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General Astronomy

General Astronomy. The Solar System The Outer Worlds. Many slides are taken from lectures by Dr David Wood, San Antonio College. The Planets. In order of increasing distance from the Sun: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune. Inner Planets. Outer Planets.

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General Astronomy

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  1. General Astronomy The Solar System The Outer Worlds Many slides are taken from lectures by Dr David Wood, San Antonio College

  2. The Planets In order of increasing distance from the Sun: • Mercury • Venus • Earth • Mars • Jupiter • Saturn • Uranus • Neptune Inner Planets Outer Planets My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos

  3. Planets We continue by looking at the Outer Planets and attempt to categorize their main features: Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

  4. The Outer Planets

  5. Jupiter

  6. Jupiter's Statistics

  7. Shoemaker – Levy 9 • May 1993 – Carolyn & Eugene Shoemaker, & David Levy find comet with 21 fragments orbiting Jupiter • July 20, 1994 – Comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 impacts Jupiter with Fragment “G” leaving a scar larger than Earth in diameter • Only impact event ever directly witnessed by human beings

  8. Saturn

  9. Saturn's Statistics

  10. Saturn’s Storms

  11. Saturn and Tethys

  12. Gas Giant Structure Hydrogen is converted from is gaseous to its liquid and metallic forms under pressure Galileo probe discovered a liquid water layer in Jupiter’s atmosphere Original seeds of planets form core

  13. Gas Giant Atmospheres • Jupiter • Composition is primarily 75% H2 and 24% He • Galileo probe detected a liquid water layer • We see cloud tops that swirl and change with lightning • Banded structure • Belts are dark bands that move vertically downward and horizontally eastward • Zones are bright bands that move vertically upward and horizontally westward • Great Red Spot • Stable for > 350 years • Counter-clockwise rotation in southern hemisphere • High pressure system • Resides between a belt and a zone and feeds off them • Saturn • Composition is primarily 79% H2 and 19% He • Banded structure with belts and zones but more subdued than Jupiter • Clouds are more spread out and smog in between • Faster equatorial wind speeds than Jupiter (1000 km/hr)

  14. Jovian Atmospheres

  15. Uranus

  16. Uranus' Statistics

  17. Spring Storms on Uranus

  18. Neptune

  19. Neptune's Statistics

  20. Ice Giant Structure • Hydrogen is converted from is gaseous to its liquid form under pressure • Cannot create enough pressure for metallic hydrogen • Almost certainly liquid water layers deep in planets…perhaps surrounding the cores • Diamond rain or snow? • Original seeds of planets form core

  21. Ice Giant Atmospheres • Uranus • Still primarily hydrogen & helium • Methane ice crystals provide bluish color • Belts and zones are very faint • Severe seasons due to large axis tilt • Recent Hubble observations show new storms raging as seasons as winter hemisphere sees sunlight • Neptune • Surprisingly active • Belts and zones visible to Voyager • Great Dark Spot and Little Dark Spot were/are giant storms • Great Dark Spot vanished between 1989 and 1995 • Highest wind speeds in solar system

  22. Comparing Jovian Planets t 21 moons have been discovered in 2003 alone

  23. Jovian Atmospheres Cloud Top

  24. Comparing Jovian Planets Oblateness (flattening) of Jovian planets is due to their rapid rotation.

  25. Obliquity Red line is the ecliptic

  26. Magnetic Fields • Jupiter • Metallic hydrogen generates enormous magnetic field • Tilted 10° to rotation axis • Io produces a small “hole” in magnetic field • Saturn • Metallic hydrogen generates large magnetic field • Not as large as Jupiter’s field since less metallic hydrogen • Tilted 0° to rotation axis • Uranus • Metallic hydrogen is not present, so core compounds generate magnetic fields • Tilted 60° to rotation axis • Neptune • Metallic hydrogen is not present, so core compounds generate magnetic fields • Tilted 46° to rotation axis

  27. Moons • Jupiter – 60 moons • Galilean Moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto • 11 moons discovered by Galileo in 2000 • Saturn – 30 moons • Titan possesses large atmosphere • Mimas is “Death Star” moon • Uranus – 23 moons • Named primarily after Shakespearean characters • Miranda possesses unique geology • 21st moon discovered in Oct. 2002 • 22nd & 23rd discovered Sept 2003 • Neptune – 11 moons • Triton possesses a weak atmosphere • 6 new moons discovered by Voyager 2 in 1989

  28. Rings • Jupiter • 1 ring • Visible only in backlighting • Discovered in 1979 • Saturn • 7 major rings • Thousands of minor rings • Radial spokes – still unknown • Discovered in 1600s • Uranus • 8 thin rings • Discovered in 1977 • Neptune • 7 minor ring arcs • Discovered in 1989

  29. Sizes Mercury Venus Mars

  30. More Sizes

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