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Intro to the Solar System

• I. How did the solar system form?

• A. First, the sun formed from its nebula.

• 1. Refer to nebular theory and for more details.

• B. All material from the nebula was not drawn
  into the sun.

• 1. Left over material collided together making
  larger objects. .

• 2. These objects became the planets.

• 3. Everything else became dwarf planets, moons,
  comets, asteroids, meteoroids.

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C. Two Types of Planets Formed.

• 1. One type is called the inner planets.
  (Terrestrial)
• 2. Inner planets- The solid iron core, close to
  the sun, rocky planets. Planets Mercury, Venus,
  Earth, and Mars are classified as inner planets.

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• 3. The other type is called the outer planets.
• 4. Outer Planets (Jovian)- The light gas planets,
  furthest away from the sun. Jupiter, Saturn,
  Uranus, Neptune are classified as outer
  planets.
• 5. All planets orbit the sun in an elliptical
  orbit. (Ellipse is the shape. Egg)

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The Inner Planets

• A. Mercury- The closest planet to the sun

• 1. Looks like earths moon.

• 2. Craters and cliffs are Mercurys dominant
  feature.

• 3. smallest.

• 4. No atmosphere.

• 5. Temperatures get as high as 450 degrees
  Celsius during the day, and fall to -185 degrees
  Celsius at night.

• 6. Named after the Roman Messenger God.

• 7. One day 59 earth days, one year 88 earth
  days.

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• B. Venus Earths Sister Planet

• 1. The hottest planet in the solar system.

• 2. Temperatures stay constant around
• 480 degrees C. (900 degrees F)

• 3. Its thick CO2 atmosphere causes the high
  temperatures.

• 4. CO2 in the Venus atmosphere causes the Green
  House Effect.

A.) Radiation from the sun enters Venus
atmosphere and is absorbed by the ground.
B.) The radiation turns into heat or Infrared
radiation.
C.) Heat then tries to escape from the planet.
D.) CO2 absorbs most of the heat trying to
escape.
E.) The planet keeps getting warmer warmer.
F.) Almost the same way a green house stays warm.

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• Venus Continued

• 5. Venus rotates clockwise.

• 6. Named after the Roman Goddess of Love and
  Beauty.

• 7. One day 243 earth days, One year 225 earth
  days.

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C. Earth Our Planet

• 1. The only planet that can support human life.

• 2. Only planet that has all states of H2O on it.

A.) Solid Ice
B.) Liquid Water
C.) Gas Water Vapor

• 3. Has one moon.

• 4. The only planet with live plate tectonics.

• 5. Larger than three planets and smaller than
  four planets.

• 6. One Day 24 hours, One Year 365.25 days.

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D. Mars The Red Planet

• 1. Mars looks red because its surface soil has
  iron in it.

• 2. When iron reacts with O2 you get rust.

• 3. The largest volcano in the solar system exists
  on Mars. ( Olympus Mons )

• 4. Named after the Roman God of War.

• 5. Mars has two moons revolving around it.

A.) Phobos - Larger moon.
B.) Deimos - Smaller moon.

• 6. One Day 24.6 hours, One year 687 earth
  days.

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The Outer Planets

• I. Outer Planets

• A. Jupiter The Largest Planet

1. Patterns of colorful clouds are Jupiters
dominant feature. Lightning storms continually
occur. (The Great Red Spot is the most
spectacular.)
2. Under the clouds, scientists think, lies a
huge ocean of liquid hydrogen.
3. Under the ocean there is a core of solid
hydrogen.
4. Jupiter has 63 moons.
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• 5. The Galilean Moons, the four largest moons,
  are named after Galileo. He discovered them with
  his first telescope.

A.) Ganymede
The Largest moon in the solar system.
Larger than Mercury.
B.) Callisto
2nd largest of Jupiters moons.
C.) Io
Most famous moon of Jupiter
Active volcanoes cover the surface.
Red Yellow sulfur erupts 180 miles high
into Ios sky.
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Jupiter Continued
D.) Europa
Covered by a thick layer of H2O ice.
Under the ice may be some liquid water.
Scientists and science fiction artists have
speculated that if it is true there may be
forms of life in this water!.

• 6. Jupiter is named after the Roman King of the
  Gods.

• 7. Has a dark narrow ring system.

• 8. One day 9hours, 51 minutes, One year 11.9
  years.

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• B. Saturn The Ringed Planet

1. 2nd largest planet.
2. Has a large ring system going around the
planet.
A.) What is a ring?
They are made of small pieces of ice and rock.

They are not solid.
B.) How did they form?
Scientists believe that moons of Saturn may
have wondered to close to it.
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Then Saturns gravity pulled the moon apart.

The distance away from the planet a moon must be
before being torn apart.
Roche Limit -
All of Saturns rings are inside this limit. .

3. Has a very low density. (Would float on
water.)
4. Has 56 moons.
5. Titan Largest moon of Saturn. (2nd largest IN
SOLAR SYSTEM)
A.) larger than Mercury.
B.) Its atmosphere resembles Earths. Made mostly
of Nitrogen.
C.) Has very large oceans of liquid methane.
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3.
1.
4.
2.
5.
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• 6. One day 10hours 40 minutes, One year
  29.5 years.

• 7. Named after Jupiters Father The Roman God
  of Agriculture.

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• C. Uranus The Sideways Planet

1. Uranus was plotted on a star chart at one
time.
2. Made mostly of Helium and Methane. (these
gases give the planet its blue-green color.)
3. Spins on its side. (Possibly struck by another
object and flipped on its side.)
4. Has a very small, dark ring system.
5. Has 27 moons.
6. 3rd largest planet
7. Named after the father of Saturn
The Earliest Supreme God.
8. One day 17.2 hours, One year 84 years.

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• D. Neptune The Blue Planet

1. Last of the gas giant planets.
2. Made mostly of Hydrogen, Helium, Methane.
(This gas gives the planet its blue color.)
3. Has a very small, dark ring system.
4. Has 13 moons.
5. Triton is its largest moon.
Triton has the coldest surface temperature in
the solar system. (-435 degrees F or -260 degrees
C.)
Has active geysers spewing out liquid methane
and H2O Ice.
6. Named after the Roman God of the Sea.
7. 4th largest planet.
8. One day 16.1 hours, One year 164 years.

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• II. Planets, Dwarf Planets, Small Solar System
  Bodies

A. Planet- is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the sun.
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to
shape it into a nearly round shape.
(c) has cleared the neighborhood around its
orbit of all objects.
(d) There are 8 of these objects recognized.
B. Plutoids / Dwarf Planets- is a celestial
body that
(a) has all the characteristics above except
the one below.
(b) Has not cleared the neighborhood around
its orbit of all objects
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(d) There are 5 of these objects recognized.
1. Trans-Neptunian Dwarf Planets
Pluto (God of the Underworld), Eris (Goddess
of Chaos Discord), Makemake (The creator of
humanity), Haumea (the Hawaiian goddess of
fertility and childbirth)
Most Kuiper Belt objects will eventually
join this status. ( Around 41 others)
Kuiper Belt- a band of icy debris that is
in orbit around the sun, outside of Neptunes
orbit.
2. Other Dwarf Planet
Ceres (Goddess of Plants.)
C. Small Solar System Bodies- All other
objects except satellites orbiting the sun.
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ORBITAL PLANES
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Comets, Meteoroids, Asteroids

• I.. Comets

1. Comet -
Is composed of dust and rock particles mixed with
H2O, Methane and Ammonia.
2. Where do comets come from?
A.) Oort Cloud -Large collection of comets, that
lies in a cloud, completely surrounding the solar
system.
B.) This cloud orbits the sun beyond the orbit of
Pluto.
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• II. Structure of Comets

1. A comet starts off as a round ball of dust and
rock mixed with frozen water methane ammonia.
A.) This is the comets nucleus.
2. As it travels closer to the sun the water,
methane and ammonia starts to melt.
3. A cloud of gases form around the ball.
A.) This is the comets Coma.
4. The sun then pushes the coma in the opposite
direction.
A.) This forms the comets tail.
B.) As the tail forms, pieces of the comet break
away and drift off into space. .
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• 5. As the comet is heading away from the sun it
  will eventually freeze up into a simple nucleus
  again.

• 6. After many trips around the sun the comet will
  eventually die.

• III. Asteroids, Meteoroids, Meteors, Meteorites

• 1. Asteroids -

A piece of rock that is similar to the material
that formed our planets.
A.) Most are located between the orbits of Mars
and Jupiter.
B.) This area is called the asteroid belt.
C.) Asteroids range in size from small dust like
particles to large rocks 900-1000 km wide.
D.) Ceres is the largest asteroid ever found.
(940km wide)
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• 2. Meteoroids-

Small pieces of rock that travel through space.
A.) Most are found to be pieces of a comet that
broke away during its orbit around the sun, or
the result of an asteroid collision.
B.) When a meteoroid passes through the path of
the earths atmosphere it is then referred to as
a meteor.

• 3. Meteor-

A meteoroid that burns up in the earths
atmosphere.

• 4. Meteorite-

A meteoroid so large that it does not burn up the
entire way and strikes earths surface.