Download Nick Bowden The Final Frontier

NICK BOWDEN
THE FINAL FRONTIER
9/8/13
The Solar System
Hi, I’m Nick and I am going to tell you
about our Solar System.
Our Solar System began around 4.6 billion years ago when a
molecular cloud of interstellar gas collapsed.
These clouds collapsed and turned into a star.
Most of the cloud formed the Sun. Other material from
the cloud flattened around the Sun forming planetary discs—some
formed solid objects which grew larger and stuck together.
These balls then form the cores of the planets…
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The Solar System
Mercury
Jupiter-The Gas Giant
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5th planet from the Sun LARGEST 4th brightest in the sky

Brightly colored bands wrap the surface are clouds and gases but with
a rocky core

Closest planet to the Sun and 8th largest

No known satellites or rings
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The “Great Red Spot” big enough to hold two Earths
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Visible with binoculars or even the unaided eye

63 satellites & 3 rings (dark and hard to see)

Surface is heavily cratered, very old-Gray
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Red with white bands
Venus
Saturn
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2nd planet from the Sun and the 6th largest

6th planet from the Sun and the 2nd largest

Most circular orbit of that of any planet


Very few craters-smooth surface
Bright in the sky; visibly flattened and surface looks smooth—looks pale
yellow
No satellites or rings

Large visible ring structure (bright) & 53 satellites (moons)
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Visible with the unaided eye, very bright--Yellow
Earth

3rd planet from the Sun and the 5th largest

70% water 30% land—surface appears smooth

One moon-no rings

Blue and White
Mars (The Red Planet)

4th planet from the Sun and the 7th largest

2 satellites-Phobos & Deimos, but no rings

Red, rocky surface--similar land forms to earth (volcanoes, watererosion marks, polar caps)
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Uranus

7th planet from the Sun and the 3rd largest

27 moons and 11 rings (dark and hard to see )

Blue & smooth surface-rocky and icy surface
Neptune

8th planet from the Sun and the 4th largest

Blue & smooth-in the southern hemisphere Great Dark Spot

13 moons & 4 rings (dark and some with twisted structure)
Inner Planets
 The 4 inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
 The inner planets are composed mostly of rock while the outer planets
are gas giants.
 Inner planets are both
smaller and denser than
outer planets.
 They also have few or no
moons and no rings circling
them.
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Outer Planets
 Outer planets include– Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
 The outer planets are much larger, are more gaseous, have lower
densities, and all have some sort of rings.
 All outer planets are larger in size and have increased gravity which can
hold onto lighter elements like gases.
 The inner and outer planets are separated by the asteroid belt.
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Earths surface-Terra
 Earth is a terrestrial planet--it is a rocky body, rather than a gas giant
like Jupiter.
 It is the largest of the four terrestrial planets in size and mass.
 This crust is broken into many large plates(tectonic plates) that move
slowly relative to each other.
 70% water (undersea mountains, mid-ocean ridge system, undersea
volcanoes, oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus )
 Atlantic Ocean
 Pacific Ocean (largest)
 Arctic Ocean (smallest)
 Indian Ocean
 Southern Ocean
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Earths surface
 30% land including 7 continents consists of mountains, deserts, plains,
plateaus, and other types of land
 Africa
 Asia
 Antarctica
 Australia
 Europe
 North America
 South America
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Mars Surface(many
similarities to Earth)
Polar Caps
Large Canyon Systems
Large canyon system
appears to have been
formed mostly by local
tectonic activity (local
motion of surface) rather
than by erosion.
These polar
caps appear to
be partially
composed of
dry ice and
frozen water.
Running Water Erosion
Huge Shield Volcanoes
Volcanoes on Mars are now
extinct, volcanoes are
called shield volcanoes,
because they look like
Channels that appear to have been cut by
shields.
running water similar to those found on the
Earth.
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Mars surface
 Dry, barren wasteland marked by
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
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old volcanoes and impact craters
Mars lacks the wind, rain, and plate
tectonics that cause erosion
here on Earth
The northern hemisphere craters and appear far less eroded indicating they are
much younger than those of the southern hemisphere.
Mars is a small world--Its radius is half of the Earth’s surface
Covered by a fine layer of iron oxide dust that has the consistency of talcum
powder--gives the planet its characteristic red hue (Red Planet)
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Curiosity
 We are celebrating the mars rover its 1 year on the red planet.
 Curiosity is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Gale Crater on Mars as
part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL).
 Curiosity was launched November 26, 2011, and successfully landed on
Mars on August 6, 2012,
 Curiosity's design will serve as the basis for a planned Mars 2020 rover
mission. In December 2012, Curiosity's two-year mission was extended
indefinitely.
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How Planets are Alike
 Planets in our solar system formed from the same cloud of dust that
circled the early Sun. Most planets have moons. and they are round but
some of them are different circles like ovals.
 While there's a group of planets that are made of gas, there are four
planets in our solar system that are made of hard rock.
 So, some planets are alike by what they're made of. Another way they're
alike is the conditions of weather on the planets.
 Jupiter and Neptune. Jupiter has the Great Red Spot, while Neptune has
the Big Blue Spot.
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How Planets are Different
 Planets have the colors that they have because of what they are made of
and how their surfaces or atmospheres reflect and absorb sunlight.
 Mercury has a dark gray, rocky surface which is covered with a thick
layer of dust. The surface is thought to be made up of igneous silicate
rocks and dust.
 Venus is entirely covered with a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere and
sulfuric acid clouds which give it a light yellowish appearance.
 Earth shows its blue oceans and white clouds as well as its green and
brownish land.
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Conclusion
 The Solar System started out the same way.
 The planets have different characteristics.
 The planets are alike in some ways.
 There is only one planet that can sustain life.
 Do we know this for a fact, or do we need to
keep exploring?
 There is no Final Frontier………
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