Download The Solar System

The Solar System
Solar System
• the sun and all things orbiting around it,
including the eight major planets, their
satellites, and all the smaller pieces such as
asteroids, meteoroids, and comets
Not to scale
Image taken from:
http://asm.arc.nasa.gov/Gallery/images/generic/LG_Capableofeverything.jpg
Formation of the Solar System
Formed around 4.6 billion years ago
Solar Nebula
Huge cloud of gas and dust that collapsed
into a flattened disk
Disk
Sun formed at the center of the disk while
other objects (planets, moons, etc.) formed
from the whirling material of the disk
Solar System
Much of the material was cleared away. The
Sun, planets, and other objects remained
Images taken from:
http://astronomyonline.org/SolarSystem/SolarSystemFormation.asp
Planet
• derived from a Greek word
that means “wanderer”
• a major object which orbits
around a star
• in our solar system, there are
eight such objects which are
traditionally called “planets”
Orbit
• the path of an object in space as it travels around another
object
• planets orbit around the sun in an elliptical (flattened
circle or oval) path; proposed by Johannes Kepler 
Kepler’s 1st Law
• due to the gravitational attraction, a planet’s (or other
object’s) speed increases as it approaches the sun
• Planetary Motion
Not to scale
The Earth
animation is
not rotating
in the
correct
direction;
it should be
rotating
from west to
east
What do you think is the relationship
between a planet’s orbit and a “year?”
Mass vs. Weight
Mass
Weight
• a measure of how much
matter an object is made of
• does not change, regardless
of where something or
someone is
• the force of gravity on an
object
• equal to the mass of the
body times the local
acceleration of gravity
Why do you
think the
person’s
weight is
less on the
moon?
The Earth
animation is
not rotating
in the
correct
direction;
it should be
rotating
from west to
east
Mass = 59 kg
Mass = 59 kg
Weight = 579 N
Weight = 96 N
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html
Rotation vs. Revolution
Revolution
Rotation
•
•
•
the movement or path of the
earth or a heavenly body turning
on its axis
equivalent to one “day”
Earth rotates at a speed of
around 1,670 km/hr or 1000
mi/hr
The Earth
animation is
not rotating
in the
correct
direction;
it should be
rotating
from west to
east
•
•
•
•
the motion of one body around
another, such as Earth orbiting
around the sun
also known as an orbital period
equivalent to one “year”
Earth revolves at a speed of around
107,000 km/hr or 67,000 mi/hr
Sun
Tips for remembering:
rotation occurs in one day; day has three letters and rotation has three syllables
revolution occurs in one year; year has four letters and revolution has four syllables
Factors Influencing Planetary
Characteristics
Impact Cratering
a process that occurs
when a round pit is left
behind on the surface
of a planet or other
body in space after a
smaller object strikes
the surface
The Earth
animation is
not rotating
in the
correct
direction;
it should be
rotating
from west to
east
Tectonics
the process of change in a
crust due to the motion of hot
material underneath
Animation taken from:
http://www.odsn.de/odsn/services/paleomap/animation.htm l
Volcanism
the process of molten material
moving from a space body’s hot
interior onto its surface
Weathering and Erosion
Weathering - the breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces; mostly
caused by movements of water, wind, and ice
Erosion – the process in which sediment is picked up and moved from
one place to another
Atmosphere
Radiant energy
from the sun
• the outer layer of gases of a
large body in space, such as a
planet or star
• usually composed of layers
• Greenhouse Effect
– the trapping of radiant
energy by the gases (CO2,
CH4, H2O, among others)
that compose the
atmosphere
– planetary conditions would
be very different without it
(i.e. – the Earth’s
temperature would be 60oF
cooler we would not
survive)
The Earth
animation is
not rotating
in the
correct
direction;
it should be
rotating
from west to
east
What do you notice about the amount of
energy entering the atmosphere,
compared to the amount leaving?
Image taken from:
http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_1_1.htm
Planet Classifications
• Terrestrial Planets
(inner planets)
– Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
– closest to the sun
– composed primarily of rock and
metal
– have deep atmospheres (except
Mercury), solid surfaces, no
rings, & few satellites
• Gas Planets
(outer planets)
– Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune
– composed primarily of hydrogen
& helium
– have deep atmospheres, rings, &
many satellites