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How distances are measured: Short space distance: Astronomical unit=distance between sun and earth Long space distance: Light year- distance light travels in 1 year The Solar system Light travels 186,000 miles per second 6 trillion miles per year Alpha centauri is 4 light years away, so it is 24 trillion miles away NAME______________________________ HOUR ____ 16 The Sun A. Sun- average age and average temperature star that is a bit on the small side 1. Cycle of solar activity- 11 year cycle of sun spots a) Sunspot- cool, dark area on the sun [like a ticking time bomb that will explode some day] 2. Solar flare- explodes from sunspot and goes into space a) Messes up tv, radio, cell phones, aviation and space communications b) Flares interact with earth’s magnetic poles making auroras (1) Aurora borealis- northern lights (2) Aurora australis- southern lights [ nutrinos from solar flares strike magnetic field, energy builds up then goes back out into space as light. Sound is claimed by some as well] 3. Prominence- very large solar flare 4. Coronal loop- arching column of gas from a sunspot explosion (gravity pulls it down) 2 How the solar system formed: 1. Nebula- (cloud of dust and gas) begins to rotate 2. Gravity in the center pulls dust and gas inward 3. Friction in center causes temperature in center to reach 10 million degrees C 4. Fusion begins and a star is born 5. Solar winds blow gases far away, but have little effect on nearby rocks and dust 6. Accretion (collisions of matter that cause planets to grow) occurs a. Rock collisions = terrestrial planets b. Gas collisions = gaseous planets 15 Meteroids--small rocks in space 1. made of broken asteroids or 2. broken comets Meteors—a meteoroid that has entered a planet’s atmosphere (making a streak of light) 1. friction with the atmosphere wears off tiny pieces of the meteor causing it to heat up, glow, and eventually disintegrate 2. most are sand-sized Meteorites —a meteor that strikes a planet’s surface 1. the meteor is big enough to not completely disintegrate before making contact 2. baseball/softball sized *These are all the same rock but are renamed based on WHERE they are located 14 Mercury DAY= 59 earth days (rotation) YEAR= 88 earth days (revolution) Named after Roman god of speed 427* C during day -173*C during night smallest planet very little gravity no atmosphere can’t burn up meteors, so many craters prograde rotation 3 Comets Venus DAY=243 earth days YEAR= 224 days Named after Roman goddess of beauty Retrograde rotation (sun rises in west) 2nd planet from sun thick CO2 atomosphere global warming! Hottest planet 464*C (900F) Rocks soft like chocolate Sulphuric acid clouds and rain 90x atmospheric pressure of earth (crushes spacecraft) “Earth’s twin” 4 Comets – large chunk of ice, dust, frozen gas, and rock moving through space (dirty snowball) 1) Nucleus—center of a comet 2) Coma—cloud of vaporized (turned to gas) ice that surrounds the nucleus 3) Tail—the coma of a comet that is being blown back by solar winds 4) Oort cloud—birthplace of comets found beyond Pluto (Objects are dislodged by the gravity of a planet passing by) 5) Halley’s Comet—short period comet (has an orbit of less than 200 years) that returns every 76 years (2061) 13 Pluto planetisimal / dwarf planet day= 6 days year= 248 yrs named after Roman god of underworld composed of rock, ice, and frozen gases charon- moon that is ½ size of its planet very little atmosphere ancient comet? (would grow a tail if it came nearer to the sun) old moon of Neptune? Used to be called a double planet Earth 3rd planet from the sun 1 moonLUNA has atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen 75% water on surface tectonic plate movement 23.5* tilt of axis (allows for 4 seasons and plenty of food) prograde rotation 12 5 Mars DAY=24 hrs 40 min YEAR= 1year +322 day Named after Roman god of war (blood red) Prograde rotation “red” planet from iron oxide dust (rust) polar ice caps of water and CO2 river channels (flowing water?) 2 moons, Phobos and Deimos largest volcano in solar system, Olympus Mons 70* at equator Neptune 8th planet day=16hr year=163 yrs named after Roman god of sea Frozen methane gas gives it a whitish blue green color System of faint rings Great dark spot—massive tornado Winds blow 1200 mph (almost 2x the speed of sound!) It may rain diamonds in atmosphere 13 moons o Triton-largest moon o Nitrogen geisers and water/ammonia eruptions o Coldest body in the solar system 11 6 Uranus Day= 17 hrs Year= 83 years Retrograde rotation “sideways” planet due to 98* tilt of axis named after Roman god of Titans 27 moons (none of interest) methane gas gives it blue-green color (methane absorbs red and yellow light) Asteroid Belt Asteroids—large rocks in space 1. Asteroid belt—zone between mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are found 2. Origin of asteroid belt a. a planet formed and Jupiter pulled it apart b. Jupiter’s gravity kept the pieces from forming in the first place c. a planet formed but then a large object hit it and broke it into pieces 7 10 Jupiter 5th planet, day= 10hrs year= 11.8 yrs Greatest volume (1 ½ times greater than others) Greatest mass (2x greater than all others combined) Made of helium and hydrogen [why not a star? Not big enough yet.. sun is 1000x bigger than jupiter] Red spot-giant hurricane Named after Roman king of gods 62 moons Io-most volcanically active object in the solar system Callisto- has water Ganymede- largest moon in the solar system and has frozen water Europa- has underground oceans (maybe life?) 8 Saturn 6th planet day 10hr 40 min year=29 earth yr least dense (would float in water) Rings of dust and rock Made of helium and hydrogen Giant lightning storms the size of the US 37 moons Titan – largest moon o (has atmosphere with nitrogen on it and maybe life?) o Visited by Huygens probe (European) 9