Download The Size of The Solar System Powerpoint

Science A
Physics – P1
Topic 7b :
The Solar System & its place
in an evolving Universe
The Solar System - Problems of Scale
One of the problems of diagrams relating to the structure of the
solar system is that of scale. In this diagram the planets are drawn
to scale to allow easy comparison of size.
Although the planets are drawn to scale, the distances from the
Sun have had to be ignored in order to fit the image on the page.
The Solar System
Drag each planet to its correct position in the solar system...
Pluto has been included in this exercise although it is now officially classed as a planetoid.
So How far to the next star?
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In 1 year there are
365¼ x 24 x 60 x 60 seconds
= 31,557,600 seconds
Distance = Speed x Time
Distance = 300,000 x 31,557,600 km
Distance = 9,467,280,000,000 km
Distance = 9,467,280 million km
Our scale was 1 cm = 15 million km
Proxima Centauri is 9,467,280 ÷ 15 = 631152 cm
Or 6311.52m ~ 6.3km away
That’s from here to Hirwaun!
Where are we in the Universe?
• We are on 1 small planet near to 1 average star
• The nearest star is 9,467,280 million km away
• Our star is one star in a galaxy of approximately
200,000,000,000 stars.
• Our galaxy is one galaxy in the universe containing
approximately 100,000,000,000 galaxies.
• So number of stars =
20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
• Or 20 thousand, million, million, million stars.
• That’s an awful lot!
Objective - Review
Understand that distances in Space are very,
very, very big.
Examine the distance between the Earth and
the Moon – our nearest heavenly body.
Construct a scale model of our Solar
System.
Are We Alone?
There’s a lot of Space in
the universe and who
knows how many planets,
so I think it is unlikely!
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is not affected by atmospheric
distortions or light pollution.
The Hubble Space
Telescope was put into
orbit using the Shuttle.
When placed in orbit,
one of the telescope’s
mirrors had a defect.
The Hubble Telescope was very expensive to put in orbit,
and is very difficult to maintain. To repair the problem
with the telescope’s mirror, shuttle astronauts had
to first capture the telescope, without damaging it.
How did the Solar System form ?
4500 million years
ago a shock wave,
in a spiral arm of
our galaxy,
triggered the
collapse of a gas
cloud into a
doughnut shape
which flattened
out.
How did the Solar System form ?
Enough hydrogen
gathered in the
centre for fusion to
start in the Sun.
Solid particles
began to strike
each other and
stick together. This
debris eventually
formed planets
and their moons.
How did the Solar System form ?
Eventually most of
the gas and dust in
the Solar System
became attached to
a planet. Left over
dust and frozen
gases formed the
comets.
Recognising Celestial Bodies
From the time of Galileo’s observations of the rings around Saturn,
to today’s telescopes like Hubble, scientists have been studying the
Universe in ever increasing detail.
For each of the following slides, try to guess the name of the
celestial object before reading the information...
Mars
Mars is often called the ‘red planet’ because its surface gives the
planet a reddish appearance.
It is a rocky planet which has a surface temperature of
approximately -55ºC.
Jupiter
Jupiter is a giant gas planet. On its surface, the most recognisable
characteristic is a giant storm called the Red Spot, which has been
raging for 300 years.
Red Spot
The surface temperature on Jupiter is approximately -123 ºC.
Saturn
Saturn is one of the most easily recognisable planets because of its
ring structure, which is made up of billions of rock particles and ice
crystals, some of them centimetres or metres in diameter.
The surface temperature on Saturn is approximately -180 ºC.
Neptune
Neptune is a gaseous planet, composed largely of hydrogen and
helium. Its blue colour cannot be explained by scientists.
The surface temperature on Neptune is approximately -220 ºC.