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The Solar System: The Sun & the Planets Measuring Distances in the Solar System • The astronomical unit (AU) is used to measure distances within the Solar System • The average distance from the Sun to Earth is approx. 150 000 000 km 1 AU = 150 000 000 (1.5 x 108) km Planets Big & Small • The Sun is the largest object in the Solar System, the next largest are the planets. The Inner Planets = Terrestrial Planets • Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars • Small, rocky planets • Located between the Sun and Asteroid Belt • • • • • • • Mercury Location – Inner Orbital Period – 88 days Rotation – 59 days Atmosphere – None Temperature – -180 to 400 0C # of Moons – 0 Rings – 0 Unique Characteristics • No atmosphere to trap heat • Contains craters • Rarely visible in our night sky because it is so close to the Sun Venus • Location – Inner • Orbital Period – 224.7 days • Rotation – 243 days (opposite direction) • Atmosphere – carbon dioxide, nitrogen • Temperature – 462 0C • # of Moons – 0 • Rings – 0 Unique Characteristics • Brightest object in the sky after the Sun & Moon • • • • • • • Earth Location – Inner Orbital Period – 365.26 days Rotation – 24 h Atmosphere – Nitrogen, Oxygen Temperature – -88 to 58 0C # of Moons – 1 Rings – 0 Unique Characteristics • Ozone – filters some of damaging radiation from the Sun • Temperatures are constant • 70% of planet’s surface is water • • • • Mars Location – Inner Orbital Period – 687 days Rotation – 24.65 h Atmosphere – Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen • Temperature – -90 to -5 oC • # of Moons – 2 • Rings – 0 Unique Characteristics • Called the ‘red planet’ due to its rusty soil • Very dry • Once had volcanoes, glaciers & water The Outer Planets = Gas Giants • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune • Large, composed of gas • Atmospheres consist mainly of the gases hydrogen and helium Jupiter Location – Outer Orbital Period – 11.9 years Rotation – 9.85 h Atmosphere – Hydrogen, helium, methane Temperature – -148 oC # of Moons – 63 Rings – Yes Unique Characteristics Largest planet (11x the diameter of Earth) Features are its coloured bands, the Great Red Spot & hurricanes Orbiting rings of rocks • • • • Saturn Location – Outer Orbital Period – 29.5 years Rotation – 10.65 h Atmosphere – Hydrogen, helium, methane • Temperature – -178 oC • # of Moons – 60 • Rings – Yes Unique Characteristics Second largest , no solid core Cloudy & windy, over 1000 separate rings Uranus Location – Outer Orbital Period – 84.1 years Rotation – 17.3 h (on it’s side) Atmosphere – Hydrogen, helium, methane Temperature – -216 0C # of Moons – 27 Rings – Yes Unique Characteristics Winds blow up to 500 km/h • • • • Neptune Location – Outer Orbital Period – 164.8 years Rotation – 15.7 h Atmosphere – Hydrogen, helium, methane • Temperature – -214 0C • # of Moons – 13 • Rings – Yes Unique Characteristics Uneven orbit, Bright blue & white clouds Has a dark region called the Great Dark Spot, which appears to be the center of a storm Planet Rotations To be considered a “planet” a celestial object must; 1. Be in orbit around a star (such as the Sun) 2. Have enough mass to be pulled into a stable sphere shape by gravity 3. Dominate its orbit (i.e., its mass must be greater than anything else that crosses its orbit) Dwarf Planets • A celestial object that orbits the Sun and has a spherical shape but does not dominate its orbit. • Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris • Pluto’s tilted orbit crosses Neptune’s orbit Planet Locations Smaller Members of the Solar System Asteroids • are composed of rock & metal. • Although they orbit the Sun, they are too small to be considered planets. • Most asteroids lie in the asteroid belt, located between Mars & Jupiter. ASTEROID BELT 700,000 to 1.7 million asteroids with a diameter of 1 km or more. Over 200 asteroids are known to be larger than 100 km. • A meteoroid is a piece of metal or rock that is smaller than an asteroid. • Sometimes they get pulled in by Earth’s gravity. They burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a bright streak of light across the sky, known as a meteor (shooting star). • Larger meteors do not burn up completely in the atmosphere and their remains, which we call meteorites, crash to the ground. DID YOU KNOW? A leading theory on the extinction of dinosaurs suggests that a 10 km wide meteorite impact is what caused the extinction of these animals 65 million years ago. Wolfe Creek Crater in Australia Comets • Comets are large chunks of ice, dust, and rock that orbit the Sun. • As a comet approaches the Sun, radiation and solar wind from the Sun, causes a gaseous tail to form, pointing directly away from the Sun. • A dust tail forms in the direction from which the comet originated. • Most comets have 2 tails; • gaseous tail • dust tail Comets Homework WS P.317 #5, 6, 8