1. Not Your Parents’ Solar System!
It’s
Not Your Parents’ Solar System!
Dr. Frank Summers
Space Telescope Science Institute
July 11, 2013

2. Your Ancient Ancestors’ Solar System

9. Earth
Moon
Mercury
Venus
Sun
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn

10. Claudius Ptolemy
150 – Almagest

11. Misconception
Ptolemy invented the Earth-centered solar system.

12. Misconception Ptolemy invented the Earth-centered solar system.
Ptolemy organized and systematized the Earth-centered solar system based on ideas that had been developed over about 600 years.

15. Your Parents’ Solar System

16. Nicholas Copernicus
1543 – On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres

17. Misconception
Copernicus delayed publishing because he feared criticism from religious leaders.

18. Misconception
Copernicus delayed publishing because he feared criticism from religious leaders.
Copernicus delayed publishing (in part) because he feared criticism from scientists.

19. Earth
Moon
Mercury
Venus
Sun
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn

20. Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth / Moon
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn

21. Misconception
Copernicus’ Sun-centered solar system was quickly accepted because it was much simpler and more accurate.

22. Misconception
Copernicus’ Sun-centered solar system was quickly accepted because it was much simpler and more accurate.
Copernicus’ Sun-centered solar system was just as complex as Ptolemy’s Earth-centered solar system, and provided no more accuracy in its predictions.

23. Galileo 1609 – Use of telescope for astronomy
1632 – Trial by the Inquisiton

24. Misconception
Galileo invented the telescope and was the first to use it for astronomy.

25. Misconception
Galileo invented the telescope and was the first to use it for astronomy.
Galileo was one of several folks who improved the spyglass so that it could be used for astronomy.

27. Misconception
Galileo proved that Copernicus’ Sun-centered solar system was correct.

28. Misconception
Galileo proved that Copernicus’ Sun-centered solar system was correct.
Galileo tried to prove Copernicus’ Sun-centered solar system, but his arguments were wrong.

29. Tycho Brahe
Johannes Kepler

30. Misconception
Astronomers embraced the Sun-centered solar system because it is philosophically simpler.

31. Misconception
Astronomers embraced the Sun-centered solar system because it is philosophically simpler.
Astronomers embraced the Sun-centered solar system only when it could provide better predictions.

32. Isaac Newton
1687 – Principia

33. William Herschel
1781 – Discovery of Uranus

34. 1801 – Planet Ceres (Piazzi)

35. 1801 – Planet Ceres (Piazzi)
1802 – Planet Pallas (Olbers)
1804 – Planet Juno (Harding)
1807 – Planet Vesta (Olbers)
1845 – Planet Astraea (Hencke)

36. Urbain Le Verrier & John Couch Adams
1846 – Prediction and discovery of Neptune

37. Rocky Planets
Giant Planets

39. Misconception
You can’t just demote a planet!

40. Misconception You can’t just demote a planet!
In the mid-1800’s, astronomers demoted the many planets between Mars and Jupiter to be asteroids.

41. Clyde Tombaugh
1930 – Discovery of Pluto

42. Misconception
Pluto’s discovery relied on mathematical predictions based on perturbations in Neptune’s orbit.

43. Misconception
Pluto’s discovery relied on mathematical predictions based on perturbations in Neptune’s orbit.
Pluto’s discovery relied solely on the incredible observing skill and dedication of Clyde Tombaugh.
Neptune’s orbit shows none of the claimed perturbations.

44. Your Parents’ Solar System

45. Your Parents’ Solar System

57. Files:
moon_size_montage_large_nasa_800x600.jpg
Description:
size comparison of many moons of the solar system
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Image Credit: NASA
Notes:
Moons of the Solar System
A selection of our solar system's natural satellites are shown here to
scale compared to the Earth and its moon.
Large moons composite edited by Frank Summers.

59. Your Parents’ Solar System

60. Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto My
Very
Energetic
Mother
Just
Served Us
Nine
Pizzas

61. Facts Are Not Knowledge
Memorization, not understanding
Factoids
Highlights differences
Little or no relevance
Little or no “big picture”

62. Comparative Planetology

63. An Improvement Compare and contrast Highlight similarities
Discuss broad ideas
Apply to planets, moons, etc., as a group
Highlight similarities
Appearance
Characteristics
Events

68. Files:
four_corners_crop_arizona_modis_1111x1280.jpg
Description:
four corners region from MODIS
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Notes:

69. Files:
four_corners_crop_grand_canyon_modis_1000x750.jpg
Description:
four corners region from MODIS
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Notes:

70. Files:
mars_valles_marineris_viking_1500x533.jpg
Description:
Valles Marineris on Mars, from Viking Orbiter
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

71. Files:
mars_globe_viking_1280x1280.jpg
Description:
Mars globe mosaic, from Viking Orbiter
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

72. Files:
mars_globe_us_overlay_viking_1280x1280.jpg
Description:
Mars globe mosaic, from Viking Orbiter
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

73. Files:
mt_st_helens_spirit_lake_pre1980_usgs_1280x853.jpg
Description:
Mt St Helens across Spirit Lake, before the May 18, 1980 eruption
Source:
Usage:
USGS, public domain
Notes:

74. Files:
mt_st_helens_spirit_lake_1982_usgs_1280x853.jpg
Description:
Mt St Helens across Spirit Lake, 1982
Source:
Usage:
USGS, public domain
Notes:

75. Files:
mars_olympus_mons_viking_1124x1040.jpg
Description:
Olympus Mons on Mars, from Viking Orbiter
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

76. Files:
mars_olympus_mons_viking_1124x1040.jpg
Description:
Olympus Mons on Mars, from Viking Orbiter
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

77. Files:
mars_olympus_mons_viking_1124x1040.jpg
Description:
Olympus Mons on Mars, from Viking Orbiter
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:
mars_olympus_mons_vs_everest_fjs_1024x350.png
Comparison of Olympus Mons to Mount Everest
Frank Summers
public domain

78. Files:
io_true_color_galileo_1024x1024.jpg
Description:
Io in approximate true color
Source:
Usage:
NASA, Galileo, public domain
Credit: NASA, JPL
Notes:

79. April 1997 September 1997 Files: io_pele_changes_galileo_1124x712.jpg
Description:
changes in the Pele region on Io
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:
April 1997
September 1997

80. Files:
io_plume_over_limb_galileo_925x1280.jpg
Description:
volcanic plumes, including one over the limb on Io
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

81. Files:
io_plume_over_limb_crop2_galileo_640x480.jpg
Description:
volcanic plumes, including one over the limb on Io
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech
Notes:

82. Tvashtar

83. Planetary Comparisons
Canyons – Grand Canyon, Mariner Valley
Volcanoes – Mount St. Helens, Olympus Mons, Io
Craters – Earth, Moon, Mercury, …
Storms, Winds, Seasons, Weather, Ice Floes, Magnetic Fields, Moons, Rings, etc

84. Comparative Planetology
Messages
What happens on Earth happens elsewhere
Solar system is understandable
Pieces to assemble the big picture

85. The 21st Century Solar System
Sun
Rocky Planets
Asteroid Belt
Giant Planets
Kuiper Belt
Oort Cloud

86. Families of the Solar System
Classes of similar objects
Size
Composition
Orbit size
Orbit shape
Orbit inclination
Moons
Rings

90. Hollywood’s View of the Asteroid Belt

91. Hundreds of thousands of asteroids …
… about a million miles apart!
960 million miles
Scientific View of the Asteroid Belt

92. Sizes of the Giant Planets and Earth

93. Kuiper Belt

96. Oort Cloud Billions of icy minor planets – comet nuclei
Roughly spherical out to 50,000 AU
Predicted by Jan Oort
Explains long-period comets

98. Families of the Solar System
Classification
Structure of the solar system
Similar objects lie in similar regions
Clues to solar system formation and evolution

99. Sun
Rocky Planets
Asteroid Belt
Giant Planets
Kuiper Belt
Oort Cloud

100. Sun
Mercury Venus Earth Mars
Asteroid Belt
Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
Kuiper Belt
Oort Cloud

101. Some
May View Elaborate Mnemonics
As Boring,
Just Some Useless Nonsensical
Knowledge, But
Others Cheer

102. Science
May View Established Models
As Basic
Justified Standards Until New
Knowledge Bears
Out Changes

103. Sometimes
My Very Energetic Mother
Also Boils
Jumbo Shrimp Using Nine
Kettles Bubbling
Over Coals

104. The Inevitable Question …

105. Why is Pluto No Longer a Planet?

106. RI007955| RM| © Bob Krist/CORBIS
Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium
The glass cube of the Rose Center for Earth and Space contains the Hayden Sphere, the new home of the Hayden Planetarium. Both structures are part of the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.
Image:  © Bob Krist/CORBIS Photographer:  Bob Krist
Date Photographed:  ca. May 2000
Location Information:  Central Park West, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA

107. Planet Pluto
January 23, 1930
January 29, 1930

110. Pluto/Charon
1978 – James Christy (USNO)

111. The Incredible Shrinking Planet
Lowell’s Planet X – 7 times Earth
1940’s – 1 times Earth
1980 – 0.1 times Earth
1985 – times Earth

113. Montage by Frank Summers, based on NASA image
Files:
moon_size_montage_large_with_pluto_nasa_800x600.jpg
Description:
size comparison of many moons of the solar system
Source:
Usage:
NASA, public domain
Image Credit: NASA
Notes:
Moons of the Solar System
A selection of our solar system's natural satellites are shown here to
scale compared to the Earth and its moon.

115. Kuiper Belt Objects 1992 – Jewitt & Luu find QB1 Distance of 42 AU
First (third?) object discovered in the Kuiper Belt

117. Kuiper Belt

118. But Isn’t Pluto Special in Some Way?

119. Orbit Comparison: Pluto/Charon vs 2004 DW

120. Kuiper Belt

121. Moon
Pluto and Charon in infrared from Hubble 1995

124. Haumea, Hi’iaka & Namaka Eris & Dysnomia
Makemake
Large KBOs and their moons from Mike Brown
Haumea, Hi’iaka & Namaka
Eris & Dysnomia

125. KBO Size Comparison

126. Pluto vs the Kuiper Belt
Orbit similar to KBOs
Size similar to KBOs
KBO companions common
Composition similar to KBOs

127. Pluto vs the Kuiper Belt
Orbit similar to KBOs
Size similar to KBOs
KBO companions common
Composition similar to KBOs
Pluto has found its family!!

128. IAU Definition – August 2006
IAU defines “planet”
Orbits the Sun
Upper mass limit
not massive enough to produce fusion
Deuterium fusion occurs at about 15x Jupiter’s mass
Lower mass limit
Massive enough for gravity to make it spherical
About 500 miles in diameter
Dominates its orbit
Dwarf planets meet 1, 2, 3, but not 4

129. Mass to mass in zone ratio – Soter paper, What is a Planet?
The Astronomical Journal, 132:2513–2519, 2006 December
Copyright The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.

130. Other Planetary Systems?
Solar system alone is category of one
???

131.
Debris Disks Around Sun-Like Stars AU Microscopii and HD
[LEFT: AU Microscopii] - A visible-light image of a debris disk around the red dwarf star AU Microscopii. Planets may be forming, or might already exist, within it. The disk glows in starlight reflected by tiny grains of dust created by the collisions of asteroids and comets. Because it is composed of the pulverized remnants of these objects, it is called a "debris disk." More than 40 billion miles across, it appears like a spindle of light because we view it nearly edge on (like looking at a dinner plate along its side). The star is about 12 million years old and is only 32 light-years from Earth. This makes its disk the closest yet seen in reflected starlight. It is also the first disk imaged around an M-type red dwarf, the most common type of star in the stellar neighborhood around the Sun. The Hubble Space Telescope images, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) reveal that the disk has been cleared of dust within about a billion miles of the star (first indicated from infrared-light measurements).
The ACS images confirm that the disk is warped and has small variations in dust density that, along with the central clearing, may be caused by the tugging of an unseen companion, perhaps a large planet. ACS shows that this is the only debris disk known that appears bluer than the star it surrounds. This may indicate that there are more small grains of dust, compared to large ones, than has been seen before in other such disks. Smaller grains scatter blue light better than red. The surplus of small grains may be due to the fact that the star is not bright enough to blow away these tiny particles. In brighter, hotter stars, the pressure from radiation can actually push small dust grains out of the disk and far out into space.
Credit: NASA, ESA, J.E. Krist (STScI/JPL), D.R. Ardila (JHU), D.A. Golimowski (JHU), M. Clampin (NASA/GSFC), H.C. Ford (JHU), G.D. Illingworth (UCO-Lick), G.F. Hartig (STScI) and the ACS Science Team
[RIGHT: HD ] - This is a false-color view of a planetary debris disk encircling the star HD , a yellow dwarf star very similar to our Sun, though it is much younger (between 30 and 250 million years old, compared to the almost 5 billion years age of the Sun). The star is 88 light-years away from Earth. This is the only disk to have been imaged around a star so much like our own. The slight difference in brightness on one side of the disk is due to the fact that small dust particles scatter more light when they are between Earth and the star, rather than behind the star. This suggests that the bright side is closer to us. The disk is redder than the star whose light it reflects, indicating that it contains grains one two-thousandth of a millimeter in size (about 100 times smaller than household dust).
Our Sun is believed to have a ring of dust around it, lying just beyond the orbit of Neptune, although it is ten times narrower than the one around HD Our solar system also has between 1,000 and 10,000 times less dust. The size of the ring, its the thickness, and the amount of dust make it unlikely that HD will ever evolve into a system like our own. This is interesting, as it shows that the planetary systems around the same kind of stars may have very different evolutionary paths.
Credit: NASA, ESA, D.R. Ardila (JHU), D.A. Golimowski (JHU), J.E. Krist (STScI/JPL), M. Clampin (NASA/GSFC), J.P. Williams (UH/IfA), J.P. Blakeslee (JHU), H.C. Ford (JHU), G.F. Hartig (STScI), G.D. Illingworth (UCO-Lick) and the ACS Science Team

132.
Velocities of 51 Peg vs orbital phase. Observations were made at Lick Observatory between Oct.11, 1995 and Dec. 1996, but are continuing indefinitely. The period is days, and the amplitude is m/s. The inferred mass of the companion is: M sin i = 0.45 Jupiter masses. There is no evidence of a second companion, at a level of 3 m/s.

134. HR 8799

135. Planets around Other Stars
Jupiter mass planets in Mercury orbits
Elliptical orbits
Multiple Jupiter sized planets
Planets around pulsars

136. Planetary System Formation
Planetary systems form in a predictable fashion from a spinning circular disk
???

137. Sun
Rocky Planets
Asteroid Belt
Giant Planets
Kuiper Belt
Oort Cloud

138. So Much to Discover Our solar system is the oddball?
Need to generalize our formation and evolution scenarios
Implications for life in the universe
Lots of planets
Stability of orbits?
New era of solar system study

139. Presentation Materials
Online Sessions
Google Hangout September
Info to come
Social media
Facebook.com/DrFrankSummers
Twitter @drfranksummers