Solar System Presentation PDF

The Solar System Maria Karaveli Constellations Ancient cultures used constellations to navigate from place to place, to create calendars, and to predict changes in the seasons. Astronomers use constellations to locate and name stars. Orion is one of the most recog...

The Solar System Maria Karaveli Constellations Ancient cultures used constellations to navigate from place to place, to create calendars, and to predict changes in the seasons. Astronomers use constellations to locate and name stars. Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter months. Observing the Universe The Antikythera mechanism Found in a 70-60 BC shipwreck (mechanism older than this) Calculates the position of the Moon and the Sun. Calculates the occurrence of eclipses. Space Telescopes Hubble Space Telescope Launched by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990. Obtains images that are not affected by rain clouds, light pollution, and atmospheric distortions. Hubble has made more than 1.4 million observations over the course of its lifetime. Space Telescopes James Webb space telescope launched on Dec. 25, 2021, on a mission to study the earliest stars and peer back farther into the universe's past than ever before. Satellites Sputnik launched and entered Earth's orbit in 1957 the first human-made object in space Explorer launched in 1958 Beginning of the Space Age.  The solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago The solar system: consists of the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) dwarf planets (Pluto) dozens of moons millions of asteroids, comets and meteoroids The inner planets are closer to the Sun and are smaller and rockier. The outer planets are further away, larger and made up mostly of gas. The Solar System evolves Nebular theory Explains the formation of solar systems The word “nebula” is Latin for “cloud”. Stars are born from spinning clouds of interstellar dust and gas. The Inner Planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars The Sun a yellow dwarf star the largest object in our solar system, comprising 99.8% of the system’s mass its gravity holds the solar system together a ball of gas (92.1 % Hydrogen and 7.8 % Helium) held together by its own gravity  Mercury the smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon the fastest planet, orbiting around the Sun every 88 Earth days has a solid surface that is covered with craters has a thin atmosphere and no moons A moon is an object that orbits around a planet. Mercury Explorations Mariner 10 – first spacecraft sent to study Mercury Mariner 10 passed by from 1974-1975 and photographed 45% of the surface The core is suspected to be iron, based on the magnetic field of the planet. Surface temperature: 430oC to -170oC. Venus the brightest natural object in the night sky same size as Earth the hottest planet in the solar system, due to its dense atmosphere Surface temperature: 471oC Spacecrafts have survived only a few hours after landing on the planet before being destroyed  Venus Explorations ESA’s Venus Express orbited from 2006 to 2014 Investigated the atmosphere, clouds and surface temperature The oldest craters seem to be only 500 my old. pressure builds up inside the planet until it erupts, resurfacing the planet and destroying any craters that have formed ESA: European Space Agency Earth A temperature range that allows water to be in all 3 states (solid, liquid, gas) Ozone layer protects life from harmful solar radiation meteors tend to burn up in the atmosphere the only place in the known universe confirmed to host life Earth Explorations NASA Satellites See Upper Atmosphere Cooling and Contracting Due to Climate Change Mars Red planet because of the iron oxide in the soil, causing the surface and the atmosphere to appear red. Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos. Mars is a rocky planet. Its solid surface has been altered by volcanoes, impacts, winds, crustal movement and chemical reactions. Phobos is expected to collide with Mars sometime between 30 million and 50 million years from now  Map of the locations where all of NASA's successful Mars missions touched down. Perseverance landed on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021 - Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth. 2004 - Spirit and opportunity Rovers Similarities in gully morphology between Mars (left) and Mt. St. Helens on Earth (right). Gullies have three basic components: alcove, channel and apron. Gullies form by flowing water and the deposits of soil and rocks transported by these flows There may be current sources of liquid water at or near the surface of the red planet. Mars helicopter and Find their location on Mars: Perseverance https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/where-is-the-rover/  Seasons on Mars Mars's spin axis is tilted about 25° relative to the plane in which it orbits. As the planet travels in its orbit, first the northern hemisphere, then the southern hemisphere is tipped toward to the Sun. As a result, there are four distinct seasons on Mars. The ice caps at the poles alternately grow and shrink as the seasons change. The Outer Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune Jupiter largest planet in our Solar System Great Red Spot — a raging storm happening for the past 400 years at least 90% hydrogen, 9% helium, 1% ammonia, methane and water vapor If the planet has a core, we don’t know its composition and size  Ultraviolet Visible Infrared Jupiter Explorations 1979: Voyager I and II: Jupiter has rings 1995: Galileo observations about Jupiter’s moons and atmosphere 2016: Juno More than 60 moons orbit the planet The Galilean Moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto 2017 Hubble Space Telescope Saturn seven known rings with well- defined divisions and gaps between them 82 moons: 53 are confirmed and named and another 29 are awaiting confirmation of discovery and official naming. Similar composition to that of Jupiter, with an unknown core  The seven main rings are labeled in the order in which they were discovered. From the planet outward, they are D, C, B, A, Saturn Rings F, G and E. The Cassini Division is the largest gap in the rings and separates the B ring from the A ring.  The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. Launch: 15 October 1997 Saturn Exploration Status: The spacecraft arrived at Saturn in July 2004. The Huygens probe landed on Titan on 14 January 2005. The Cassini satellite concluded its mission by plunging into the planet's atmosphere in September 2017. Uranus Smaller ring system than Saturn At least 27 moons The clouds around the planet give it a blue color 4 times the size of Earth contains water, methane, ammonia, hydrogen and helium surrounding a rocky core  Uranus Explorations There are no missions scheduled to visit Uranus Oberon right now; the last visitor was Voyager II in 1986. Voyager II discovered 10 new moons, two new rings, and a strangely tilted magnetic field stronger than that of Saturn. Ariel Miranda Neptune At least 13 moons, Triton being the largest Faint ring system Methane gas gives it a blue color Internal planetary heat causes high winds contains water, ammonia, methane, hydrogen and helium and a possible Earth-sized core. Neptune Explorations Voyager II is the only spacecraft to have flown by Neptune. It discovered five moons, four rings, and a "Great Dark Spot" that vanished by the time the Hubble Space Telescope imaged Neptune five years later. Neptune's largest moon, Triton, was found to be the coldest known planetary body in the solar system, with a nitrogen ice "volcano" on its surface. Inner vs. Outer Planets All the inner planets were geologically active at one time. They are all made of cooled igneous rock with inner iron cores. Earth has one big, round moon, while Mars has two very small, irregular moons. Mercury and Venus do not have moons. The outer planets are much larger than the inner planets and since they are mostly made of gases, they are called gas giants. Axis of Rotation Dwarf Planets Ceres, discovered in 1801, orbits once every 4.6 years. Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Pluto, discovered in 1930, orbits once every 248 years. Eris, discovered in 2005, orbits once every 557 years. Dwarf planets vs. Planets to be a planet in our solar system: an object must be in orbit around the Sun have enough mass so that it has become round in shape due to its own gravity have cleared out its orbital path around the Sun (so there are not similar objects to itself at roughly the same distance from the Sun). Dwarf planets were declared to be the class of objects which met the first 2 requirements but failed the third. Planets are also categorized as Terrestrial, Jovian and Dwarf.  Objects smaller than a planet Comets Cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock, Halley's Comet taken in 1986, NASA and dust that orbit the Sun Halley's Comet: the most famous When frozen, they are the size of a small comet town. A "periodic" comet that returns When a comet's orbit brings it close to to Earth's vicinity about every the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and 75 years, making it possible for a human to see it twice in his gases into a giant glowing head larger or her lifetime. than most planets. The last time it was here was in 1986, and it is projected to return in 2061. Comets The Kuiper Belt is more extensive than the Main Asteroid Belt. The spherical Oort Cloud surrounds the Solar System. Comets come from the Oort cloud or the Kuiper belt. Oort Cloud: a sphere of icy solid objects that entirely encapsulates the Solar System and presumably is the birthplace of comets  Perseid meteor shower 2021 Objects smaller than a planet Meteoroid Space rock – the remains of a comet after the ice has been evaporated Meteors A meteoroid that enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up Meteorite A large meteoroid that doesn’t burn up completely in Earth’s atmosphere and strikes Earth. Meteor falling over Texas 2021  Objects smaller than a planet Asteroids Rocky objects Asteroids are smaller than a planet, but they are larger than the pebble-size objects we call meteoroids Situated in the asteroid belt – between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter Ceres is the largest asteroid – big enough to have a round shape – now classified as a dwarf planet