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Chapter 6 The Solar System

Chapter 6 The Solar System. Early astronomers knew Moon, stars, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, comets, and meteors. 6.1 An Inventory of the Solar System.

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Chapter 6 The Solar System

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  1. Chapter 6The Solar System

  2. Early astronomers knew Moon, stars, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, comets, and meteors 6.1 An Inventory of the Solar System

  3. Now known: Solar system has 165 moons, one star, eight planets (added Uranus and Neptune), eight asteroids and more than 100 Kuiper belt objects more than 300 km in diameter, smaller asteroids, comets, and meteoroids 6.1 An Inventory of the Solar System

  4. More than 300 extrasolar planets have been found Understanding planetary formation in our own solar system helps understand its formation as well as formation of other systems 6.1 An Inventory of the Solar System

  5. Distance from Sun known by Kepler’s laws • Orbital period can be observed • Radius known from angular size • Masses from Newton’s laws • Rotation period from observations • Density can be calculated knowing radius and mass 6.2 Measuring the Planets

  6. 6.2 Measuring the Planets

  7. 6.3 The Overall Layout of the Solar System All orbits but Mercury’s are close to same plane

  8. Because the planet’s orbits are close to being in a plane, it is possible for them to appear in a straight line as viewed from Earth. This photograph was taken in April 2002. 6.3 The Overall Layout of the Solar System

  9. Diameter: Convert angular diameter to radians and multiply by distance. Mass: Measure distance and orbital speed of a planet’s moon. Then M = rv^2/G. Density: Divide mass by volume. More Precisely 6-1: Computing Planetary Properties

  10. In this picture of the eight planets and the Sun, the differences between the four terrestrial and four jovian planets are clear 6.4 Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

  11. Terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars Jovian planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune This table shows differences between the terrestrial and jovian planets 6.4 Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

  12. Differences among the terrestrial planets: • All have atmospheres, but they are very different; surface conditions vary as well • Only Earth has oxygen in its atmosphere and liquid water on its surface • Earth and Mars spin at about the same rate; Mercury is much slower, Venus is slow and retrograde • Only Earth and Mars have moons • Only Earth and Mercury have magnetic fields 6.4 Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

  13. Asteroids and meteoroids have rocky composition; asteroids are bigger Asteroid Eros is 34 km long 6.5 Interplanetary Matter

  14. Comets are icy, with some rocky parts Comet Hale-Bopp: 6.5 Interplanetary Matter

  15. Pluto, once classified as one of the major planets, is the closest large Kuiper Belt object to the Sun. Now we call these objects Plutoids. 6.5 Interplanetary Matter

  16. 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System Mariner 10: Flew by Mercury, 1974–1975 Next visit to Mercury: Messenger, 2011

  17. Soviet Venera probes landed on Venus from 1970 to 1978 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  18. The most recent Venus expedition from the United States was the Magellan orbiter, 1990–1994 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  19. Viking landers arrived at Mars in 1976 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  20. Typical orbital path to Mars: 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  21. Sojourner was deployed on Mars in 1997 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  22. Pioneer and Voyager flew through outer solar system. This is Voyager: 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  23. Gravitational “slingshots” can change direction of spacecraft, and also accelerate it Discovery 6-1: Gravitational “Slingshots”

  24. Cassini mission arrived at Saturn in 2004, has been there ever since and is still going! 6.6 Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

  25. Conservation of angular momentum says that product of radius and rotation rate must be constant More Precisely 6-2: Angular Momentum

  26. Nebular contraction: Cloud of gas and dust contracts due to gravity; conservation of angular momentum means it spins faster and faster as it contracts 6.7 How Did the Solar System Form?

  27. The observation of disks surrounding newly formed stars supports this theory 6.7 How Did the Solar System Form?

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