The Solar System

1
The Solar System

• What is our little corner of the Milky Way Galaxy
  like?

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Composition of the Solar System

• The sun 99.85 of all the matter in the solar
  system.
• Jupiter contains more than twice the matter of
  all the other planets combined.
• Star/Sun 1
• Planets 8
• Dwarf Planets 5

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Size Comparisons
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Solar System Structure

• All planets orbit the sun in a counter-clockwise
  fashion. Orbits are contained within a very
  narrow disk or plane.
• Most orbits are very nearly circular with the
  exception of Mercury and Pluto.

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Solar System Structure

• The spin axes of most planets and moons are
  perpendicular to the orbital plane (Venus and
  Uranus are notable counter examples).
• Thus, solar system is basically disk shaped with
  the Sun near the center.

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Small Rocky Worlds

• Terrestrial/Rocky Planets Small, dense, rocky
  worlds with less atmosphere than the other type
  of planet. Craters, no rings, very few moons.
• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth
• Mars

7
Jovian/Gaseous Planets

• Jovian Planets Large, gaseous, low density
  worlds. Thick gaseous mostly hydrogen
  atmospheres, rings, lots of moons, and very large
  in comparison to terrestrial planets.
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Neptune
• Uranus

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Pluto

• Pluto Does not fit the current definition of a
  planet.
• Pluto is a small icy world clearly different from
  either the Jovian and Terrestrial worlds.
• Since its discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, it
  has been a unique mystery mostly because of its
  great distance from the Earth and is peculiar
  orbit.

9
Plutos Orbit
10
Space Debris

• Asteroids ? (minor planets) are small rocky
  worlds. Most (not all) orbit between Mars and
  JupiterAsteroid Belt . Most are irregular in
  shape, crated, and dense.

11
Comets

• An impressive glowing object that is illuminated
  by the Sun as it sweeps through the inner solar
  system. Dirty snowball theory. (Water and CO2
  ices)

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• Meteor ? falling shooting star bits of rock
  and metal falling into the Earths atmosphere and
  bursting into vibrant light as they drastically
  heat because of the friction created between them
  and the Earths atmosphere. These bits are, on
  average, tiny specks of dust, sand grain size,
  small pebbles NOT large.
• Meteoroid ? in space before its fiery collision
  with the Earths atmosphere.
• Meteorite ? fallen piece that survived the fall.
  Most shooting stars are less than 1 gram of
  material.

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Age of the Solar System

• Oldest rocks dated on Earth 3.9 billion years
  however, the Earths own volcanism and
  plate-tectonics erase most of the evidence!!
• Lunar rocks are dated to 4.48 billion years.
• Meteorites 4.6 billion years
• Sun estimated age is based on all the
  circumstantial evidence 4.5 - 5 billion years.
  It has about a 10 billion-year life.

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Solar Nebula Theory
A large massive slowly rotating cloud of
interstellar material begins to collapse under
the influence of gravity. A star forming nebula
begins to grow warm and grow denser.
The warming center is becoming a protostar of
mostly hot hydrogen gas. Further out in the
nebula other clumps of dust and debris are
gathering into asteroid sized objects and
planetesimals.
15
Solar Nebula Theory
When nuclear fusion begins we have a new star!
The star will vaporize the inner regions of the
cloud and begin to drive off the gaseous and
dusty material
As the star continues to shine and produce energy
the nebula is driven off revealing the surviving
material planets, comets, and asteroids.
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