Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 28

Studying the Solar System

Our goals for learning


What does the solar system look like?
What can we learn by comparing the planets to
one another?
What are the major features of the Sun and
planets?

What does the solar system look like?


1. What is in it?

All large
bodies in the
solar system
orbit in the
same
direction and
in nearly the
same plane

Eight major
planets with
nearly circular
orbits
Pluto (dwarf
planet) is
smaller than the
major planets
and has a more
elliptical orbit

Swarms of Smaller Bodies


Asteroids
Kuiper Belt
Objects
Oort Cloud
Comets
(short period,
long period)

History of Planet Count


Year
Antiquity

Classificaction/Event

Planet Count

Geocentric universe: Sun, Moon & 5 planets

1550

Heliocentric System, (Copernicus)

1781

Discovery of Uranus

1801-1807 Discovery of Ceres, Palls & Vesta

11

1845

Discovery of Astrea

12

1846

Discovery of Neptune

13+

1851

Re-classification of Ceres and other small bodies

1930

Discovery of Pluto

1978

Discovery of Charon

9?

1992-1999 Discovery of 1992 QB1 and other Kuiper Belt Objects

9?

2000-2005 Discovery of several large KBOs, especially Eris which


is larger than Pluto.

9?

2006

Re-classification of Pluto, Eris & Ceres as Dwarf


planets, others to follow as debate continues

What Counts as a Planet?


The IAU definition of a planet (2006):
is in orbit around the Sun,
has sufficient mass so that it is nearly round
has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit.

What can we learn by comparing


the planets to one another?

At first glance the worlds of the solar


system all appear to be unique

Comparative Planetology

Comparing the planets reveals common


patterns. Those patterns provide insights that
help us understand Earth
Stay focused on processes common to
multiple worlds instead of individual facts
specific to a particular world.
We can learn more about a world like our
Earth by studying in context with other
worlds in the solar system.

What are the major features of


the Solar System?

Density and Composition


Density = mass _
g/cm3
volume
Measure a planets volume
Measure a planets spin => calculate mass
Result is a worlds bulk density.

Density and Composition

Common materials
Metals (mostly Iron)
7.9 g/cm3
Rock (mostly Basalt)
3.3 g/cm3
Carbon & hydrogen ices 0.4-1.5 g/cm3
(volatiles)
H and He gases
<<0.01 g/cm3

Density and Composition


Earth 5.5 g/cm3 composition- iron, rock
Saturn 0.7 g/cm3 composition- some rock, volatiles
and lots H&He
Callisto 1.9 g/cm3 Titan 2 g/cm3 composition -rock
and ice

Thought Question
Planet Mars has a bulk density of 3.9 g/cm3
What materials is it made of ?
A)
B)
C)
D)

Metal and Rock


Rock and volatiles
Rock and H&He
Volatiles and H & He

What have we learned?


What does the solar system look like?
Planets orbit Sun in the same direction and in
nearly the same plane.
What can we learn by comparing the planets to
one another?
Comparative planetology looks for patterns
among the planets.
Those patterns give us insight into the general
processes that govern planets
Studying other worlds in this way tells us
about our own Earth

What have we learned?


How can we tell what planets are made of?
The bulk density of the planets reflect the type
of materials the planets are composed of.
There are 4 main common types of material
Most planets are made of a mixture of these
materials that are not necessarily represented
on the surface.

What are the major features of the


Solar System?
Sun

Over 99.9% of solar systems mass


Made mostly of H/He gas (plasma)

Three Main Types of Large Bodies


Terrestrial planets
(rocky worlds)
Jovian planets
(gas giant worlds)
Ice worlds (mostly
moons and dwarf
planets)

Terrestrials vs Jovians

The terrestrial (or rocky) worlds are the 4 inner


planets plus our Moon
They have a solid rock surface with an iron
core and a weak to no atmosphere or magnetic
field.

There are 4 jovian (or gas giant) planets


These planets have NO solid surfaces just gas
and clouds that get denser as you move to their
center.
They are mostly atmosphere around rocky cores
and have a strong magnetic field

gas giant worlds are


far from the Sun

Rocky
worlds are
close to the Sun.

gas giant worlds


are much larger
than rocky worlds

Jupiter largest
gas giant world

Earth largest rocky world

Rocky worlds have no rings


and no, or few, moons.

Gas Giant worlds have


rings and many moons.

Ice Worlds

Enough self-gravity to be spherical.


Metal/rock core, ice mantle and crust.
Some geological activity
Two main locations:
Larger Icy moons orbiting gas giant planets
Largest objects in Kuiper belt in the outermost
solar system (Pluto, Sedna, Quoaor and others)

Swarms of Smaller Bodies


Many rocky asteroids
and icy comets
populate the solar
system
Solar system debris
can be found
everywhere, but close
to the sun it is rocky
and far from the sun,
icy.

What have we learned?


What are the major features of the Solar
System
Motions of large bodies: All in same direction
and plane
Two main planet types: Terrestrial and jovian
Minor type: ice worlds
Swarms of small bodies: Asteroids and
comets

Which planets DO have rings?


A.Saturn only
B.Saturn and Uranus only
C.Saturn, Uranus and Neptune only
D.Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune only
E.All the planets have rings.
2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

At what location(s) within the solar


system would one find comets?
A.the Oort cloud and the
Kuiper belt
B.the asteroid belt only
C.the Kuiper belt and the
asteroid belt
D.the Kuiper belt only
E.the Oort cloud only
2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi