Download Earth, moon and sun

THE SUN, EARTH AND
MOON
SUN FACTS
• It would take 109 earths or almost 10
Jupiters lined up, edge to edge, to fit
across the sun.
• The sun is about 330,000 times more
massive than earth and 1048 times
the mass of Jupiter.
• The sun makes up 99% of the total
mass of the solar system.
• The density of the center of the sun is
1.50x105 kg/m3, which is 13 times the
density of lead.
LAYERS OF THE SUN
1. Inner Core: (1.5x107°C)-Nuclear
Fusion occurs creating energy.
2. Radiative zone: energy is transmitted
through radiation.
3. Convective zone: area of
convection currents where the heat
is constantly
4. Photosphere-(6000 °C)the visible
surface of the sun, the two outmost
layers are transparent
5. Chromosphere-(10,000°C)the
chromosphere appears red, is only
visible during a solar eclipse and
releases most UV radiation
6. Corona-(over 1 million °C)is fully
exposed during a solar eclipse and
emits x ray radiation
Sun’s composition and energy:
The sun is made up of mostly hydrogen (70.4%)
and helium(28%) with less than one percent
made up of oxygen, carbon and other trace
gases.
NUCLEAR FUSION
Fusion comes from the core of the Su , where pressure
and temperatures are extremely high.
The process by which hydrogen atoms(light weight
atomic nuclei) are converted in to helium atoms and
release an enormous amount of energy.
The mass of the fused helium is less than the combined
mass of four hydrogen atoms, which means mass is lost
during the process of nuclear fusion.
According to Einstein's famous formula (E=mc2), the lost
mass is converted into energy.
At the current rate of the Sun’s conversion in nuclear
fusion, the sun is about half way through its life cycle
with about 5 billion years remaining. So the Sun used
about 3% of its hydrogen.
*Every second 4.5 million tons of solar mass is converted
to radiant energy in the core of the sun.
LIFE CYCLE OF OUR SUN
Our Sun has lived almost 5 billion years of its life and will lived approximately 5 billion more as a
medium star.
Due to a decreases in atomic fuel, in about 4 billion years our Sun will begin to increase in
temperature.
Then it will expand and cool to a Red Giant in 5 billion years.
In around 10 billion years from now, our Sun will become a hot white dwarf then most likely burn
out as a Black Dwarf.
Because of their internal structure, a star only burns about 10% of it totally H and He.
ORBITS AROUND THE SUN AND MOON
The Earth’s orbit around the Sun, as well as the
moon around the sun, is an “ellipse”, flattened
oval. This causes us to have moments when we
are closing to or further away from the sun.
The Earth-Sun distance varies by about 3%, or
roughly 5 million km (3 million miles), over the
course of a year.
Aphelion- point when the Earth furthest away from
the sun (July)
*Remember “A” for “Away”
Perihelion-point when the Earth is closest to the
sun. (January)
Apogee-point when moon is furthest away form
the earth
Perigee-point when the moon is closest to earth
SUN-EARTH-MOON SYSTEM
• The sun rises in the east and set in the
west, as do the moon, stars and planets
due to the earth’s rotation.
• As the earth rotates, it takes the earth
about 4 minutes than 24 hours to
complete the rotation.
• The moon rises and sets 50 minutes later
each day because the Moon moves 13°
in its orbit over a 24 hour period, and Earth
has to turn an additional 13° for the Moon
to rise.
• Barycenter is the central mass of the earth
that pulls on the moon.
• Due to spherical shape of the moon, the
barycenter shifts, causing the Moon to
“wobble” throughout its orbit.
• The wobble causes the moon to only line
up yearly for eclipses rather than monthly.
REASON FOR SEASONS
o The earth’s elliptical plane(orbit)
allows the earth to travel around the
sun on at 23.5°tilt, which causes our
seasons on earth.
Tropic of Cancer
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
o When Tilted towards the
sun:(aphelion)
o Sunlight on or above Tropic of
cancer
o Summer in north
o Winter in south
o 24 hours of sunlight in arctic
o When Tilted away from the
sun:(perihelion)
o On or above Tropic of Capricorn
o Summer in the south
o Winter in the north
o 24 hours of sunlight in Antarctic
SEASONS
A. Solstice-when the sun is overhead at its furthest
distance either north or south.
a) Tropic of Cancer= summer in north
b) Summer solstice-(Around June 21)Longest day
of year with most sunlight, first day of summer
c) Winter Solstice (around December 21) shortest
day of the year and first day of winter
B. Equinox-midway in orbit between solstices and
equal hours of day and night
a) Vernal Equinox (around March 21) first day of
spring
b) Autumnal Equinox (around September 21) first
day of fall
C. Zenith-is the sun’s maximum height at midday. It
varies throughout the year, depending on viewer’s
location
a) At equinox, zenith appears lower
b) Winter solstice is its lowest position
SUN’S EXTERIOR
Corona
Solar
Prominence
Sunspot
Solar
wind
Solar
Flare
SOLAR PROMINENCE
Solar prominences are large arch of
ejected gas from the chromosphere.
These often have a twist and
occasionally become unstable,
ejecting plasma and magnetic flux out
from the sun.
The prominences are associated with
sun’s magnetic field.
SUNSPOTS
These are darker, cooler areas on the surface of the sun
created by disturbances in the sun’s magnetic field.
They may be as small as 16 kilometers or as large
160,00kilometers but usually around twice the size of the Earth.
Usually around 4500°C.
Activity on our Sun varies over a roughly 11-year cycle.
At the beginning of a cycle, sunspots are sparse. The spots
gradually increase over several years, peak, and then decrease
over the next several years, with spots from old and new cycles
often occurring simultaneously as a new cycle starts.
At the end of October 2008, another batch of sunspots
appeared, most of them belonging to a new cycle!
SOLAR WIND
Solar wind is the gas and charged particles that
flows outward from the corona at high speed of
400km/s
Earth’s Magnetosphere: The Earth’s invisible
magnetic field.
This field attract solar particles from the sun that
could destroy all life on Earth.
The field forms around the Earth’s magnetic poles,
which rotate every 10,000 years.
Our magnetic poles are shifting right now and will
change possibly within your lifetime.
The earth’s magnetic field is believed to be
caused by the fluid motion of the outer molten
core caused by the earth’s rotation acting like a
dynamo generating a magnetic field in the axial
direction.
Solar Wind can also interfere
with communication devices on
Earth, such as cell phones.
Earth’s Magnetosphere
Solar wind
Solar Wind
AURORA BOREALIS-
(NORTHERN LIGHTS)WHEN CHARGE PARTICLES FROM THE SUN ARE
ATTRACTED TO OUR MAGNETIC POLES.
As the electrons enter the earth's upper atmosphere, they will encounter atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at
altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth's surface. The color of the aurora depends on which atom is
struck, and the altitude of the meeting:
Green - oxygen, up to 150 miles in altitude
Red - oxygen, above 150 miles in altitude
Blue - nitrogen, up to 60 miles in altitude
Purple/violet - nitrogen, above 60 miles in altitude
SOLAR FLARES
This is a solar storm explosion on the surface of the sun.
Gas and energy is shot from the surface with a
temperature of 12,000°C.
Solar Flares are much larger than our Earth.
Solar Flares can interact with Earth’s atmosphere
causing from problems with communication and cell
phone use.
Example: Air Force One 1984 with President Regan,
while in-route to China (during the Cold War!)
EARTH
Earth
CREATION OF THE MOON
THE IMPACT THEORY
o Based on examining rocks of the lunar surface, scientists have determined the age of the moon to be 3.84.5 billion years old, same as the Earth.
o According to the Impact Theory, the Moon formed as the result of a collision between Earth and a Marssized object about 4.5 billions years ago.
o The impacts caused materials from the incoming body and Earth’s outer layers to be ejected into space,
where over time they merged to form the moon.
A molten
Earth,and
4.5 mostly silicate material that came from
o The Moon is made up of small amount of iron
at the core,
Billion years ago.
earth’s mantle and crust.
o The Moon’s crust is therefore similar to the Earth’s crust.
MOON FACTS
• 238,900 miles (384,400 km) from the Earth
• Due to the lacking of an atmosphere, the
moon temperature in sunlight is 127°C but
drops to -173°C when there is no sunlight!
• Moon’s atmosphere is extremely thin
weighting only 22,000lbs.
• Albedo is the percentage of light that is
reflected by an object. The moon’s
albedo is 7% compared to 31% of Earth.
• The moon is small with a diameter about
the distance from New York to San
Francisco.
• 1.2% the mass of the Earth
Surface of the Moon:
Maria
•Surface Features
1. Craters- depressions from impacts. Bombardment
from meteoroids was mostly 800 million years
ago.
2. Rays- lines of ejected materials around craters
3. Rilles- valleys from old lava depressions- similar to
lava tubes on Earth
4. Highlands- mountain ranges that surround crater
depressions
5. Maria(mare)-large dark regions, once believed
to be oceans, now known to be old lava pools
6. Ejecta- material blasted out from impacts
•The rocks of the moon are mainly basalt ( a granite-like
rock), a very common igneous rock on the Earth and
silicates (silicon and oxygen type rocks (which make-up
96% of Earth’s surface).
•The moon’s surface has been heavily cratered due
to its atmosphere being too thin to protect. (too little
gravity)
Rays
Crater
Highlands
Rilles
craters
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
• Synchronous rotation: the moon’s rotation equals
its revolution (both at 29.5 days)
• Scientists theorize that Earth’s gravity slowed the
Moon’s original spin until the moon reached its
synchronous rotation.
• Due to the synchronous rotation and revolution of
the Moon, only one side of moon always faces
the Earth.
• We will NEVER see the Dark Side of the Moon from
Earth!
• The side facing the earth has more maria (mare)
because the crust of the moon on this side that
faces Earth is thinner.
• When there was magma under the moon’s crust,
the side of the moon facing earth, had more
magma pulled to the surface.
• The dark side is all craters because the crust is too
thick to allow ancient magma to come to the
surface.
The side that
faces us
The Dark
Side of
Moon
LUNAR INTERIOR
•Based on the seismic data from the
moon, scientists believe the interior of
the moon is similar to that of Earth;
crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, and
core.
•The upper mantle is solid (therefore, no
plate tectonics) and the lower mantle
is partially molten.
•Core is solid iron.
•The lunar surface also experiences
“moonquakes” (around 3000 a
year)due to earths gravitational pull.
PHASES OF THE MOON
• The moon acts like a large mirror, reflecting the
light from Sun, creating lunar phases.
• New Moon -when the moon is between the Earth
and Sun. Therefore the light reflected is on the
side of the moon that is not facing us and we do
not see the moon.
• As the moon revolves around us, the amount of
sunlight reflected increases. This increase is light
is called waxing.
• Full Moon - when the Earth is between the moon
and Sun. The moon is fully reflective of the sun.
• After the full moon, the amount of light reflected
decreases, the is called
PHASES OF THE MOON
SPRING TIDES
Spring Tides -larger than usual high and low
tides due to the moon and sun being
perfectly aligned and pulling equally on our
oceans.
Occurs during full and new moon phases.
NEAP TIDES
Neap Tides- lower than usual high and low
tides due to the sun and moon being at a 90°
angle and working against each other.
Occurs during first and last quarter phases.
Eclipses
•An eclipses is a blocking of sunlight to the
Earth.
•Solar Eclipses- when moon is directly
between Earth and Sun.
•Lunar Eclipse – when the Earth is between
the Sun and Moon.
•Umbra- the darker part of a shadow.
•Penumbra- the lighter part of a shadow.
•Average time for a solar eclipse is 2-3
minutes, 7.5 maximum, while a lunar
eclipse can last 3-5 hours.
Lunar Eclipse
Occurs when the moon passes into
the Earth’s shadow or umbra.
Lunar eclipses usually occur about two
weeks after a solar eclipse.
Lunar eclipses occur during a full
moon and the moon appears a reddishorange color. The moon appears this
color due to the refraction of light off
the particles in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Solar Eclipse
When the Moon blocks the light from the sun.
The sun is 400 times larger than the moon but the
moon is 400 times closer, therefore appears to be
about the same size.
The sun’s Corona is exposed.
Occurs during a new moon.
The moon’s shadow falls on the Earth.
Causes momentary darkness on Earth but can only
be seen on very small regions of the planet because
the moon’s shadow is so small compared to our
planet.
Lunar Landings:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/video/
2009/jul/02/apollo-11-buzz-aldrin
•Only 12 people have ever set foot on the Moon.
•July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 makes first human
landing on the moon.
•Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 all have landed on
the moon collecting samples, explored highlands
and mares.
•Now, scientists big exploration is to search to see
if the Moon ever had water.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/scienc
e/video/2009/jul/15/apollo-11planting-the-flag
Why will Neil
Armstrong’s
footprints never
change on the
moon?
Video: Neil Armstrong sets foot on the
moon | Science | guardian.co.uk
WATER ON THE MOON!
On October 9th 2009, NASA bombed the moon in a
search for H2O!
The aim of the $79 million mission was to send two
spacecraft — a spent rocket stage down into a
crater near the moon's south pole at about 5,600
mph (9,000 kilometers per hour) and see if the
impacts threw up water ice.
Results showed over 24 gallons of water in this ONE
CRATER!
After cleaning, this water would be completely
drinkable!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgyNjNKyjb8