The Solar System Advanced Space Academy U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Formation of the System -Solar nebula -Collapse -Increasing temperature and pressure -Formation of solar system bodies

SOLAR SYSTEM PROFILE Life-scale………………………… billion years Diameter……………………………..…3 light years Diameter of planetary zone……… billion miles Known planets…………………….………..………9 Satellites…………………………………..at least 63 Known life-bearing planets……………...…………1 Largest planet……………………………..….Jupiter Smallest planet…………………….……..…….Pluto Planet with the fastest spin…….Jupiter (9:55.05 hrs)

MERCURY

Eccentric Mercury -Mercury’s orbit around the sun forms a wide ellipse partly due to the gravitational pull on it by the other planets -Mercury rotates on its axis three times while going around the sun twice

Missions to Mercury Mariner 10 -Launched Nov. 3, Fly-bys on Mar. 29, 1974; Sep. 21, 1974; and Mar. 16, 1975 MESSENGER -Launch windows are Mar 3. – Apr. 6 and Aug. 2 – Aug. 16, Fly-bys during July 2007 and April Insert into Mercury orbit in April 2009

VENUS

Backwards Venus -Relative to the other planets in the solar system, Venus spins backwards on its axis. Early on, when the planets were forming, Venus may have been hit by a massive object that reversed its spin. Venus spins east to west, so the Sun rises there in the west and sets in the east. -Venus takes 243 days to turn once on its axis and 225 days to go around the Sun. It is the only planet that takes longer to turn than to orbit.

Missions to Venus Mariner 2 – Launched: Aug. 27, 1962 Arrived: Dec. 14, 1962 Mariner 5 – Launched: June 14, 1967 Arrived: Oct. 19, 1967 Mariner 10 – Launched: Nov. 3, 1973 Arrived: Feb. 5, 1974 Pioneer Venus – Orbiter - Launched: May 20, 1978 Arrived: Dec. 4, 1978 Multiprobes – Launched: Aug. 8, 1978 Arrived: Dec. 9, 1978 Magellan – Launched: May 4, 1989 Arrived: Aug. 10, 1990

EARTH

The Moon Diameter: 2,160 miles (3,476 kilometers) Time to Orbit Earth: 27.3 Earth days Surface Temperature: 253°F to -387°F (123°C to - 233°C) Distance from Earth: 238,850 miles (384,392 km) The Moon’s name: Luna

Missions to the Moon -Pioneer-Ranger-Surveyor -Lunar Orbiter -Apollo-Clementine -Lunar Prospector

Mars

Mars is similar to Earth in it’s axial tilt – so it has days and seasons. It even has a thin atmosphere and clouds. Water on Mars? Is there evidence?

Mars There are currently thirty- three known Martian meteorites. They have been found on all continents except Australia. Four of them were actually observed to fall to the Earth between 1815 and Mars Meteorite Homepage:

Present Missions to Mars Mars 2001 Odyssey Mars Global Surveyor -Launched Launched Arrived Arrived The goal of both missions is to do a complete mapping of Mars and analyze its atmosphere and composition.

The Asteroid Belt -located between Mars and Jupiter -rocky fragments left over from the formation of the solar system or a planet that was unable to form due to Jupiter’s gravitational pull -In 1802 astronomer William Herschel first used the word “asteroid”, which means “starlike” in Greek, to describe these celestial bodies

Jupiter

Jupiter’s Moons Galileo discovered Jupiter’s first moons in Europa-Io-Callisto-Ganymede -As of Jan. 3, 2003, 40 moons have been spotted

Jupiter’s Moons -Outer moons are most likely asteroids that Jupiter has caught -Some of them even orbit backwards which is called retrograde rotation

Missions to Jupiter Past Missions to Jupiter: Pioneer 10 Pioneer 11 Voyager 1 Voyager 2 Ulysses Present Missions to Jupiter: Galileo Future Missions to Jupiter: Europa Orbiter

Saturn

Weird Saturn - Saturn is the only planet in the solar system that is less dense than water - Saturn is the most flattened planet in our solar system - There is nowhere on Saturn that could be described as a planetary surface

Saturn’s rings

The Cassini spacecraft was launched October 15, 1997 and will insert into Saturn’s orbit on July 1, The Cassini spacecraft is designed to do a detailed study of Saturn, its rings, its magnetosphere, and its icy satellites. -The Huygens probe, supplied by ESA, will scrutinize the clouds, atmosphere, and surface of Saturn’s moon Titan.

Uranus

Oddball Uranus Sideways tilt - Uranus currently moves around the Sun with its rotation axis nearly horizontal with respect to the ecliptic plane. This unusual orientation may be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body early in the planet’s history, which apparently changed Uranus’s rotation radically. Uranus’s magnetic field is unusual in that the magnetic axis is tilted 60 degrees from the planet’s axis of rotation and is offset from the center of the planet by one- third of the planet’s radius.

Rings & Moons of Uranus

Mission to Uranus Voyager 2 -Launched: Uranus Encounter: flew by Uranus at a distance of 107,000 kilometers (66,500 miles) from the planet's center, threading through a broad ring system of dust- to boulder-sized particles. Ten new moons were imaged, in addition to the five moons already known.

Neptune

Hot Neptune Neptune has yet to give up its greatest secret: the source of the heat that rises from the planet’s center to drive storms in its atmosphere. The young planets were very hot, and have been cooling since their formation. As Neptune cools, it contracts and grows denser: This process releases heat. The warmth of the blue planet is actually a relic of the newborn solar system. Also materials within the interior have yet to fully separate out – the planet’s gravity is still dragging heavier matter toward the core, creating friction that in turn generates heat.

Rings & Moons of Neptune

Mission to Neptune Voyager 2 – Launched: Aug. 20, 1977 Neptune Encounter: Aug. 24 & 25, 1989

Pluto

Mission to Pluto New Horizons – A Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission Study The Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission will launch in 2006, fly by Pluto and Charon between 2016 and 2018, and pass the Kuiper Belt Objects by 2026.

Comets “I came in with Halley’s Comet in It is coming again next year [1910], and I expect to go out with it.” – Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) – Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) -Comets are dirty-ice leftovers from the formation of our solar system over 4.6 billion years ago -Comets are the least unchanged bodies in the solar system -Missions -Deep Space 1 -Stardust -Deep Impact -CONTOUR

Meteoroids -Meteors or “shooting stars” are bits of material falling through Earth’s atmosphere; they are heated to incandescence by the friction of the air and will vaporize before reaching Earth’s surface -Meteoroids are the bits material hurtling through space -Meteorites are large pieces that do not completely vaporize and reach the surface of the Earth

The Future of the Solar System The Sun will swell into a red giant engulfing Mercury and burning at least the surfaces of Venus and the Earth. The Sun will then cool and shrink into a dim white dwarf. Shifted into new orbits, the fiercely altered planets will still revolve around the dying Sun. Possibly, on a few favored moons, there is a chance that life could spring forth anew.

Credits -Secrets of the Universe card collection -Images and information: