1. Chapter 7 Our Planetary System Earth, as viewed by the Voyager spacecraft

2. What does the solar system look like?

3. Eight major planets with nearly circular orbits Pluto is smaller than the major planets and has a more elliptical orbit

4. Planets all orbit in same direction and nearly in same plane http://observe.phy. sfasu.edu/courses/ ast105/lectures105 /chapter06/orbit_a nd_rotation_planet s.htm

5. Thought Question How does the Earth-Sun distance (1AU) compare with the Sun’s radius a)It’s about 10 times larger. b)It’s about 50 times larger. c)It’s about 200 times larger. d)It’s about 1000 times larger.

6. Thought Question How does the Earth-Sun distance compare with the Sun’s radius a)It’s about 10 times larger. b)It’s about 50 times larger. c)It’s about 200 times larger. d)It’s about 1000 times larger.

7. Bode’s Law a simple rule that gives the distances of the planets from the Sun where N=0, 3, 6, 12, 24…for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, etc.

8. ____24(24+4)/10 = 2.8 AU_______ Planet N Bode’s Law Radii True Orbital Radii Planet N Bode’s Law Radii True Orbital Radii Mercury0(0+4)/10 = 0.4 AU0.39 AU Venus3(3+4)/10 = 0.7 AU0.72 AU Earth6(6+4)/10 = 1.0 AU1.00 AU Mars12(12+4)/10 = 1.6 AU1.52 AU Jupiter48(48+4)/10 = 5.2 AU5.2 AU Saturn96(96+4)/10 = 10.0 AU9.5 AU Uranus192(192+4)/10 = 19.6 AU 19.2 AU Neptune??30.1 AU Pluto384(384+4)/10 = 38.8 AU 39.5 AU Ceres242.88 AU

9. What does Bode’s Law tell us? Bode's Law predicted that there should be a planet between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The "missing planet" turned out to be the asteroid belt.

10. What are the major features of the Sun and planets? Sun and planets to scale

11. What to know Main features – Rock or Gas? Color? Rings? Clouds? Moons? – Names of major moons Anything else that is odd or intersting.

12. Planets are very tiny compared to distances between them.

13. Over 99.9% of solar system’s mass Made mostly of H/He gas (plasma) Converts 4 million tons of mass into energy each second Sun

14. Made of metal and rock; large iron core Desolate, cratered; long, tall, steep cliffs Very hot and very cold: 425°C (day), –170°C (night) No atmosphere Only slightly larger than Earth’s Moon. Mercury

15. Nearly identical in size to Earth; surface hidden by clouds Hellish conditions due to an extreme greenhouse effect: Even hotter than Mercury: 470°C, day and night Venus

16. An oasis of life The only surface liquid water in the solar system A surprisingly large moon Earth and Moon to scale Earth

17. The Moon –Many craters –Maria

18. Looks almost Earth-like, knee high atmosphere Giant volcanoes (Olympus Mons), a huge canyon (Valles Marineris), and polar caps (CO 2 ). Water flowed in the distant past; could there have been life? Mars

19. Moons of Mars Two small moons Phobos – Greek for fear Deimos- Greek for dread or panic

20. Much farther from Sun than inner planets Mostly H/He; no solid surface 300 times more massive than Earth Great Red Spot Many moons (60+), rings … Jupiter

21. Jupiter’s moons can be as interesting as planets themselves, especially Jupiter’s four Galilean moons Io (shown here): Active volcanoes all over Europa: Possible subsurface ocean Ganymede: Largest moon in solar system Callisto: A large, cratered “ice ball”

22. Jupiter has a thin ice ring.

23. Saturn Giant and gaseous like Jupiter Spectacular rings – Cassini’s Division Many moons, including cloudy Titan Cassini spacecraft currently studying it

24. Rings are NOT solid; they are made of countless small chunks of ice and rock, each orbiting like a tiny moon. Artist’s conception

25. Cassini probe arrived July 2004 (Launched in 1997)

26. Smaller than Jupiter/Saturn; much larger than Earth Made of H/He gas & hydrogen compounds (H 2 O, NH 3, CH 4 ) Extreme axis tilt Moons & rings Uranus

27. Similar to Uranus (except for axis tilt) Great Dark Spot Many moons (including Triton) Neptune

28. Pluto (Not a Planet and not Red) Much smaller than any of the planets Icy, comet-like composition Its moon Charon is similar in size

30. Thought Question What process created the elements from which the terrestrial planets were made? a)The Big Bang b)Nuclear fusion in stars c)Chemical processes in interstellar clouds d)Their origin is unknown

31. What have we learned? What are the major features of the Sun and planets? –Sun: Over 99.9% of the mass –Mercury: A hot rock –Venus: Same size as Earth but much hotter –Earth: Only planet with liquid water on surface –Mars: Could have had liquid water in past –Jupiter: A gaseous giant with the great red spot –Saturn: Gaseous with spectacular rings –Uranus: A gas giant with a highly tilted axis –Neptune: Gas giant with great dark spot –Pluto: An icy “misfit” more like a comet than a planet

32. What features of the solar system provide clues to how it formed?

33. Motion of Large Bodies All large bodies in the solar system orbit in the same direction and in nearly the same plane Most also rotate in that direction

34. Two Main Planet Types Terrestrial planets are rocky, relatively small, and close to the Sun Jovian planets are gaseous, larger, and farther from Sun

35. Swarms of Smaller Bodies Many rocky asteroids and icy comets populate the solar system

36. Notable Exceptions Several exceptions to the normal patterns need to be explained

37. Special Topic: How did we learn the scale of the solar system?

38. Transit of Venus Apparent position of Venus on Sun during transit depends on distances in solar system and your position on Earth Transit of Venus: June 8, 2004

39. Measuring Distance to Venus Measure apparent position of Venus on Sun from two locations on Earth Use trigonometry to determine Venus’ distance from the distance between the two locations on Earth

40. How do robotic spacecraft work?

41. Flybys A flyby mission flies by a planet just once Cheaper than other mission but have less time to gather data

42. Orbiters Go into orbit around another world More time to gather data but cannot obtain detailed information about world’s surface

43. Probes or Landers Land on surface of another world Explore surface in detail

44. Sample Return Missions Land on surface of another world Gather samples Spacecraft designed to blast off other world and return to Earth Apollo missions to Moon are only sample return missions to date

45. Combination Spacecraft Cassini/Huygens mission contains both an orbiter (Cassini) and a lander (Huygens)