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Astronomy in the new Millenium. Volker Crede Grigory Rogachev. Formation of the Solar System. Nebular contraction: Cloud of gas and dust contracts due to gravity; conservation of angular momentum means it spins faster and faster as it contracts. Conservation of angular momentum.
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Astronomy in the new Millenium Volker Crede Grigory Rogachev
Formation of the Solar System Nebular contraction: Cloud of gas and dust contracts due to gravity; conservation of angular momentum means it spins faster and faster as it contracts
Conservation of angular momentum • Angular momentum – the tendency of a body to keep spinning.
Formation of the Solar System Condensation theory: Interstellar dust grains help cool cloud, and act as condensation nuclei
Lets name them (in correct order). • Mercury. (0.38 AU from the Sun) • Venus. (0.72 AU) • Earth. (1.0 AU ≈ 100,000,000 miles) • Mars. (1.52 AU) • Jupiter. (5.2 AU) • Saturn. (9.52 AU) • Uranus. (20 AU) • Neptune (30 AU)
“Cool” Venus features. (HOT actually) • Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar system! (900 oF – twice as hot as your oven can do). • Venus’s atmosphere is 90 time thicker then Earth’s atmosphere! • HOT, Crashing and Orange/Red… • And, eh, it is also very sloooooooooow. One Venus’s day = 243 Earth’s days and it rotates the wrong way!
Any pictures? A photograph of the surface, from the Venera lander, which did not survive for long though…
Mars • We learned SO much about Mars during the last decade! • Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and Mars orbiter Odyssey are diamonds in our scientific portfolio.
Mars’s “cool” facts. (wet actually) • A long, long time ago… • In a galaxy far, far away…
Mars’s “cool” facts. (wet actually) • 1 or 2 billion years ago Mars was covered with liquid WATER!
“Cool” facts. (cont.) • Mars is home of the largest mountain in the Solar system – Olympus mons. 25 km high! • Mars has the largest and the deepest canyon in the Solar system – Valles Marineris. It is as big as the entire USA and 7 km deep.
Gas Giants • Gas Giants are … • Well, gas giant. • They consist almost exclusively of gas, hydrogen and helium. • Lots of gas!
“Cool” fact about Jupiter • Jupiter is the Largest and the most massive planet in the Solar system. • If it would be just 80 time heavier it would become a star! • Jupiter has storm which is at least 300 years old! (Great Red Spot). • It looks like a zebra.
Uranus Neptune
Asteroids • Impact of a large asteroid can be VERY unpleasant.
Giant impact 65 millions years ago asteroid impact caused the Cretaceous extinction
Meteoroid • Small rocky object in space. • If burn in the atmosphere – meteor. • If survived the atmosphere and hits the ground – meteorite.
The Heart of the Sun Nuclear fusionrequires that like-charged nuclei get close enough to each other to fuse. This can happen only if thetemperatureis extremely high – over 10 million K.