Download Solar System

The Solar System
Earth is not even the beginning!
Our Solar System
How the Solar System Formed
 Large explosion sent gas and dust flying
 Gravity forced particles together
 Tighter
 And Tighter
 And even tighter
 Until they began to heat because of friction
 This would eventually become stars and
planets
How it began
How The Solar System Formed
Solar System
Composed of a number of things
Sun
Planets
Moons
Asteroids
Dwarf Planets
Comets
And of course Space
History of Solar System
 Geocentric model put earth at the
center (Ptolemy)
 Sun and all planets orbited Earth
 Impossible
Heliocentric Model
Copernicus fixed Ptolemy’s
problem
Put Sun at center of Solar
System
Lots of criticism
Correct
The Sun
Gas star
Made of hydrogen and helium
99% mass of solar system
Powers EVERYTHING in solar
system
Sun Cont.
Massive gravitational pull
10,000 Degrees Fahrenheit (5,500
C)
93,000,000 miles from Earth
Fusion of hydrogen to helium
Center of the Solar System
Warm Up Questions…
 1. What is the main difference between the
geocentric and heliocentric models of planetary
orbit?
 2. Who originally proposed the heliocentric model?
 3. How hot is the sun?
 4. How far is the sun from Earth?
 5. What was the material that came from the
explosion that formed our solar system?
 6. What force allowed these particles to rotate and
eventually fuse together?
Think About It???
Explain how small particles
such as dust and gas could
form something as large as
a planet?
Planets
8 Planets in our solar system.
(Sorry Pluto)
4 Inner planets (Rock)
4 Outer Planets (Gas and Ice)
Made of rock or gas
All orbit around the Sun
Have unique features
Planet Formation
Grains of dust and other material
condensed and began to
accumulate into small masses.
Masses grew and grew
Masses became spheres
We call them planets
Inner Planets
 Also known as terrestrial planets
 Smaller than others
 More dense
 Made of Rock
 Revolve fast around the sun
 Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
Mercury
Closest planet to the sun
Orbits the sun every 88 days
Rotates once every 59 days
(1407.6 hours)
No Moons
Approx. 1/3 the size of Earth
Mercury Cont.
Thin Atmosphere
Surface is covered with craters
Temp. Day=473 C Night= -173
C
Mariner 10 – 1974
Messenger - 2011
Mercury Mythology
Named after Roman god
Mercurius
Messenger of the gods
Greek god Hermes
Why we will never
meet an alien…
Venus
 Second planet from the sun
 No moons
 Orbit period 225 days
 Rotation 243 days
 Same size as earth
 Hottest planet in solar system
 Very thick atmosphere
Venus’ Atmosphere
Pressure is 92x greater than Earth
Clouds composed of sulfuric acid
Greenhouse gases trapped in
atmosphere
464 C
Venus Surface
Composed of Basalt and
Granite
1978- Pioneer
1989- Magellan
Inner core of metal
Venus
 Roman goddess of love
 Greek would be Aphrodite
 Brightest object in the night sky next to
moon
Mercury and Venus
Warm Up Questions???
 1. Please list the two reasons why Venus is the
hottest planet in the solar system?
 2. Why are Venus and Earth considered twin
planets?
 3. How long does it take Mercury to orbit the
Sun?
 4. What does the surface of Mercury look like?
 5. Why does Mercury’s surface look like this?
 6. What is unique about the rotation of Venus?
Earth
 3rd planet from the sun
 Orbit period 365.24 days
 One rotation in 23 hours and 56
minutes
 Thick atmosphere (greenhouse effect)
 Tectonically active
 One moon
Earth Mythology
Romans called her “terra
Mater”
Mother Earth
Goddess Gaia
Earth Formation
Originally hot
Crust cooled
Inside is hot (mantle and core)
Dense materials were pulled in
close to the center by gravity.
(iron)
Water on Earth
Water allowed life to form on
earth
Water came from two places
1. Water vapor contained in
volcanoes during eruption
2. Contained in meteor, comet,
and asteroid collisions with earth.
Beginnings of Earth
Warm Up Questions???
 1. What are the four layers of the
Earth called?
 2. What is the largest layer?
 3. Which layer(s) are solid?
 4. What layer do we live on?
 5. Describe the outer core?
 6. Why couldn’t we dig a hole to
China?
Mars
 4th planet from the sun
 Orbit period 468 days
 Rotation = 24hours 37 minutes
 Has a tilted axis like Earth (Seasons)
 Iron oxide in soil makes it red
 Atmosphere
 Constant wind and dust storms
Mars Cont.
 Temp Range -87C to -5C
 Dried river and lake beds
 Surface has ancient non functioning
volcanoes
 No tectonic plate movement
 Polar ice caps
Mars Mythology
Named after Roman God of
war
Greek god Ares
2 Moons: Deimos and Phobos
Both moons are irregularly
shaped
Inner planets closing questions???
 1. Name the inner planets.
 2. What inner planet is named after the Greek
messenger Hermes?
 3. What is the composition of the inner planets?
 4. What is located between the inner and outer
planets?
 5. Which of the inner planets has the thickest
atmosphere?
 6. What is another name for the inner planets?
Inner Planet Groups
 1. Size as compared to Earth
 2. Atmosphere?
 3. Moons?
 4. Surface features.
 5. Temp (hot and cold)
 6. Orbit and rotation periods.
 7. Unique features of the planet?
Outer Planets
Think about it???
What do we already know
about the outer planets?
What we know…
Outer Planets
 Density: how tightly packed
something is
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
 Also called Jovian planets
 Larger
 Less dense
 Gas giants
Outer Planets
Thick atmospheres
Many moons (satellites)
Many rings
Interiors made of gas or liquid
May have rocky cores
Jupiter
5th planet from the sun
Largest planet
Orbit Period: 12 years
Day is about 9 hours 50min
Moves so fast it is flat at poles
with a bulge at equator
Jupiter’s Moons and Rings
 4 rings
 63 moons
 4 Largest moons observed by Galileo
 Galilean Moons:
 1. Io- Volcanic activity
 2. Europa- Ocean of water under frozen ice
 3. Ganymede- Largest moon in solar system
 4. Callisto-Most cratered moon in SS
Jupiter Features
 Giant Red Spot (storm)
 30,000 C at core
 Gives off more heat than it receives
 Would have become a star but not
enough mass
 Clouds on surface (lightning)
 Massive electric field
Jupiter Mythology
King of the Roman gods
Greek god Zeus
Warm up questions???
 1. What is Jupiter’s big red spot?
 2. Name Jupiter’s 4 largest moons?
 3. Who first discovered these moons?
 4. Why are scientists so interested in
Europa?
 5. What constantly hits the surface of
Jupiter?
 6. Describe what happens to Jupiter
because of it’s fast rotation.
Saturn
6th planet from the sun
2nd largest in the solar system
Average temp. -178 C
Rotation period = 10 Hours 40 Min
Orbit Period = 29.5 Years
Saturn’s Moons
62 Moons
Titan – Saturn’s largest moon
Larger than Mercury
Thick atmosphere
Titan
Lord of the Rings
Saturn has several thousand rings
Each large ring is divided into
dozens of smaller ringlets
Billions of pieces of rock and ice
67,000 Km wide
Less than 100 meters thick
Ring Theories
1. A large body was orbiting the
planet and was ripped apart by
gravity.
2. Debris left over from a collision
with an asteroid.
3. Material that was unable to
condense into a moon.
Warm up question???
Please explain how Saturn
got its rings?
Be specific!
You can use any of the
three we talked about
yesterday.
Saturn's Rings
Saturn Mythology
 Roman god of agriculture, harvest, or
time.
 Last day of the week is named after
Saturn.
 Greek Cronus
Uranus
Seventh Planet
3rd Largest
Discovered 1781
Rotation = 17 Hours
Orbit = 84 Years
Uranus
Methane atmosphere (blue)
Tilted 97 degrees
Rotates like a bicycle tire
Temp -215 C
Uranus Moons and Rings
27 Moons
Most are small
13 Rings
Uranus Mythology
Father of Saturn and Grandfather
of Jupiter
Greek Ouranus
Uranus
Neptune
8th planet from the sun
Predicted before its discovery
Rotation = 16 hours
Orbit = 165 years
Temp = -214 C
Neptune’s Moons and Rings
13 Moons
Triton – Travels from east to
west
Geologically active
9 Rings
Triton
Neptune Mythology
Roman god of the sea
Greek God Poseidon
The Blue Guy
Solar System
Planets
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