1. Perspectives on Our Solar System Introduction: ‘Our’ Place
The Hubble Deep Field.
Looking at many galaxies who would guess that one like these would have a system of worlds with a planet like earth?

2. The Blue Earth From Space
Why is it blue?
4/5 oceans on surface—necessary for life? Very rare.
Preferential scattering of blue light.

3. Our Moon Same angular size as our Sun: ½ a degree.
Same side always faces us.
Goes through phases
and eclipses.
All very rare phenomena.

4. The other ‘planets’ ( 8 excluding Pluto)
Pluto has been demoted to ‘dwarf planet’.

5. Our star, the Sun
About 10x the diameter of the largest planet: Jupiter.
Jupiter is about 10x the diameter of the earth.

6. Solar System Orbits Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter,
Pluto’s orbit goes inside of that of Neptune.

7. The scale of the orbits An AU is an Astronomical Unit or average
Earth-Sun distance = 93 Million Miles.

8. Our Galaxy: The Milky Way
We are 2/3rds
the way out from
the center of
the disk of spiral
arms. The Milky
Way is a Typical
Large Spiral.

9. Stellar Nurseries.
Stars and solar systems are born in clouds of dust and hydrogen molecules. To the right we see stars being born and glowing in the Milky Way.

10. The Local Group
Our Milky Way is in the Local Group, our cluster of galaxies held together by gravity.

11. The Local or ‘Virgo’ Supercluster
The Local Supercluster includes the Local Group and a large cluster called the Virgo Cluster.

12. The Atom

13. Solar System’s Place In Space