Matter and Motion in the Universe  Chapter 26 The Solar System  Chapter 27 Stars  Chapter 28 Exploring the Universe

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Solar System  26.1 Motion and the Solar System  26.2 Motion and Astronomical Cycles  26.3 Objects in the Solar System

Section 26.2 Learning Goals  Define the lunar cycle.  Differentiate solar and lunar eclipses.  Explain what causes seasons.  Describe the impact of the Moon on tides.

26.2 Motion and astronomical cycles  The Sun is at a point called the focus that is offset from the center of the orbit.  This causes the distance from the Sun to vary as a planet orbits.

26.2 Rotation  In addition to orbiting the Sun, the planets also rotate.  An axis is the imaginary line that passes through the center of a planet from pole to pole.

26.2 Revolution  All of the planets orbit, or revolve, around the Sun in the same direction (counter- clockwise).  A year is the time it takes a planet to complete one revolution around the Sun.

26.2 Motion and keeping track of time  A calendar is a means of keeping track of all the days in a year.  Ancient civilizations developed calendars based on their observations of the Sun, Moon, and stars.

26.2 Motion and keeping track of time  The Egyptians adopted a calendar with 365 days in a year, divided into 12 months, each with 30 days, and an extra five days at the end. As early as 3500 BC, monuments called obelisks were built to separate the day into parts.

26.2 Motion and keeping track of time  Early water clocks were stone containers that allowed water to drip at a constant rate through a small hole.

26.2 Motion and keeping track of time  The sundial is the oldest known “clock.”  A sundial uses the shadow of a pointer that moves from one side of the base to the other as the Sun appears to travel from east to west during the day.

26.2 Keeping track of time  Today we divide each rotation of Earth into 24 equal parts called hours.  Each hour is divided up into 60 parts called minutes and each minute into 60 parts called seconds.

26.2 The lunar cycle  The gradual change in the appearance of the Moon is called the lunar cycle.  The lunar cycle occurs because of the relative positions of Earth, the Moon, and the Sun.  Although the lunar cycle is a continuous process, there are eight recognized phases.

26.2 The lunar cycle  The orbit of the Moon is tilted about 5 degrees from Earth’s orbit. angle  The lunar cycle is caused by the angle the Moon makes with Earth and the Sun as it orbits Earth.

26.2 The lunar cycle  The Moon is not in Earth’s shadow except during rare eclipses.  The Sun-facing side of the Moon is lit by sunlight almost all the time.

26.2 Phases of the Moon  The lighted side of the Moon faces away from Earth.  How the moon appears to Earth dwellers at different positions in its orbit is shown below :

26.2 Lunar eclipses  A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon.  Because of its tilted orbit, in most months, Earth’s shadow does not block the sunlight from hitting the Moon.

26.2 Lunar eclipses  A lunar eclipse can be total or partial and all observers on the dark side of Earth can see it at the same time.  A partial eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon falls in Earth’s shadow.

26.2 Solar eclipses  A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s shadow falls on Earth.

26.2 Solar eclipses  A total solar eclipse is caused by the Moon’s shadow blocking out the Sun.  The Sun is completely blocked by the Moon’s shadow for about two or three minutes.

26.2 The Seasons  The seasons are caused by the 23-degree tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation relative to its orbit.  During summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the north end of the axial tilt is facing toward the Sun.  This results in more direct sunlight and higher temperatures.

26.2 The Seasons  The path of the Sun across the sky in the Northern hemisphere during the year shows the positions of the 1 st day of each new season.

26.2 Tides  The daily cycle of rising and falling ocean levels is called a tide.  If the Moon passes overhead once every 24 hrs., you would expect the tide to rise only once.  As Earth revolves around the common center of mass, the ocean on the opposite side from the Moon is “flung outward” a little every 12 hrs.

26.2 Tides  The Moon does not really orbit Earth as if Earth were fixed in place.  Instead, Earth and the Moon orbit around a common center of mass.

26.2 Tides  As Earth revolves around the center of mass, the ocean on the opposite side from the Moon is “flung outward” a little by its own inertia.

Investigation 26B  Key Question: What causes the seasons? Earth’s Seasons

26.3 Objects in the solar system  A planet in the solar system is a celestial body that:  is in orbit around the Sun;  is nearly round in shape; and  has cleared its orbit of other objects.

26.3 The planets  The planets are commonly classified in two groups.  The terrestrial planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.  The gas giants include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Comparing properties of the planets

26.3 Triton, Pluto and the Kuiper belt  Triton is Neptune’s largest moon.  Triton and Pluto are similar objects in both composition and size.  Some astronomers believe Pluto may actually be an “escaped” moon of Neptune.

26.3 Pluto  Pluto is a dwarf planet.  Most of the time Pluto is the farthest from the sun.  Discovered in 1930, Pluto was named for the Roman god of the underworld.

26.3 Pluto and the Kuiper Belt  Pluto is grouped along with Sedna, Xena, and similar distant bodies in the Kuiper Belt Objects (or KBOs).  It contains at least three dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea, and Makemake.

26.3 Asteroids and comets  An asteroid is an object that orbits the sun but is too small to be considered a planet.  The largest asteroid, named Ceres, is 933 kilometers (580 miles) across.

26.3 Asteroids and comets  We believe comets are made mostly of ice and dust.  Comets revolve around the Sun in highly elliptical orbits.

26.3 Asteroids and comets  The inner core of the comet is the nucleus.  As a comet gets closer to the Sun, it forms a tail.

26.3 Meteors and meteorites  Occasionally, chunks of rock or dust break off from a comet or asteroid and form a meteor.  As Earth orbits the sun, it passes through this debris, creating a meteor shower as the small bits of dust burn up in the atmosphere.

26.3 Meteors and meteorites  If a meteor is large enough to survive the passage through Earth’s atmosphere and strike the ground, it becomes a meteorite.

Optional* Investigation 26C  Key Question: How big is the solar system? Solar System

What happened to Pluto?  The 2006 meeting, held in Prague, Czech Republic, distinguished astronomers from all over the world came together to exchange ideas at a conference held by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).