Download Investigation 3 for Dylan Nina and Shea

THE CREATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Nina Mascheroni
Dylan Hey
Shea Anderson
Planets that Revolve
• The closer you are to the sun, the faster you will revolve.
• Thus, as planets get closer to the sun they change
acceleration.
• Uranus revolves every decade.
• Every planet revolves counter clockwise.
Planets that Rotate
• Every planet rotates counter clockwise, except
Venus because it goes the other way.
• Outer planets have a faster rotation than inner
planets.
• There is no pattern with rotations in respects
to revolutions.
Planets that Orbit
• All planets orbit on an ecliptic plane except
Pluto because Pluto is on crack.
• Pluto is on a 15 degree angle from every other
orbit.
How old is our solar system?
• Astronomers think that the solar system was created
around 4.6 billion years ago
• They find out by completing radioactive dating on
meteorites on the Earth’s surface
• Radioactive dating is when scientists compare the
different decay rates of different elements in the
meteorites and by comparing their ratios, they find the
age of the meteorites
• By studying hundreds of meteorites , scientists have
dated the meteorites all the way back to 4.6 billion
years ago, thus determining the age of the solar system
How was it formed?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The solar system formed when a cloud of dust and gas was disturbed by a nearby
supernova
The energy from the supernova made the cloud start to squeeze itself
The cloud started to shape itself into a disc, the middle was very hot and the edges
were cool (like a bowl of soup)
This caused a solar nebula which made the disc start to spin, as it spun, the
particles started to stick together and form the planets and moons
Scientists believe that the solar nebula lasted 2 million years
The asteroids were formed towards the sun where they could withstand the heat
The comets were formed towards the edges where they could withstand the
freezing cold
Finally, the middle got so hot it formed into a star, the Sun and it blew a stellar
wind into the universe that helped pull all the planets, moons and asteroids into
orbit of the sun
The parts of our solar system are planets, moons, the sun, asteroids, comets and
meteorites.
What are comets?
• Comets are icy rock particles that travel through the
solar system as remnants of the creation of the
universe
• Comets can be anywhere from the size of a baseball all
the way to 1/3 of the size of the moon
• The number of comets has lessened over time because
the comets either crash into other planets, asteroids or
each other
• Comets do not touch the Earth because if they make it
through the atmosphere they become meteorites
• When comets burn up in the atmosphere, they show
up as what we call “shooting stars”
What are asteroids?
• Asteroids are small celestial bodies that orbit the sun
• The largest asteroid is Ceres which has a diameter of
580 miles wide
• Every year, asteroids are discovered and they are
classified by a universal number and they each get
their own unique name
• Most asteroids are in the Asteroid Belt, which is
located between Mars and Jupiter, within the asteroid
belt, most asteroids travel in groups within the belt
• Asteroids turn into meteorites when they enter the
Earth’s atmosphere
What are meteorites?
• A meteorite is a piece of rock or metal that makes it
through the Earth’s atmosphere
• A meteorite can be as small as a grain of sand and can get
up to any size
• When they break through the atmosphere they leave a
bright streak as they burn through it and then they crash
onto the Earth
• Sometimes, a meteorite can travel up to 7 miles per hour
• Most meteorites are formed from comets or from debris
when two asteroids collide
• Most meteorites land in the ocean and go unnoticed but
they can land anywhere on the Earth, most people find
them in the desert because they can be most easily found
Bibliography
• www.universetoday.com/15575/how-old-isthe-solar-system/
• www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_syste
m/formation.html
• neat.jpl.nasa.gov/neofaq.html
• www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-asteroid.htm
• www.nhm.ac.uk/natureonline/space/meteorites-dust/intrometeorites/index.html