Download Patterns in the Solar System

Patterns in the Solar System
Ch 23
Plane of the ecliptic
The path of the Sun across our sky 
All planets are within 3o of a line
Drawn outward from the Sun’s equator
Origin of the Solar System
• Nebular Theory
• • A nebula is a cloud
of gas and/or dust in
space.
• According to the
nebular theory, the
sun and planets
formed from a rotating
disk of dust and
gases.
Two Groups of Planets
• Terrestrial Planets (land
like)
• Jovian Planets (Jupiterlike)
Mercury, Venus, Earth and
Mars
Inner planets, small, and
rocky
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune
Outer planets, very large,
mostly gaseous
Which planet is the most dense?
Which planet would you weigh the most on?
Which planet(s) have not orbited the Sun in your lifetime?
Which planet has the shortest day?
Laws of Planetary Motion
• Johannes Kepler (15711630)
• 1st Law – The path of each
planet around the Sun is an
ellipse, with the Sun at one
focus. ( the other focus is
symmetrically located at the opposite
end of the ellipse)
Kepler’s 2nd Law
• Each planet revolves so
that an imaginary line
connecting it to the Sun
sweeps over equal
areas in equal time
intervals.
Kepler’s 3rd Law
• The planet’s orbital
period (time it takes to
orbit the Sun) squared =
the distance from the
Sun cubed
p2 = d3
Minor Members of the Solar System
• An asteroid is a small,
rocky body whose
diameter can range
from a few hundred
kilometers to less than
a kilometer.
• Most asteroids lie
between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter. They
have orbital periods of
three to six years.
Comets
• Comets – pieces of
rocky and metallic
materials hold together
by frozen gases
• Known as “dirty
snowballs”
• They have very
eccentric orbits. They
travel in orbits that go
to the far reaches of our
solar system
Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud
• Kuiper Belt – a narrow
region out at the edges
of the solar system
• Oort Cloud – a spherical
shell at the outer edges
of the solar system
Meteoroid, Meteors, Meteorites
• Meteoroids – small
solid particle traveling
through space
• Meteor – object falling
though our atmosphere
• Meteorite – has
survived the fall thru
the atmos. , is found on
the Earth’s surface