Astronomy 101: The Solar System

1. Astronomy 101The Solar SystemTuesday, ThursdayTom Burbinetomburbine@astro.umass.edu

2. Course • Course Website: • http://blogs.umass.edu/astron101-tburbine/ • Textbook: • Pathways to Astronomy (2nd Edition) by Stephen Schneider and Thomas Arny. • You also will need a calculator.

3. There is an Astronomy Help Desk that is open Monday-Thursday evenings from 7-9 pm in Hasbrouck 205. • There is an open house at the Observatory every Thursday when it’s clear. Students should check the observatory website before going since the times may change as the semester progresses and the telescope may be down for repairs at times. The website is http://www.astro.umass.edu/~orchardhill/index.html.

4. HW #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, and #15 • Due March 30th at 1 pm

5. Exam #3 • Next Thursday • Covers everything from February 23rd to today • Formulas: density = mass/volume volume of sphere = (4/3)r3 n =no(1/2)(t/half-life) • F = GMm/r2 • I wouldn’t forget the formulas that we learned previously

6. Geologic Time Scale • A scheme to relate stratigraphy to time • Divided according to the rock types and type of fossils found in each one. 

7. Eras • Paleozoic (the era of "ancient life“) is characterized by fossils of invertebrates, primitive tetrapods, etc. • Mesozoic (era of "middle life“) is characterized by fossils of dinosaurs, etc. • Cenozoic (era of "recent life“) is characterized by mammals and modern plants and invertebrates.

8. Why is there such a large age difference between the beginning and end of the Cambrian? Ma – million years http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/socal/geology/geologic_history/images/geologic_time_scale.jpg

9. Cambrian is the earliest period where rocks are found with numerous large multicellular organisms that could be found as fossils

10. http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/fossils.html

11. http://creationwiki.org/pool/images/thumb/c/c5/Evolution_timeline.jpg/400px-Evolution_timeline.jpghttp://creationwiki.org/pool/images/thumb/c/c5/Evolution_timeline.jpg/400px-Evolution_timeline.jpg

12. http://www.cityastronomy.com/geologic-earth-moon-graphic.bmp

13. http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/WebImg/LunarTimeScale.gif http://www.etsu.edu/physics/etsuobs/starprty/21200mwc/moonmap.jpg

15. Moon • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTKedyQQkZQ

17. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010218.html • The Moon's orbital period is 27.322 days • Rotation period and orbital period are the same • This means we keep on seeing the same side of the Moon

18. http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/Wingmakers/Moon.html

19. Phases of Moon http://www.moonphases.info/images/moon-phases-diagram.gif

20. http://media.skyandtelescope.com/images/Moon-Phases-3x3-lbl.jpghttp://media.skyandtelescope.com/images/Moon-Phases-3x3-lbl.jpg

22. Moon • The Moon is the only know natural satellite of Earth. • Compared with the satellites of other planets of the solar system, The Moon is a large moon with a diameter of 3476 km and a mass of 7.349 x 1022 kg. • The Moon is an average distance of 384,400 km from Earth and completes its revolution of Earth in 27.32 days.

24. The Earth's magnetic field strength is about 100 times higher than the highest value measured on the Moon by the Apollo missions • The Moon does not have a magnetic field like the Earth (North and South Poles) due most likely to having a solid (or only partially molten) core • Earth’s core is convecting • A flowing molten iron-nickel material can produce electrical current, which, in turn produces a magnetic field that surrounds the Earth Earth http://geomag.usgs.gov/images/faq/Q6.jpg

25. The first manmade object to land on the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959 • The first photographs of the far side of the Moon were made by Luna 3 that same year

26. Who proposed an American mission to the Moon in 1962?

28. Houston, TexasSeptember 12, 1962 • We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not only because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

29. The first people to land on the Moon came aboard Apollo 11 in 1969. • http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11.html

30. Regolith – Lunar soil No moisture or organic component compared to terrestrial soil

31. Who was the 1st person to walk on the Moon

32. Who was the 1st person to walk on the Moon • Neil Armstrong • Apollo 11

33. Who was the 2nd person to walk on the Moon

34. Who was the 2nd person to walk on the Moon • Buzz Aldrin • Apollo 11

35. Moon • 30,000 craters having a diameter of at least 1 kilometers • Large craters are named after famous deceased scientists, scholars, artists

36. Late Heavy Bombardment • Period of time approximately 4.1-3.8 billion years ago where a large number of impact craters formed on the Moon • Ages of impact melt rocks from the Melt clustered between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years

39. The largest crater on the Moon, and indeed the largest known crater within the solar system, forms the South Pole-Aitken basin. • Roughly 2,500 kilometers in diameter and 13 kilometers deep

42. Central part of South Pole-Aitken Basin http://www.nhk.or.jp/kaguya/archive/index_e.html

43. South Pole of Moon • Some craters on Moon are permanently shaded from the Sun • May contain water ice http://shaunmoss.id.au/articles/Billabong.php

44. The dark and relatively featureless lunar plains are called maria, Latin for seas, since they were believed by ancient astronomers to be water-filled seas. • They are actually vast ancient basaltic lava flows that filled the basins of large impact craters. • Maria are found almost exclusively on the Lunar nearside, with the Lunar farside having only a few scattered patches.

45. Far Side of Moon

46. Other features on Moon • Rille - long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. • Floor of Gassendi crater • Leading theories for rille formation include collapsed lava tubes and tectonic extension. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AS16-120-19295.jpg

47. Other features on Moon • Scarp – steep slope or cliff • The Altai Scarp, which is the rim of the 860 km wide Nectaris impact basin, is nearly 500 km long and 3 to 4 km high. http://www.lpod.org/?m=20060517

48. Stratigraphy • Stratigraphy – studies rock layers and layering • On planetary bodies, we try to determine the relative ages when things formed

49. Principle of Superposition http://earthsci.org/fossils/geotime/time/Super.gif

50. http://dept.kent.edu/geology/ehlab/fundamentals/cross_cut.gifhttp://dept.kent.edu/geology/ehlab/fundamentals/cross_cut.gif