* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download The Solar System - MrCrabtreesScience
History of astronomy wikipedia , lookup
Aquarius (constellation) wikipedia , lookup
Tropical year wikipedia , lookup
Copernican heliocentrism wikipedia , lookup
Planets beyond Neptune wikipedia , lookup
IAU definition of planet wikipedia , lookup
Definition of planet wikipedia , lookup
Astronomical unit wikipedia , lookup
Galilean moons wikipedia , lookup
Rare Earth hypothesis wikipedia , lookup
History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses wikipedia , lookup
Extraterrestrial skies wikipedia , lookup
Astrobiology wikipedia , lookup
Planetary habitability wikipedia , lookup
Solar System wikipedia , lookup
Geocentric model wikipedia , lookup
Planets in astrology wikipedia , lookup
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems wikipedia , lookup
Formation and evolution of the Solar System wikipedia , lookup
Extraterrestrial life wikipedia , lookup
The Solar System What is the Solar System? • The solar system includes our sun, and all the matter that orbits the sun. • Planets, moons, dust and other debris • People used to believe that everything they saw in the sky revolved around earth and therefore the entire Universe was our solar system. Aristotle QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. • Greek Philosopher (384-322 BCE) • Came up with the idea that the earth was in the center of the solar system – Geocentric Model • Determined Universe to be spherical and limited in size • This idea was adopted by the church and remained untested for 1000 years. • His model was not very accurate and did not explain a lot of the variation seen in planets and comets. Ptolemy • Greek Astronomer (87-150 CE) • Ptolemy looked at the motion of the stars and the planets and came up with ideas that helped Aristotle’s model work better • Ptolemy’s system had the planets spinning in large circles as they orbited earth. • This system more accurately predicted the motion of the planets but was very complex. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Aristarchus • Greek Astronomer (310-230 BCE) • First to suggest a Heliocentric model of the solar system. • Few people believe in him as at the time they believed their Gods lived on Earth so it must be the center of the known Universe. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Nicolaus Copernicus • Polish Astronomer (1473-1543 BCE) • First astronomer to formulate a scientifically based sun-centered model of the cosmos. • Delayed publishing his work until he was near death, likely due to fear of condemnation from the Church. • Nearly 60 years later the Church banned his book. It remained banned until 1835. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Tycho Brahe • Danish Nobleman (1546-1601) • Known for his accurate and complete astronomical and planetary observations • Religious beliefs led Tycho to attempt to use his data to blend Ptolemy and Copernicus’s views. • He believed the sun revolved around the earth and the planets revolved around the sun. • The stars lay beyond all of this and also revolved around earth. • His assistant, Johannes Kepler, would later develop his own theory on the solar system. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Johannes Kepler • German mathematician and astronomer. (15711630) • Used Brahe’s extensive observations to develop the most accurate model of the Universe based on his Three Laws of Planetary motion – 1. All planets move in ellipses with the sun at one focus. – 2. A planet moves faster as it gets closer to the sun. – 3. The further a planet is from the sun, the slower it revolves. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Galileo Galilei • Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (1564-1642) • Was the first astronomer to use the telescope to make observations that helped to prove Copernicus and Kepler right. • Found four of Jupiter’s Moons • Found objects outside of our solar system that did not revolve around either the sun or earth. • Was sentenced to house arrest for his beliefs by the Inquisition QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. What is in our Solar System? • 8 Planets • 166 known planetary moons • Billions of small bodies including – – – – – – 4 dwarf planets and their 4 moons Asteroids Meteoroids Kuiper Belt objects Comets Interplanetary Dust Types of Planets • The planets are divided into 2 groups based on their location and composition • Inner planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars – Small and Rocky with few moons • Outer Planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune – Huge, gaseous, ringed, many moons QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. NTK Terms • Astronomical Unit - Distance from the earth to the sun (150,000,000 km) (AU) • Revolution - A celestial body’s movement around another object, usually in an ellipse • Rotation - The spinning of a celestial body like a top. • Earth Day - the amt of time it takes earth to rotate once (24 hours) • Earth Year- the amt of time it takes the earth to revolve once (365 days) Mercury • Closest planet to the sun. – 0.39 AU – The sun looks 3 times bigger • Smallest planet in our solar system – About 40% the diameter of Earth • Has no atmosphere – Is heavily cratered like the moon Mercury • Takes 88 Earth days to revolve around the sun • 116 Earth days to rotate once • Used to be larger, its liquid core shrunk as it solidified, leaving large cracks on the surface. • Has no Moons Mercury • Temperature Range -168 ~ 427C • Has polar ice caps • Was named after the Roman winged messenger to the Gods as it is the fastest planet. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Venus • Second planet from the sun. – 0.72 AU • Just slightly smaller than earth (5%) • Has a very hot, dense, atmosphere that contains sulfuric acid clouds • Sustains an average temperature of 450C likely due to runaway greenhouse gases. Venus • Revolves around sun in 225 Earth Days • Rotates very slowly, 243 Earth Days • Surface is protected by the thick atmosphere from meteors so it looks much like Earth’s • No moons or ice caps • Named after the Roman goddess of Love • Brightest object in night sky aside from moon. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a dec ompres sor are needed to s ee this pic ture. Earth • Third planet from the sun – 1 AU • Largest of the Inner Planets (12,000km dia.) • Has an atmosphere containing mostly nitrogen(78%) and oxygen (21%) • Temperature ranges from -88 to 58C • Earth is tilted from its axis of revolution by 23° Earth • Earth revolves around the sun in 365.24 Earth days. • The Earth rotates in one Earth day or 23.93 hours. • Has a molten core. • Has polar ice caps. • Has a moon (Luna or Moon) – Roughly 25% the size of earth. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Mars • The fourth planet from the sun – 1.5 AU • Roughly half the size of Earth • Has a very thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide • Temperature ranges from -140 to 20C • Called “Red Planet” due to iron oxide in the crust • Named after the Roman god of war. • Home to largest volcano in solar system, Olympus Mons Mars • Mars revolves around the sun in 687 Earth Days. • Mars’ rotation takes just slightly over one earth day (24.6 hours) • Mars has polar ice caps made of dry ice. • Mars has two tiny moons – Phobos(22km) and Deimos(13km) QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Jupiter • 5th planet from the sun – 5.2 AU • The largest of the planets (88,700km wide) • Is comprised almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. If it were considerably larger, it could have become a star. • The gas is compressed to a liquid in the center. • There is likely a molten rocky core, possibly from impacts with other objects. • Surface temp -153C (Core is hotter due to pressure from gravity Jupiter • Jupiter takes about 12 years to revolve around the sun. • Jupiter rotates in only 9.8 hours. • Jupiter has a giant storm on its surface called the Great Red Spot • Jupiter has 63 named satellites – Io and Europa are two well known moons • Jupiter has rings, but they are very faint • Jupiter was named after the principle Roman God (Greek equivalent Zeus) QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Saturn • Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun – 9.5AU • Second largest planet (75,000km wide) • Hydrogen and Helium with a liquid center and a molten rock core. • Has a surface temperature of -185C (Core hotter due to pressure from gravity) Saturn • Revolution takes 29 Earth Years • Rotation takes 10.2 Hours • Saturn has beautiful rings composed mostly of ice and dust. • Saturn has 60 identified moons (52 named) – Titan is the largest moon • Named after the Roman god of agriculture, who happened to be Jupiter’s father. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Four of Saturn's moons: Dione, Titan, Prometheus (edge of rings), Telesto (top center) Uranus • Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun – 19 AU • Third largest planet (51,000km wide) • Composed of Hydrogen, Helium and Methane (blue-green color) • Also likely to have liquid center with molten rock core. • Surface temperature of -114C Uranus • It takes 84 Earth years to revolve around the sun. • Rotates in just 18 hours. • Has 11 rings that run up and down because Uranus is tilted nearly 90° • Has 27 known moons – Titania is the largest • Was named after the greek god of the sky. (Saturn’s Father) QuickTime™ and a d eco mpres sor are nee ded to s ee this picture . QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Neptune • Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the sun -30 AU • Neptune is nearly equal in size to Uranus – 50,000 km wide. • Composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane (blue-green color) • Also has liquid center and molten rocky core • Surface temperature of -125C Neptune • It takes Neptune 165 Earth years to orbit the sun. • It takes only 19 hours to rotate • Has several faint rings • Named after the Greek god of the sea. • Has 13 known moons – Triton is the largest. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a d eco mpres sor are nee ded to s ee this picture . QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a d eco mpres sor are nee ded to s ee this picture . What else is in our solar system? • • • • Asteroids Meteoroids Kuiper Belt Objects Comets. Asteroids • Asteroids are large chunks of rock that orbit the sun • Larger than a meteor(10m) • Have no ice • Most are located between the inner planets and outer planets in the Asteroid Belt • Largest known is Ceres at 950km across QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Left to right: 4 Vesta, 1 Ceres, Earth's Moon QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Meteoroids • Small sand to boulder sized debris in the solar system. • Anything smaller is considered interplanetary dust. • Tend to be debris from things like comets or collisions with planets. • These meteoroids clump together as they orbit. Meteors • Meteors are meteoroids that enter Earth’s atmosphere. • When earth passes through a clump of meteoroids, a meteor shower occurs. • Meteor showers are regular and predictable. • If the meteor hits the ground it is referred to as a meteorite. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Kuiper Belt Objects • Kuiper Belt is a region of space extending beyond Neptune. (30-55AU) • Composed of small bodies of rock and ‘ice’ • Very similar to comets, though without the eccentric orbit. • Pluto is the most well known KBO • If we wanted to include Pluto as a planet we would have to include the 70,000 other pluto-like objects in the Kuiper Belt. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Comets • Comets are small bodies in the solar system that orbit the sun. (100m to 40+km) • As they approach the sun ice begins to sublimate, causing a visible coma and tail to form that points away from the sun. • Comets have very elliptical orbits • As comets lose ice they also loose debris • Eventually they run out of ice and lose the coma and tail. • Comets all together form the Oort Cloud which is estimated to end around 50,000 AU from the sun. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.