Dust particles burn up as they enter Earth’s
atmosphere, like bright light shooting from a single point in the sky.