ASTEROID METEOR COMET METEOROID
THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
THE SUNMERCURY VENUS EARTH MARS
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
THE JOVIAN PLANETSGAS
ICE
GIANTS
JUPITER NEPTUNE SATURN URANUS
ASTEROID BELT KUIPER BELT OORT
GIANTS CLOUD
Lezlee Amor R. Escalante/ Earth Science 18-19
A COLLAPSING INTERSTELLAR CLOUD
STARS AND PLANETS FORM FROM INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS (MADE UP OF HYDROGEN
AND HELIUM GAS WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF ELEMENTS AND DUST) WHICH EXISTS
IN SPACE
COLLAPSE MATTER PLANETISIMAL
ACCELERATE CONDENSES S ARE FORMED
S
At first, the collapse of the The sun formed when the dense Tiny grains of condensed materials
interstellar cloud was slow, but it concentration of gas and dust at the center accumulate and merge, forming
gradually accelerates and the cloud of the rotating disk reached a temperature larger particles. These particles
becomes much denser and flatter. and pressure high enough to fuse grew as grains collided and stuck
As the cloud spins, the rotation hydrogen into helium. The rotating disk
together. The colliding particles
slows the collapse and the cloud is surrounding the young sun became our
solar system. Within the disk, the merged together to form
flattened. Eventually, the cloud PLANETISIMALS. Planetisimals
temperature varied greatly with location,
becomes a rotating disk with a collided and merged – eventually
affecting the distribution of elements in
dense concentration of matter at the forming planets. resulting to the planets.
the center.
THE SUN
“The sun is a star, a hot ball of glowing gases at
the heart of our solar system. Its influence extends
far beyond the orbits of distant Neptune and Pluto.
Without the sun's intense energy and heat, there
would be no life on Earth. And though it is special
to us, there are billions of stars like our sun
scattered across the Milky Way galaxy. “
Surface temperature: 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Composition:
91% Hydrogen
8.9% Helium
0.1% Heavier Elements
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/sun
Sun 101\ National Geographic
WHY IS THE SUN THE HEART OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM?
Fiery nature
Gravitational pull
Magnetic field
SIX (6) REGIONS OF THE SUN
1. Corona
2. Chromosphere
3. Photosphere
4. Convection zone
E 5. Radiative Zone
(Mass can be converted into energy 6. Core
and vice versa)
THE SUN WILL NOT LAST FOREVER
In about 6.5 billion years, its hydrogen fuel will run out, expand and eventually
it will collapse into a white dwarf
THE TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
(INNER PLANETS)
• Similar in density to Earth and have solid, rocky surfaces
Average densities: range from 3.9 to just over 5.5 g/
MERCURY
Planet closest to the sun
1/3 the size of the Earth
Has no moons
Has a slow spin of 1407.6 hours (2 complete
Mercury years = 3 complete Mercury rotations)
Atmosphere is composed primarily of
Oxygen, Sodium and Hydrogen
Daytime: 427
℃
Night fall: -173
℃
Scraps: Mercury’s planet-wide system of
cliffs
Mercury’s high density suggest that it has a
large nickel-iron core
VENUS
Has no moons
Brightest planet in the sky
Venus rotates slowly (A day on Venus is equivalent
to 243 Earth days)
Most similar to Earth in physical properties
(diameter, mass and density), but the surface
condition and atmosphere vary vastly
Atmosphere is composed primarily of C02 and
small amounts of Nitrogen and Water Vapor
Concentrations of C02 is so high that the
atmosphere is extremely hot
Hottest planet w/ average surface temperature
℃
at 464
EARTH
Its distance from the sun and its nearly
circular orbit allow water to exist on its
surface on all three states
Earth’s mild greenhouse effect and
moderately dense atmosphere of nitrogen
and oxygen provide conditions suitable
for life
Is the most dense terrestrial planet and
the only known planet where plate
tectonics currently occur
Earth has a moon “the Moon”
MARS
Often referred to as “the red planet” because of its
reddish surface color
Smaller and less dense than the earth and has 2
irregularly shaped moons (Phobos and Deimos)
Atmospheric composition is same with Venus but
lower in atmospheric density and pressure
The southern and northern hemisphere vary greatly
Four gigantic shield volcanoes are located in the
Tharsis Plateau
The base of the largest volcano, Olympus Mons, is
larger than the state of Colorado and the volcano
rises 3 times higher than Mountain Everest
Ice caps cover both poles on Mars
Astronomers hypothesize that the internal structure
of Mars is made up of iron, nickel and possibly
sulfur
THE JOVIAN PLANETS
(OUTER PLANETS)
Very large planets that are ranging from 15 to more than 300 times the mass of the Earth and from about 4 to
more than 10 times Earth’s diameter.
Interiors are either gas or liquid.
Made primarily of lightweight elements such as hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen and are very
cold at their surface.
Have many satellites and support a ring system
GAS GIANTS ICE GIANTS
JUPITER
Largest planet (11 times larger than Earth)
Mass makes up 70% of all planetary
matter in the solar system
Nestled among Jupiter’s cloud bands is
the Great Red Spot, an atmospheric storm
that has raged for more than 300 years
Composed mostly of hydrogen and
helium in gaseous or liquid form. Below
the liquid hydrogen is a liquid metallic
hydrogen, which can exist only under
conditions of very high pressure
Spins once on its axis in a little less than
10 hours, causing belts and zones
BELTS – low, warm, dark - colored clouds that sink
ZONES – high, cool, light - colored clouds that rise
Jupiter has 60 moons, most of which are extremely small.
Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa
Jupiter’s four largest moons are called Galilean satellites
SATURN
Second largest planet in the Solar system
Saturn’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen
and helium with ammonia ice near the
cloud tops
Its magnetic field is 1000x stronger than
that of the Earth’s and is aligned with its
rotational axis
The most striking feature of Saturn is its
rings. There are seven major rings with
each ring having narrower rings, called
ringlets
Saturn has more than 60 satellites,
including the giant Titan
TITAN is unique among planetary satellites since it has a
dense atmosphere made of nitrogen and methane
URANUS
Discovered accidentally in 1781, when a
bluish object was observed moving
relative to the stars
Average temperature is -215 ℃
4 times larger and 15 times more
massive than the Earth
Completely fluid, except for a small,
solid core
Has at least 27 moons and a faint ring
system
Each pole on Uranus spends 42 Earth
years in darkness and 42 Earth years in
sunlight due to the tilt.
The blue velvety appearance of Uranus is due to the
Methane gas in its temperature
NEPTUNE
Smaller and denser than Uranus
Neptune can have persistent storms. One
storm is called the Great Dark Spot
which is similar to Jupiter’s Great Red
Spot
Has 13 moons, with Triton being the
largest
Neptune’s rings are not visible from
Earth since they are composed of
microscopic dust particles that do not
reflect light well
THE CASE OF
PLUTO?
BEFORE:
Pluto was thought to be larger than Mercury
CHARON – largest satellite of Pluto
Upon the discovery of Charon, it was discovered that the mass of Pluto is smaller than Mercury
(and even our moon)
In 1995, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) created a committee in charged of defining what is
considered to be a planet:
In 2005:
It needs to be in orbit around the sun
It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical
shape
It needs to have cleared everything in its orbital path
Verdict?
In 2006
PLUTO = DWARF PLANET
THE CASE OF
PLUTO?
PLANETARY MOTION
TYCHO BRAHE
In 1572, a “new star or what is now called as
“Tycho’s supernova” appeared in the sky,
shining more brightly than Venus, and Tycho
carefully measured its position.
PLANETARY MOTION
1.The orbits of the planets are ellipses with the sun at the
focus
2. A line from a planet to the sun sweeps over equal areas
in equal intervals of time.
3. A planet’s orbital period squared is proportional to its
average distance from the sun cubed:
JOHANNES KEPLER
LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION
OTHER OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
ROCKY BODIES REVOLVING
AROUND THE SUN.
THEY ARE LEFTOVERS FROM THE
FORMATION OF OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM ABOUT 4.6 BILLION
YEARS AGO
CERES
the largest object in the asteroid belt ASTEROIDS
An asteroid fragment, or any
other interplanetary material is
called a METEOROID. When the
meteoroid passes through the
Earth’s atmosphere, the air around
it is heated by friction and
compression, producing a streak
of light called a METEOR. If the
meteoroid does not burn up
completely and part of it strikes
the ground, the part that hits the
ground is called a METEORITE.
ARE SMALL, ICY BODIES THAT
HAVE HIGH ECCENTRIC ORBITS
AROUND THE SUN.
THEY ARE ICY BODIES IN SPACE
THAT RELEASE GAS OR DUST
COMETS CONTAIN DUST, ICE,
CARBON DIOXIDE, AMMONIA,
METHANE AND MORE
COMETS
ASTEROID BELT vs KUIPER BELT vs OORT
CLOUD
