OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
THE NEBULAR THEORY
• The Nebular Theory is based off of observations of objects, such as
comets, asteroids, shape and size of our planets in our solar systems as
well as stars outside our solar system.
• The theory states a gas cloud, mostly likely fro a supernova, was pulled
inward by the force of gravity, creating a larger central mass that would
eventually become our sun.
• The gas cloud then began rotating so quickly that it began to flatten into
an accretion disk by the centripetal force.
• Then, matter began to pull the gas and dust into Planetisimal.
• The growth of the Planetisimals continued as the collisions of material
merged to create larger bodies.
• The first planet to be generated was Jupiter through merging of light
elements and ice. The other Jovian planets formed similarly. All Jovian
planets that acquired a disk of matter along it equator, which eventually
became the rings.
• The terrestrial planets formed from accretion of elements that resisted
vaporization in the intense heat; such as rock and metal.
• Eventually all remaining materials either merged with planets through
impacts, became icy comets with orbits or remained in the Asteroid Belt.
TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
• The four inner planets
that are similar to
Earth.
• Have rocky bodies
• Densities range
from 3.5-5.5g/cm3
• A= Aphehelion is
the point furtherst
from the sun
• P= Perihelion is
point closest to the
sun
MERCURY- THE GOD OF SPEED
• Diameter:3,029miles (1/3 size of Earth)
• Distance from Sun: A= 43 mill, P=29 mill
• Temperature:427C day, -173C
• Number of Moons: 0
• Atmospheric composition: Sodium and
Oxygen; deposited from the Sun
• Rotation: 59 day
• Revolution: 88 days
MERCURY:
• Mercury lacks an atmosphere due to the intense
solar wind as well as very little gravity due to its
small mass.
• Mercury’s interior consists of an extremely large
nickel-iron core.
• Mercury’s small magnetic field demosntrates that
the core is still molten.
• Surface of Mercury is covered in craters, due to
lack of atmosphere for protection, as well as,
cliffs called scarps.
• Recent images in 2012 have show that there has
been evidence of lava and volcanic activity on
Mercruy through volcanic vents.
VENUS- THE GODDESS OF LOVE AND BEAUTY
• Diameter: 7,521 miles
• Distance from Sun: A= 67.2 mill
• Temperature: Average of 464°C
(Earth is 15C)
• Number of Moons: 0
• Atmospheric composition: 96.5%
Carbon Dioxide, 3.5% Nitrogen
• Rotation: 243 days- it’s day is longer
than its year (most likely due to an
impact°
• Revolution: 224.7 days
VENUS
• Venus also has a very low tilt (2.6°), so even if it did cool,
it would not have seasons.
• With the large amount of carbon dioxide in its
atmosphere, Venus suffers from extreme Greenhouse
Effect, trapping of heat to the surface from CO2, so it
averages over 800°F.
• Venus has an extremely large and dense cloud layer.
These clouds are composed of sulfuric acid and the
atmospheric pressure is equivalent to being under 3000
feet of water!
• Venus is too hot for liquid water now, however, new
evidence found traces of oxygen and hydrogen in the
Venusian atmosphere which suggests the planet was
once rich in water, but must have been at a much cooler
at the time.
• Venus has retrograde or backwards rotation. Meaning
The Sun rises in the west and sets in the east on Venus.
EARTH
• Diameter:7,926 miles
• Distance from Sun: A- 93mill, P- 90
million miles
• Temperature: Averaged 65°F, 15°C
• Number of Moons: 1
• Atmospheric composition: 78%
nitrogen, 21% oxygen
• Rotation: 24 hours
• Revolution: 365.25 days (leap
year)
EARTH
• Have four distinct seasons due to 23.93°
tilt
• Molten mantle, which allows for Plate
Tectonics
• Plate Tectonics not only created and
changed our surface but it volcanic
eruptions created water on Earth!
• OZONE LAYER- protects life!
• Only planet with specialized atmosphere
that protects the surface from impacts and
radiation from sun.
• Extremely strong Magnetosphere.
• Only Planet with LIFE!
MARS- GOD OF WAR
• Diameter:4,213 miles
• Distance from Sun: 141.6 million
miles
• Temperature: -55°at night at 20°C
during the day
• Number of Moons: (Deimos and
Phobos- asteroids)
• Atmospheric composition: 95.3%
carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen
The ice on Mar’s poles is a
carbon dioxide ice not H2O ice.
• Rotation: 24.63 hours
• Revolution:687 days
MARS’S
SURFACE
• Mars’s surface is reddish-brown due to high
amounts of iron oxide (rust) in its soil.
• The southern and northern hemispheres
differ in that the southern is heavily
cratered while the north is covered in great
plains.
• There is evidence of heavy lava flows,
however, these volcanoes were created
from hot spots rather than plate tectonics.
• Mar’s Olumpus Mons is larger than
Colorado and three times larger than Mt.
Everst!
• The Valles Marineris is a canyon 10 times
longer than the Grand Canyon and was
most likley formed from ANCEINT plate
tectoncs 3 bya.
MAR’S ATMOSPHERE
• The Greenhouse Effect exists on Mars as well but
Mar’s has a lot less atmospheric pressure.
• Mars’s atmosphere is also extremely thin due to it
lower gravity.
• Mars is believed to have had water however, the
above left image recently showed that Mars’s
seasonal water evaporating from its landscape.
Old rivers and valleys show that Mars may have
been covered in rivers and NOW shows salt
deposits, which means Mars’s salty water would
have been able to resist freezing.
• As shown here, Mars also experiences planetwide dust storms that cover the planet for weeks.
JOVIAN PLANETS
• Jovian planets are the gas giants of
the solar system.
• They range from 15 to 300 times
the mass of earth and are 4-10
times larger in diameter.
• They all have solid cores as well as
rings with generally a large amount
of satellites (moon) due to their
strong gravities.
JUPITER- THE KING OF THE GODS
• Diameter: 88,846 miles
• Distance from Sun: 483.6 million
miles, the difference in miles between
Aphelion and perihelion is 47.3
million miles
• Temperature: -166°F
• Number of Moons: 63
• Atmospheric composition: 89.8%
Hydrogen, 10.2% helium
• Rotation: 99.6 hours (fast due to
massive gravity)
• Revolution: 11.86 earth years
JUPITER’S ATMOSPHERE
• Due to it’s rapid rotation, the shape of
the planet is distorted so the equator
is 7 percent larger than the diameter
of the poles.
• Also, the rapid rotation causes the
clouds to flow rapidly creating bands
called belts that alternate in light and
dark colors.
• Jupiter also has the Great Red Spot,
which is a hurricane-like storm that is
three times larger than earth.
• Jupiter’s surface is a condensed
gaseous plasma but has a solid, metal
and rocky core.
JUPITER’S 4 MAJOR MOONS
1. Io- most volcanic object in solar
system, orbit is only 42.5 hours
around Jupiter
2. Ganymede- largest moon in solar
system, made of rock and carbon
dioxide ice
3. Callisto- much brighter than our moon
(ice reflects more sunlight) darker
regions are rock
4. Europa- ice-covered ball of rock,
average temp around -225°F, however,
there is a very good chance of warm
(by the cgravity pulsating) liquid water
to be under the ice which could
possilby have microscopic life
SATURN
• Diameter: 74,898 miles
• Distance from Sun: 888 mill miles
• Temperature: -220°F
• Number of Moons: 55
• Atmospheric composition: 96.3%
Hydrogen, 3.7% helium
• Rotation: 10.66 hours (fast due to
massive gravity)
• Revolution: 29.46 Earth years
•
Saturn
has
an
extremley
low
density,
so
SATURN- GOD OF AGRICULTURE
much that it would float in water!
• Saturn can be observed from Earth with a
naked eye 10 months out of the year. It
appears pale yellow due to the thick cloud
layers (3 distinct layers) that have
crystallized ammonia at their tops.
• Saturn also experiences Auroras from the
Sun’s solar wind that can been seen on its
southern pole.
• Saturn's’ magnetic field is a 1000 X’s larger
than the Earth’s!
SATURN’S RINGS
• The rings are compsed of microscopic
particles to house-sized chunks.
• There are 7 major rings and each ring
is made up of smaller rings called
ringlets.
• These particles reflect a lot of light
presenting a beautiful color display.
• These rings change as the moons
move through them.
• Saturn’s rings are paper thin, in
comparison to the size of the planet.
• Origin of the rings is most likely an
object that was shattered by an
asteroid or a moon broken apart by
Saturn’s gravity.
Titan
SATURN’S MOONS
• Titan is unique because its
atmosphere is made up of
elements that orginate carbon
material such as nitrogen and
methane.
• This is a very Earth-like
atmosphere.
Enceladus
• Enceladus is similar to Europa in that
there could be liquid oceans under the
ice heated by the gravity pulsing creating
heat.
• Crack in the ice and gysers support the
idea of abundant surface liquid water.
URANUSGOD OF THE
SKY
• Diameter: 31,763 miles
• Distance from Sun: 1.78 bill miles
• Temperature: -353°F
• Number of Moons: 27
• Atmospheric composition: 82.5%
Hydrogen, 15.2% Helium, and 2.3%
Methane (small amount of methane
creates the pale blue color)
• Rotation: 17.24 hours (fast due to
massive gravity)
• Revolution: 84 Earth years
URANUS
• Uranus was first discovered accidently in 1781
when a bluish object was observed in the night
sky.
• Uranus is 4 times larger and 15 times more
massive than earth.
• Uranus has few clouds and they blend into the
atmosphere.
• The interior is very similar to the other Jovian
planets with a liquid interior and a rocky core.
• Uranus has a very faint ring system, however,
the rings run vertically due to Uranus’s 98° tilt.
(Most likely due to a large impact) Due to this
tilt, each pole will spend 42 earth years in
darkness and 42 years in the light.
• Uranus has five major rocky moons, shown
above.
NEPTUNE- GOD OF THE SEA • Diameter: 30,760 miles
• Distance from Sun: 2.8 billion miles
• Temperature: -320°F
• Number of Moons: Was 13, now 14
(Hubble telescope recently spotted
another moon)
• Atmospheric composition:79%
Hydrogen, 18% Helium 3% Methane
• Rotation: 16.11 hours (fast due to
massive gravity)
Neptune has a Great Dark Spot, similar to
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
• Revolution: 164.9 years Earth years
NEPTUNE
• Before it was discovered in 1846, Neptune was
predicted before it was discovered using
Newton’s universal law of gravitation formula.
• Neptune is slightly smaller and denser than
Uranus but also gains its blue color from the
methane in its atmosphere.
• Neptune has six rigns composed of microscopic
particles.
• Unlike Uranus, Neptune has very distinct and
thick cloud layers with belts and a Great Dark
Spot, similar to that of Jupiter. (however, the
Great Dark Spot moves often and sometimes
disappears.)
• Triton, Neptune’s largest moon has retrograde
motion, which means it revolves backwards.
• Triton also has nitrogen gysers on its south pole
that erupt when sunlight reaches its icy
surface.
THE DWARF PLANETS
• There are FIVE Dwarf Planets in our Solar
System; Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea
(found in the Kupier Belt) and a very large
asteroid called Ceres.
• What is a Planet?
• In 2006 the International Astronomical
Union define a planet as an object that
orbits the sun with sufficient mass and
gravity.
• Dwarf Planets orbit the sun but do not clear
their “neighborhood” and they are not a
moon(satellite)
Ceres
Pluto
• Ceres is located in the Asteroid Belt. It was
discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi
• Average distance from Sun- 3.8 billion miles
• Has a diameter of only 605 miles
• Diameter- 1,432 miles
• Orbits the sun every 4.5 years
• 5 Moon- Charon (Diameter of 730 miles), Nix , Hydra, Vulcan and Kerberos.
(Ask who voted to select the last two names of Pluto’s moons)
• Temperature- -382°F
• By far the most massive object in the Asteroid
• Atmosphere- 99.97% Nitrogen
Belt, contains about one third of the belt’s
• Rotation= 6.38 days
total mass!
• Pluto is 14 times more massive than Ceres
• Revolution= 248.6 years
• Gravity- 1/8 that of Earth
• Orbit- Pluto has a more elliptical and titled orbit, one of the reasons its lost
identification as a planet. This tilted orbit sometimes allows it to be closer to
the sun than Neptune, making Neptune further than Pluto.
• Eccentricity: .25
Eris
•
Eris was discovered in 2003, this caused
the controversy of Pluto because these
two objects were the same size
•
Most likely large than Pluto (too far)
•
White in color and 97 AU’s away
•
Has 1 moon
•
Eccentricity is .43
•
Has a moon named Dysnomia
•
Eris used to be named Xena- Warrior
Princess
•
Takes 557 years to orbit the sun!
Makemake
• Makemake was discovered in
March 2005 by a team of
astronomers led by Mike Brown.
• Makemake officially became a
dwarf planet in July 2008
• Makemake is named after the
Rapa people of Easter Island.
• Makemake officially became a
dwarf planet in July 2008
Haumea
• Haumea was classified as a
dwarf planet in 2008
• It is a large Kupier Belt Object
• It take 285 year to orbit the Sun
• It has a diameter of 1,218 miles
• Has two moons, Hiiaka and
Namaka
• Haumea is named after the
Hawaiian goddess of fertility
and childbirth
• Its fast spin caused it to become
oval
CELESTIAL OBJECTS: ASTEROIDS,
METEORS, METEORITES AND COMETS
A. Asteroids- large pieces of rocky debris, some larger
than our moon.
A. Most asteroids in our solar system are located
in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
B. Asteroids do not have a specific orbit, they
cluster in the belt and are continuously
knocked out or pulled in my Jupiter.
Computer animated asteroid
impact
Images of asteroids in
space
Kuiper belt
Halley’s Comet
(Every 76 years)
B. Meteors and Meteorites:
A. Meteors- pieces of rock that burn up in our
atmosphere. (shooting star)
B. Meteorite- pieces of rock that survive burning
up in our atmosphere and land on the surface
of the Earth.
C. Comets- balls of ice and dust in a specific orbit in
space.
A. Kuiper Belt and Orrt Clouds-these are two
areas at the edge of our solar system where
comets are located until knocked into a new,
closer orbit.
Meteor Shower
Meteorite