OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

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The Sun

• For each of the elliptical orbits of the planets, the Sun is found at one (or the other!) of the foci

• 99.85% mass of Solar System

• Source of solar wind and space weather

Inner Planets

• “Terrestrial Planets”• Rocky• Dense• Metal cores (iron)• Thin, or NO atmosphere

Asteroid Belt

• “Minor planets” or “planetoids” less than 1000 km across

• Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter

• Occasionally run into Earth and other planets (oops)

Ida

Outer Planets

• Large!

• “Gas Giants”

• No solid surface

• May have a small solid core

• Tumultuous atmospheres - rapid winds, large storms

• Rotate relatively quickly

Kuiper Belt

• Disk of debris at the edge of our Solar System

• Pluto is a KB Object (sorry!)

• Source of short-period comets

• Kuiper Belt is found 30-100AU from Sun

Oort Cloud• Sphere consisting of billions of comets, &dust• 50,000 AU from Sun• Long-period comets (random time and direction)

Comets

• Dirty snowballs - small objects of ice, gas, dust, tiny traces of organic material

Comet Parts

As a comet approaches the Sun, their ice SUBLIMATES This gas and dust forms the COMA As the comet orbits, the gasses and dust stream behind, forming the TAIL(s)

Inner Planets!

“My Very Excellent Mother…..”

• Smallest planet

• Closest to Sun

• Fastest orbital velocity

• Large temperature changes: -173 to 427 ºC (-300 to 800 ºF)

• No atmosphere-lots of craters!

Mercury

Venus • Nearly the same size as Earth

• Slowest rotation of any planet (243 days)

• Spins backwards

• Extreme greenhouse effect

• Very thick atmosphere, mostly CO2!

• Surface pressure is 100 times higher than Earth’s

• Hotter than Mercury: 377 to 487 C/ 710 to 908 F

Where Do Atmospheres Come From?

Volcanism!!!

Venera Images - 1982

Pancake Domes on Venus - What formed these features?

Earth7900 mile (12756 km)

diameter

23 degree axis tilt (seasons!)

Surface temps –73 to 48 C

(-100 to 120F)

Thick atmosphere, mild greenhouse effect

Liquid water – lots! - at surface

Very cold: -117 to -27 F Thin atmosphere: 95% CO2, & 3% N No liquid water at surface, but features indicate that there once was! Two small moons: Phobos & Deimos

Mars

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/mars_relay/mer_role/emerging.jpg

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The Gas Giants

• 11x Earth diameter• Methane, water,

ammonia, rock • Rocky core – liquid

metallic hydrogen – electrical conductor, generates magnetic field

Jupiter

Giant Red Spot:at least 300 years old3 x size of EarthWinds up to 400 km / hr

• 9x the size of Earth

• Water, methane, ammonia and "rock“

• -290 F

• Rings – 185,00 miles wide /2 mi thick

• Water ice in rings

• 56 moons and counting

Saturn

Rather chilly in the rings

Red: -261 F Blue -333 F

Green -298 F

Dirty Snow

Turquoise= water iceRed = “dirty”

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Uranus

Uranus• 4x the size of Earth• Blue from methane absorption of red light (atmosphere) atmosphere has mostly hydrogen and helium• -350 F at surface• Spins on an axis inclined almost 90 degrees

Keplar’s 3rd Law:⁌The further out a planet is from the Sun, the longer its period of REVOLUTION.⁌Uranus is pretty far out there!

Neptune

Neptune

• Ices and rock - 15% H and little He

• Methane atmosphere (blue!)

• Uniform through out; small rocky core?

• Had storm “Great Dark Spot” MIA since Voyager 2

• Pretty Good White Spot (Scooter) zipped around every 16 hours….

• 4 Rings – unknown composition

• 13 moons

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Pluto

Is Pluto a Planet?

Yes No

It has always been considered a planet

Very smallVery elliptical orbitOut of plane of eclipticSame material as Kuiper belt objectsFound other “non-planets” that were larger

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