Chapter 11
Space- We continue to Learn a lot about the Solar System by using Space Exploration
Section 11.1
The Sun page 390
- is average sized star, millions of km away -300,000 more massive then Earth, 99% of all mass in our
solar system -Approx. 5 billon years old with 5 billion more to go!
The huge size of the sun causes pressure and heat to build up at the center of the sun as gravity pulls the
mass inward… Thermonuclear Reactions turn H(hydrogen) into He(helium) giving off Heat, Light and UV
radiation in the process.
Solar Radiation – the E (energy) emitted (given off) from the sun is in the form of Electromagnetic
Radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation is
… Energy that is carried or radiated in the form of waves that range in length, ex. Microwaves, radio
waves, UV waves
The Earth is located in the “Goldilocks Zone”, not too hot, not too cold, just right!
Solar Radiation –energy emitted (given off) from the sun in the form of Electromagnetic Radiation. UV
rays, infrared rays and visible light are some of the common ones.
The sun has:
SUNSPOTS–dark patches of slightly cooler (3500°C) surface areas on the sun, they increase and decrease
in number on an 11-yr cycle. They may be related to changes in the Earth’s climate.
SOLAR FLARES –eruptions of gas on the suns surface
SOLAR PROMINENCE- large loops of super hot gas.
The Sun Creates Solar Winds see page 392 for diagram.
Solar Wind page 393
Hot energy bubbles “pop” on the surface of the sun and send high Energy particles with dangerous
amounts of radiation rushing past Earth.
Earth is protected from this solar wind by its magnetic field.
Some of the particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere at the poles where they collide with the gas in the
atmosphere to create Aurora borealis and Aurora Australis (Northern/Southern lights) page 394.
Some solar winds can disturb Earth’s magnetic field and disable satellites, knock out power lines, and
expose astronauts to high levels of radiation.
Section 11.2 page 398
Characteristics of the Celestial Bodies of the Solar System.
The Planets
To be a planet it must…
1.… orbit 1 or more stars
its orbital path
2… be large enough so its gravity holds it in place
3… be the only body in
Astronomical Units (AU)
Used to measure distances in space
1 AU = 150 million km (the distance from the Earth to the Sun)
Activity 11-2A:Terrestrial and Jovian Planets ( this was completed in class use this to correct what you
have listed)
Criteria
Terrestrial Planets (Inner)
Jovian planets (Outer)
Size
Motion
Composition
Distance from the sun
Temperature
Density
Small (all earth size or smaller)
Large (4 to 11 times greater than
Earth)
faster, small orbits
Slower, larger orbits
slower spinning
Faster spinning
Solid and rocky
Gaseous
Closer
Further away
Warmer but temperatures vary
Colder, but temperatures vary
greater
Lesser
Mnemonic Device to Remember the order of the Planets???
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
PLUTO
Now considered Dwarf Planet
– a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is generally smaller than a planet but massive enough for
its own gravity to give it a round shape. However they are not strong enough to clear their orbit
of debris
There are many other “dwarf planets” some are bigger and some like Pluto have moons.
COMETS
“dirty snowballs” composed of ice, rock and gas
Originate from the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud
They travel in long elliptical orbits around the sun which are affected by the gravitational pulls of other
planets
It has a long dust tail as sunlight starts to melt the ice, these can stretch millions of km
Most famous Halley’s comet which is visible every 76 years or so
Periodicity of Comets:
"Period" is the amount of time it takes an object in orbit to return to its starting location.
Comets travel in short and long periods around the sun in elliptical orbits. (see diagram page 360
textbook)
ASTEROIDS
Small bodies believed to be the leftover remains of the formation of the Solar System
Mostly found in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
They have irregular shapes
Range in size from a grain of sand up to 1000km
An asteroid up to 1 km would devastate Earth
METEORS
Meteoroid –a rocky chunk, broken off an asteroid or planet, which floats through space
Meteor–a meteoroid that burns up as it passes through Earths atmosphere, seen as a shooting star
Meteorite–a meteoroid that does not burn up fully in the Earths atmosphere and hits the Earths surface
Deep Impact Sites
A place where a relatively small object (meteorite) has collided with a larger object (planet)
Produces a fairly circular depression in the surface of the larger object referred to as an impact crater
1.
2.
3.
4.
Canadian contributions and partnerships to Space exploration/research page 415
The Canadarm 1 remote manipulator system
Canadarm 2 (Space station remote manipulator system)
The international space station (ISS)
(SPDM) special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator Canadahand built to attach to the Canadarm 2
Canadian Astronauts
Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Chris Hadfield (refer to research you collected on their space careers)
(There are more Canadian astronauts but these are the ones we will be concerned with)
Refer to “Rocket Worksheet” cut and paste activity for notes on Technologies designed to explore
space.
The Hubble space telescope is an optical telescope put in Earth’s orbit in 1990. No air to spoil the view.
The Canada France Hawaii Telescope is an optical telescope placed on a dormant volcano in Hawaii so it
has less air and no clouds to contend with.
The Very Large Array Radio Telescope is a collection radio telescopes joined electronically to receive
radio signals.