Earth Science 101 The Solar System Chapter 23 Instructor : Pete Kozich

Overview of the solar system  Solar system includes Sun Eight planets and their satellites (moons) Asteroids Comets Meteoroids

The solar system Figure 22.1

Overview of the solar system  A planet’s orbit lies in an orbital plane Similar to a flat sheet of paper or a disc The orbital planes of the planets are inclined Planes of seven planets lie within 4 degrees of the Sun's equator Mercury's is inclined 7 degrees Pluto's is inclined 17 degrees

Overview of the solar system  Two groups of planets occur in the solar system Terrestrial (Earth-like) planets, the 4 inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars Small, dense, and rocky Low escape velocities (Earth is 7 miles/second or 25,200 mph) Rockets have to reach this to escape Earth’s gravitational pull

Overview of the solar system  Two groups of planets occur in the solar system Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets or the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune Large, low density, and gaseous Massive (Jupiter is 317 times more massive than Earth) Thick atmospheres composed of hydrogen and helium (Jupiter and Saturn) and methane and ammonia (Uranus and Neptune) High escape velocities (14-40 miles/second or 50, ,000 mph) Pluto is not included in either group One of the largest Kuiper objects

The planets drawn to scale Figure 22.2

Overview of the solar system  Planets are composed of Gases Hydrogen Helium Rocks Silicate minerals Metallic iron Ices Ammonia (NH 3 ) Methane (CH 4 ) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) Water (H 2 O)

Evolution of the planets  Nebular hypothesis Planets formed about 4.6 billion years ago Solar system condensed from a gaseous nebula Nebula – a cloud of interstellar gas and dust  As the planets formed, the materials that compose them separated Dense metallic elements (iron and nickel) sank toward their centers Lighter elements (silicate minerals, oxygen, hydrogen) migrated toward their surfaces Processes responsible called chemical differentiation and mass sorting

Evolution of the planets  Due to their surface gravities, Venus and Earth retained atmospheric gases  Due to frigid temperatures, the Jovian planets contain a high percentage of ices, especially smaller and colder Uranus and Neptune

Earth's Moon  General characteristics Diameter of 3475 kilometers (2150 miles) is unusually large compared to its parent planet (1/4 the size of the Earth) Density 3.3 times that of water Comparable to Earth's crustal rocks and mantle Perhaps the Moon has a small iron core Gravitational attraction is one-sixth of Earth's No atmosphere Tectonics no longer active Surface is bombarded by micrometeorites from space which gradually makes the landscape smooth

Major topographic features on the lunar surface Figure 22.6

Earth's Moon  Lunar surface Two types of terrain Maria (singular, mare), Latin for "sea" Dark regions Fairly smooth lowlands Originated from asteroid impacts and lava flooding the surface Highlands Bright, densely cratered regions Make up most of the Moon Make up all of the "back" side of the Moon Older than maria

Earth's Moon  Lunar surface Craters Most obvious features of the lunar surface Most are produced by an impact from a meteoroid which produces Ejecta Occasional rays (associated with younger craters)

A 20-kilometer-wide crater on the Moon Figure 22.5

Earth's Moon  Lunar surface Lunar regolith Covers all lunar terrains Gray, unconsolidated debris Composed of Igneous rocks Glass beads Fine lunar dust "Soil-like" layer produced by meteoric bombardment

Earth's Moon  Lunar history Hypothesis suggests that a Mars-sized object collided with Earth to produce the Moon Older areas have a higher density Younger areas are smoother Moon evolved in three phases I. Original crust (highlands) As Moon formed, its outer shell melted, cooled, solidified, and became the highlands About 4.5 billion years ago, just after collision

Earth's Moon  Lunar history Moon evolved in three phases II. Formation of maria basins Younger than highlands Between 3.2 and 3.8 billion years old III. Formation of rayed craters Material ejected from craters is still visible e.g., Copernicus (a rayed crater)

Planets: a brief tour  Mercury Innermost planet, not too different from the moon Smallest planet, if one excludes Pluto No atmosphere (too small and warm) Cratered highlands Vast, smooth terrains Dense (large iron core) Revolves quickly Rotates slowly (night side is frigid) Absorbs most light that hits it, reflects only 6%

Photomosaic of Mercury Figure 22.8

Planets: a brief tour  Venus Second to the Moon in brilliance Similar to Earth in Size Density Location in the solar system Shrouded in thick clouds Impenetrable by visible light Atmosphere is 97% carbon dioxide, 900 deg sfc T Surface atmospheric pressure is 90 times that of Earth's

Planets: a brief tour  Venus Surface Mapped by radar Features 80% of surface is subdued plains that are mantled by volcanic flows Low density of impact craters Tectonic deformation must have been active during the recent geologic past Thousands of volcanic structures

Computer generated view of Venus Figure 22.9

Planets: a brief tour  Mars Called the "Red Planet" Atmosphere 1% as dense as Earth's, most lost to space Primarily carbon dioxide Cold polar temperatures (-193ºF) Polar caps of water ice, covered by a thin layer of frozen carbon dioxide Extensive dust storms with winds up to 270 kilometers (170 miles) per hour

Planets: a brief tour  Mars Surface Numerous large volcanoes – largest is Olympus Mons Northern portion may have been covered by oceans or seas billions of years ago Less-abundant impact craters Tectonically dead Several canyons Valles Marineras – the largest canyon

Olympus Mons, an inactive shield volcano on Mars Figure 22.11

The Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars Figure 22.12

Planets: a brief tour  Mars Surface "Stream drainage" patterns Found in some valleys No bodies of surface water on the planet remain Possible origins Past rainfall Surface material collapses as the subsurface ice melts Old ocean that has evaporated away into space Moons Two moons (both are tiny) Phobos Deimos Captured asteroids

Planets: a brief tour  Jupiter Largest planet, usually second brightest Very massive 2.5 times more massive than combined mass of the planets, satellites, and asteroids If it had been seventy-five times more massive, it would have been a small star (brown dwarf) Rapid rotation Slightly less than 10 hours Bulges at equator

Comparison of Earth and Jupiter

Planets: a brief tour  Jupiter Banded appearance Multicolored Bands are aligned parallel to Jupiter's equator Generated by wind systems and rapid rotation of planet Great Red Spot In planet's southern hemisphere Counterclockwise rotating cyclonic storm Structure Surface thought to be a gigantic ocean of liquid hydrogen Halfway into the interior, pressure causes liquid hydrogen to turn into liquid metallic hydrogen Rocky and metallic material probably exists in a central core

Planets: a brief tour  Jupiter Moons 50 moons + (like Saturn) Four largest moons Discovered by Galileo, called Galilean satellites Callisto - outermost Galilean moon, old surface Ganymede - largest moon in solar system, between Mercury and Mars in size Europa - smallest Galilean moon (liquid water probably underneath thick ice surface) Io - innermost Galilean moon and is also volcanically active The interiors of Io and Europa are warmed by stresses from Jupiter’s gravity (“tidal forces”)

A volcanic eruption on Io

Planets: a brief tour  Saturn Similar to Jupiter in its Atmosphere Composition Internal structure (less dense and more oblique, though) Rings Most prominent feature Discovered by Galileo in 1610 Complex Composed of small particles (moonlets) that orbit the planet Most rings fall into one of two categories based on particle density Thought to be debris ejected from moons or bits of a moon that was destroyed ~100 million years ago

The ring system of Saturn Figure 22.18

Planets: a brief tour  Saturn Other features Dynamic atmosphere, windiest of the planets Large cyclonic storms similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot Titan – the largest Saturnian moon Second largest moon (Jupiter's Ganymede is larger) in the solar system Has a substantial atmosphere (80% Nitrogen) that is thicker than Earth’s Liquid hydrocarbon lakes on surface

Planets: a brief tour  Uranus Uranus and Neptune are nearly twins, both with several icy satellites Uranus rotates "on its side” Atmosphere currently rather bland in terms of striking cloud features Rings second most prominent of the gas giants Large moons have varied terrains

Planets: a brief tour  Neptune Dynamic atmosphere One of the windiest places in the solar system Great Dark Spot (like Jupiter’s Red Spot) White cirrus-like clouds above the main cloud deck Triton – largest Neptune moon Orbit is retrograde, captured Kuiper object? Low surface temperature (-391ºF) Atmosphere of mostly nitrogen, along with methane Volcanic-like activity Composed largely of water ice, covered with layers of solid nitrogen and methane Furthest out of the seven big solar system moons (Earth’s moon, 4 Galilean satellites, and Saturn’s Titan)

Planets: a brief tour  Pluto (no longer a planet?) Not visible with the unaided eye (like Neptune) Discovered in 1930 Highly elongated orbit causes it to occasionally travel inside the orbit of Neptune, where it resided from 1979 thru 1999 Moon (Charon) discovered in 1978, but now it is considered a dwarf planet like Pluto. Average temperature is -210ºC

Pluto and its moon Charon as compared to the size of Earth Figure 22.18

Minor members of the solar system  Asteroids Most lie between Mars and Jupiter Small bodies – largest (Ceres) is about 620 miles in diameter Some have very eccentric orbits Many of the recent impacts on the Moon and Earth were collisions with asteroids Irregular shapes except largest half dozen or so, which are spherical A few visible to naked eye when brightest

The orbits of most asteroids lie between Mars and Jupiter

Image of asteroid 951 (Gaspra)

What determines a planet?  New criteria adopted for describing a planet: Must be massive enough to pull themselves into a sphere due to their own gravity (good criterion) Must have enough mass to “clear their orbit” -- This is a more questionable assertion -- Neptune, while much more massive than inner planets, has a huge orbit that it cannot clear -- This is why Pluto was not called an official planet. Neptune has problems with this point, too, but it seems to be ignored. -- This is a bad criterion and may be fixed later.

Minor members of the solar system  Comets Often compared to large, "dirty snowballs” Now found to be more rock, with some ice Composition Rocky and metallic materials Frozen gases Frozen gases vaporize when near the Sun Produces a glowing head called the coma Some may develop a tail that points away from Sun due to Radiation pressure Solar wind

Orientation of a comet’s tail as it orbits the Sun Figure Gas (ion) tail always points directly away from sun due to solar wind. Dust tail is often broader and is affected by orbital motion as well as the solar wind.

Minor members of the solar system  Comets Origin Many form at great distance from the Sun Bright comets are usually long period Most famous short-period (< 200 years) comet is Halley's comet 76 year orbital period Potato-shaped nucleus (16 km by 8 km) Responsible for two meteor showers (Eta Aquarids in May and Orionids in October)

Comet Hale-Bopp Figure 22.26

Minor members of the solar system  Meteoroids Called meteors when they enter Earth's atmosphere A meteor shower occurs when Earth encounters a swarm of meteoroids associated with a comet's or asteroid’s path Meteoroids are referred to as meteorites when they are found on Earth, must be large enough to not completely burn up, as vast majority do

Minor members of the solar system  Types of meteorites classified by their composition --Give an idea as to the composition of Earth’s core --Help provide an age of the solar system, little changed Irons Mostly iron, dense 5-20% nickel Stony Silicate minerals with Inclusions of other minerals Stony-irons – mixtures Carbonaceous chondrites Rare Composition – organic material, simple amino acids?

Minor members of the solar system  Meteorites Good percentage of meteorites large enough to make it through the Earth’s atmosphere originated in the asteroid belt Collide with other asteroids and deflected toward the Earth As meteors enter the atmosphere friction caused by the air produces large amounts of heat that produce light Meteor Crater Arizona – believed to occur in the last 20,000 years The cavity is ¾ mile wide and 560 ft deep Earth’s tectonic activity erases most craters

A Taurid fireball (very bright meteor) The Taurids are one of many meteor showers. This particular shower is characterized by slow and, in some years, very bright meteors.

End of Chapter 23