THE SOLAR SYSTEM

1. THE SOLAR SYSTEM AN EDUCATIONAL TOUR

2. THE SOLAR SYSTEM Major Members: • Sun • Planets • Moon Minor Members: • Asteroids • Meteoroids • Comets

3. THE SUN Great Ball of Fire

4. THE SUN • Only star in the solar system • About 150 million km away • Nearest star to the Earth • Middle-sized yellow star

5. THE SUN • Diameter : 1392000 km • Volume: could take in a million earths with room to spare • Rotates once every 25 days at the equator and once every 33 days at the poles • Huge ball of gas (H2 and He)

6. The great amount of energy of radiant and thermal energy absorbed by the convective envelope heats the gases, causing them to rise, become turbulent, and create disturbances on the outer part called the photosphere • Corona • Outermost part of the sun • Seen as an envelope of white light around the sun during a total solar eclipse • Temperature is about • 1 to 2 million °C Chromosphere Appears colored during a solar eclipse Extends to a height of about 5000 km from the sun’s surface Temperature increases with its altitude, from 3700 °C at lower altitudes to about 49700 °C at the upper regions where it merges with the corona Photosphere Below the Chromosphere Only visible part of the sun Temperature of about 6000 °C Most of the sun’s activity starts in the photosphere Principal source of sun’s radiation • Inner Core Temperature 15000000°C • Nuclear Fission • Mass lost from the reaction is converted to thermal and radiant energy • Sun converts 4 million tons of matter into energy per second Helium gases cannot escape into space because of the pressure of overlying layers of gases Only radiant energy, largely in the form of x-rays, can pass through these layers of gases • Radiative Zone • Layer where the energy radiates through the layers of gases • Extends about 90% of the sun’s radius • Takes about 10 million years for energy to pass through this zone Radiant energy released from the core is absorbed and converted to thermal energy in the convective zone

7. THE SUN • Granules • Bright and dark spots on the surface of the sun • Actually bubbles of hot gases hundred of kilometers in diameter • Main source of radiation

8. THE SUN • Solar Prominences • Big eruptions on the surface of the sun • Often referred to as fiery fountains • Likened to the explosion of 100000 hydrogen bombs

9. THE SUN • Spicule • Usually a small but sharp eruption which lasts for about 15 minutes to 1 hour

10. THE SUN • Solar Flare • A spicule lying flat and with a bigger and longer stem • Usually occurs near a sunspot

11. THE SUN • Sunspot • Region on the surface of the sun which is darker because it is several thousand degrees cooler than its surroundings • Temperature is lower (about 537.7 °C) than around the spot (about 6093.3 °C) • Huge magnetic storms which develop in the sun’s interior and erupt on the surface • Have some effect on the earth

12. THE PLANETS Greek word “Planetai” meaning “Wandering Star”

13. THE PLANETS A celestial body that is in orbit around the sun that has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium shape.

14. THE PLANETS Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nuts

15. THE PLANETS • Terrestrial Planets • Have small orbits • Relatively small and have high densities due to their rocky bodies made of heavy elements • Mercury • Venus • Earth • Mars

16. THE PLANETS • Major Planets • Have large orbits • Very large and massive • Have dense atmospheres and low average densities • Much more similar to the sun in composition, being made of lighter elements and light gases like hydrogen and helium, with a little methane, ammonia, and water • Jupiter • Saturn • Uranus • Neptune

17. THE PLANETS

18. THE PLANETS • Move around the sun in a west to east direction in elliptical orbits • Most orbits lie approximately in the same plane as the earth’s orbit

19. MERCURY Smallest Planet of the Solar System

20. MERCURY • Diameter : 4880 km • Rotates once every 59 days • Revolves around the sun in 88 days • Distance: 58 million km

21. MERCURY • Has very high temperature • Very low gravity • Has no atmosphere • Mercury’s surface is marked with countless holes and craters • Since mercury is closer to the sun than the earth it is seen as an evening star just after sunset and as a morning star just before dawn

22. VENUS The Red Planet

23. VENUS • Diameter : 12100 km • Rotates once every 243days • Revolves around the sun in 255days • Distance: 108 million km

24. VENUS • Earth’s twin • Similar in mass, size, and in having an atmosphere • Images showed that Venus is Round and its surface is Smooth • Found to rotate very slowly clockwise • No moon and no water • Completely covered with thick layers of clouds • Called the “Veiled Planet”

25. VENUS • A very hot planet, much hotter than Earth or even mercury • Temperature ranges from 426 to 500°C • Since temperature is high, pressure on the surface is also very high • Surface pressure is about 90 atmospheres at least 75 times that of the Earth • Top of Venus’ clouds, temperature drop suddenly to about 1.1°C

26. VENUS • High temperatures on Venus is attributed to the greenhouse effect • Carbon dioxide makes up 96% of Venus’ atmosphere • Recently, other heat-absorbing particles such as water and sulfur dioxide were detected • Water accounts for 0.1% of the greenhouse effect • Large amount of sulfur dioxide in the clouds is singled out to be largely responsible for the planet's high temperature

27. VENUS in TRANSIT • A transit of Venus across the sun takes place when the planet passes directly between the sun and the earth, becoming visible against the solar disk • Transit of 2012 lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes

28. EARTH The Blue Planet

29. EARTH • Diameter : 12760 km • Rotates once every 24 hours • Revolves around the sun in 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 43 seconds • Distance: 150 million km

30. EARTH'S MOON • Only satellite of the earth • Distance: 384000 km away from the Earth • Diameter: 3476 km • Orbits Earth in 27 1/3 days • No atmosphere • Moon’s surface is marked all over by the countless craters of various sizes formed by falling meteorites

31. EARTH'S MOON Phase of the Moon • the shape of the moon that we see

32. EARTH'S MOON New Moon • When the moon is between the Earth and the Sun, the unlighted side of the moon faces the Earth so we do not see it

33. EARTH'S MOON Crescent-shaped Moon • As the moon moves 1/8 of its orbit farther

34. EARTH'S MOON First Quarter Phase • When the moon reaches ¼ of its orbit, half of its lighted surface is visible to us

35. EARTH'S MOON Gibbous • After the first quarter phase, the moon appears larger than a half circle

36. EARTH'S MOON Full Moon • Halfway on its orbit, the moon’s lighted side faces the Earth and we see a bright and round moon

37. EARTH'S MOON Third Quarter Phase • The moon continues in orbit and its lighted, visible part becomes smaller and smaller turning into gibbous in shape • Three quarters along its orbit

38. ECLIPSE • Disappearance and appearance of a bright object in the sky • Happens wherein their journey along their orbits, the earth, the sun, and the moon come to a straight line

39. ECLIPSE • Lunar Eclipse • When the earth is between the sun and moon • Solar Eclipse • When the moon is between the earth and sun

40. MARS The Next Earth?

41. MARS • Diameter : 6800 km • Rotates once every 24.64 days • Revolves around the sun in 687 days • Distance: 228 million km

42. MARS • Has a thin atmosphere which offers very little protection against the sun’s radiation • Sudden changes in temperature occur which vary from 26.6°C during the day to 65.5°C below zero at night. • Soil contains peroxide and its atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, a little carbon monoxide, and very small amounts of nitrogen, argon, oxygen, krypton, and xenon • Atmosphere also includes clouds and fogs

43. MARS • There is no liquid in mars • Water in other forms may be found in the atmosphere and beneath the surface of Mars • Frozen carbon dioxide forms the thin mist seen above the atmosphere and the polar caps of mars • MARINER 9 showed that Mars’ surface is heavily cratered in some parts, covered with short ridges and furrows in other parts, and has bright circular plains or deserts in the remaining parts

44. MARS • Red color, probably caused by the carbon suboxide(C3O2), a rare, foul-smelling compound • Ultraviolet radiation changes the arrangement of atoms in the molecules of this compound so that it acquires an orange or reddish brown color • The bright pinkish sky • Red dust on mars is iron oxide which is similar to that on earth

45. MARS • Has seasons like the earth • Axis is inclined 25° from the perpendicular to its orbit • The greater ellipticity of mars’ orbit compared to that of earth causes more unequal heating of the northern and southern hemispheres • Summer is extremely hot and short in the southern hemisphere • In the northern hemisphere, summer is less extreme and concentrates large amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere near the north polar caps • Polar caps seen during the winter are craters ringed with dry ice • In spring, ice caps do not melt but rather evaporate

46. MARS Olympus Mons • Volcano on mars • Largest known volcano in the solar system • About 25 km high

47. MARS VallesMarineris • Canyon on Mars

48. MARS' MOONS • Two known moons • Phobos • Deimos • They are irregular in shape and were probably captured asteroids.