AIM: What is the Solar System?

• Do Now:Do Now: What major characteristic must a planet have in order to be part of our solar system?

I. The Sun• largest mass in the solar system.

• all objects revolve around the sun.

• light takes 8 min to travel to Earth.

• Fusion powers the sun by turning Hydrogen into Helium which releases large amounts of Energy.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen

• Size and Solar System Position are the most obvious differences.

• Terrestrial – small and rocky

• Jovian – large and mostly gas

II. PlanetsHow are they different?

What are they made of?

• Terrestrial Planets (Earth-like): - Rocky planets.- Smallest diameters.- Smallest masses

Mercury: • inner most planet

• greatest temperature extremes of any planet

Venus:• covered by thick clouds

• can be seen in night sky

• known as Earth’s sister planet due to similar size

Earth:• intelligent life forms?

• only known planet with flowing water

Mars:•

Mars:• can be commonly seen from Earth

• known as the Red Planet

• possibilities of water on Mars, or once on Mars (drainage patterns in crust, evaporate minerals)

• Jovian Planets: - Mostly gaseous planets- Largest Diameters - Largest masses

Jupiter:• Red Spot is a giant cyclonic storm.

• Bands are multi colored clouds

• 28 known moons ( IO, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are the four largest moons)

Saturn:• Prominent features include the Rings of Saturn

• Has 31 orbiting moons

• Titan is its largest moon

Uranus:• rotation is parallel to its orbit, not tilted

• this makes it appear to roll instead of spin

Neptune:• Cirrus clouds visible in atmosphere

• 13 known moons, Triton being the largest

• Dark spot is thought to be a storm

You do not Need to memorize anything about the Planets.

Page 15 of ESRT

Diameter equals the full distance across a circle,

in this case a planets equator.

The RADIUS is half that distance.

Thus…

Radius = ½ Diameter

•Asteroids and Meteoroids: found in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter, these rocks can be as big as 1000 Km and as small as a grain of sand.

•Comets: pieces of rock held together by frozen gasses. Tail always points away from the sun. Most eccentric orbits.

• Meteorite: are meteoroids that reach Earth’s surface. Their impact creates a crater.

III. Other Solar System Objects

What do these objects have in

common with our planet?

PlutoThe debate came to a head in 2006

with an IAU resolution that created an official definition for the term "planet". According to this resolution, there are three main conditions for an object to be considered a 'planet':

• The object must be in orbit around the Sun.

• The object must be massive enough to be a sphere by its own gravitational force. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape of hydrostatic equilibrium.

• It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.[97]

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• Pluto fails to meet the third condition, since its mass was only 0.07 times that of the mass of the other objects in its orbit.

• The IAU further resolved that Pluto be classified in the simultaneously created dwarf planet category, and that it act as prototype for a yet-to-be-named category of trans-Neptunian objects