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Formation of the Solar System Carin Miranda SMS 6-1 2008 A Solar System is Born • The solar system is composed of the sun, Earth, 7 other planets, and other cosmic bodies. • Solar Nebula-dust and gas that clump together to form interstellar clouds. What Holds it All Together • Gravity pulls it together. • Pressure pushes it apart. • Because of these two forces nebula remain stable. From Planetesimals to Planets • Solar Nebula begins to collapse. • It rotates, flattens, and gets warmer in the center. • Bits of dust and gas begin sticking together forming planetesimals. • Small planetesimals begin bumping into larger planetesimals and they combine. • Remaining dust and gas is eventually removed leaving the planets. Planets • Outer plants are made of gas (except for Pluto which is no longer a planet). • Inner planets are made mostly of rocky material because the heat from the sun. Craters and Comets • Collisions with smaller planetesimals and other cosmic bodies have left the inner planets with many craters. • If the planetesimal is icy we call it a comet. Planetary Motion • The solar system is 4.6 billion years old. • Rotation-Spinning on axis. 24 hours. • Revolution-the motion of a planet around the sun. 365 days. • Orbit- the PATH around the sun. Newton’s law of Universal Gravitation • Every object in the universe attracts every other object in the universe with a force dependent on its mass and the square of the distance between them. • Example if you move objects twice as far apart the gravitational attraction between them will decrease by a factor of 2 X 2=4. What Keeps Objects Being Pulled by Gravity from Crashing Into Each Other? The Sun • • • • It is a star. The Center of our Solar System. Gives us light and warmth. Made of gas Layers of the Sun • Corona-sun’s outer atmosphere. Only visible during a total solar eclipse. • Chromosphere-below the corona. Only visible during a total solar eclipse. • Photosphere-Visible layer of the sun. • Convective zone-Gases circulate in convective currents. • Radiative zone-very dense region below the convective zone. • Core-center of the sun. Where the sun’s energy is produced. Layers of the Sun Energy Production • Burning for 4.6 billion years. • Nuclear Fusion- Process by which two or more nuclei join together. • Energy is released. Activity on the Sun’s Surface • Sunspots-cool dark spots on the sun. • Solar Flares-giant storms on the surface of the sun. The Earth Takes Shape • Gravity gives planets their spherical shape. • Heat causes part of the interior of Earth to remain molten. Layers of the Earth • Heavier elements sank into the core. It is in the center of the Earth. • The mantle forms the middle layer • Less dense objects rose to the outer layer forming the crust. Layers of the Earth Earth’s Atmosphere • Today the atmosphere is 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% argon. • Early in Earth’s history the planet may have been molten. • Impacts with comets brought elements such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and even water.