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Sept. 12, 2011: 10am Class

Sept. 12, 2011: 10am Class. Please complete Quiz #3 on d2l before Friday, Sept. 16 Will talk about quizzes at beginning of class Pick up graded HW along the wall Star Party on Sunday, Sept. 18. Instructions will be emailed to those who signed up, including Constellation Exercise.

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Sept. 12, 2011: 10am Class

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  1. Sept. 12, 2011: 10am Class • Please complete Quiz #3 on d2l before Friday, Sept. 16 • Will talk about quizzes at beginning of class • Pick up graded HW along the wall • Star Party on Sunday, Sept. 18. Instructions will be emailed • to those who signed up, including Constellation Exercise. • Don’t forget: Starry Night HW, Telescope Lab • Today: Overview of the Solar System

  2. Our Planetary System Earth, as viewed by the Voyager spacecraft

  3. The Solar System consists of the Sun, and everything that is “bound” into orbiting around it because of gravity. • In addition to the planets, there’s the • Asteroid belt • Kuiper belt (Pluto and other trans-neptune objects) • Oort cloud (comets) • Properties diverse but holds clues to origin and formation

  4. Sun • Over 99.9% of solar system’s mass • Made mostly of H/He gas (plasma) • Converts 4 million tons of mass into energy each second

  5. What are the major features of the Sun and planets? Sun and planets to scale

  6. In order of Mass: Sun (330,000 Earth Masses) Jupiter (320) Saturn (95) Neptune (17) Uranus (15) Earth (1) Venus (0.82) Mars (0.11) Mercury (0.055) Moon (0.012) Pluto (0.002)

  7. There are eight major planets with nearly circular orbits. • Pluto and other “dwarf planets” or “trans-Neptune objects (TNOs)” are smaller than the major planets and have more elliptical orbits.

  8. Motion of Large Bodies • All large bodies in the solar system orbit in the same direction and in nearly the same plane. • Most also rotate in that direction. • Most planets with have moons that orbit in the same direction

  9. Two Major Planet Types • Terrestrial planets are rocky, relatively small, and close to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars • Jovian planets are gaseous, larger, and farther from the Sun: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

  10. Mercury • Made of metal and rock; large iron core • Desolate, cratered; long, tall, steep cliffs • Very hot and very cold: 425C (day)–170C (night)

  11. Venus • Nearly identical in size to Earth; surface hidden by clouds • Hellish conditions due to an extreme greenhouse effect • Even hotter than Mercury: 470C, day and night

  12. Earth Earth and Moon with sizes shown to scale • An oasis of life • A surprisingly large moon

  13. Mars • Looks almost Earth-like, but has very thin atmosphere • Giant volcanoes, a huge canyon, polar caps, more • Water flowed in distant past; could there have been life?

  14. Jupiter • Much farther from Sun than inner planets • Mostly H/He; no solid surface • 300 times more massive than Earth • Many moons, rings

  15. Saturn • Giant and gaseous like Jupiter • Spectacular rings • Many moons, including cloudy Titan

  16. Uranus • Smaller than Jupiter/Saturn; much larger than Earth • Made of H/He gas and hydrogen compounds (H2O, NH3, CH4) • Extreme axis tilt • Moons and rings

  17. Neptune • Similar to Uranus (except for axis tilt) • Many moons (including Triton)

  18. Swarms of Smaller Bodies • Many rocky asteroids and icy comets populate the solar system.

  19. Asteroids

  20. Comets: Rock + ice Comet Hale-Bopp 1997

  21. Notable Exceptions • Several exceptions to the normal patterns need to be explained.

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