Solar System Formation & Planetary Evolution: A Comparative Study

1. Astronomy 100 Comparative Planetology Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars

2. Now: How are planets formed? Why does Earth have water? How do rocks form? • Main concepts: solar system formation, comparative planetology, Moon formation hypotheses, cratering, plate tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, atmosphere, solar wind/auroras, • Vocabulary: protoplanetary disk, crater, Heavy Bombardment, cratering, atmosphere, mantle, differentiation, plastic, greenhouse effect, albedo, ejecta, rays, solar wind, auroras

3. Formation of the Solar System • The Solar Nebula was spinning • Protostar • Protoplanetary disk • Bits coalesced • Ta-da – planets! • NOW: • String represents 5 billion years (50 feet) • Each foot is 100 million years. • Place the events in order. • You have 20 minutes ONLY

4. Heavy Bombardment

5. Differentiation • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss1FNrNTGRM Robert Simpson http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2946389087_57dfbb682e_b.jpg

6. Crust • Mantle • Core • Plastic From: NASA http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/wbkids/k_earth_prt.htm

7. Fission, Capture, Condensation, Giant Impact? Starchild/NASA http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question38.html

8. Crater, ejecta, rays, albedo NASA http://craters.gsfc.nasa.gov/crater_diagram.html

9. http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/ Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

10. http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/ Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

11. http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/ Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

12. Comparative Volcanoes

13. Volcanoes • Composite • Shield http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/atlas/images/oly-az.jpg http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/stories/Landsat_USCities/images/mt_rainier_natural.jpg

14. Plate Tectonics http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/mission/images/PIA02820_mola.jpg

15. Martian North Pole and Terrestrial (Earth) South Pole • Describe three things that are the same about the landforms. • Describe three things that are different about the landforms. • Why do both planets have ice caps? • Why are the ice caps different sizes? • Valles Majas & the Grand Canyon • Describe three things that are the same about the landforms. • Describe three things that are different about the landforms. • What force do you think formed the Grand Canyon? • What force do you think formed Valles Majas? • Do you think it is the same force? Why or why not? How do your observations support this conclusion? • Olympus Mons and the Hawai’ian Islands • Using the contour gauge, trace the profile of both Olympus Mons and Hawai’i. Draw your guess for what the internal structure might look like inside both volcanoes.

16. Weathering/Protection • Water • Atmosphere • Greenhouse effect • Solar wind

17. Answer Now: Why do the Moon and Mercury have more craters than the Earth? What types of planets are there in our Solar System?

18. Now: How many other worlds have humans walked on? How many “planets” have we “explored?” Main concepts: Mercury missions past and future Venus missions past and future Moon missions past and future Mars missions past and future Vocabulary: Apollo, MER, Altair, Constellation, Venera, MESSENGER

19. Answer Now: • Why do the Moon and Mercury have more craters than the Earth? • What types of planets are there in our Solar System?