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Our Solar System

Our Solar System. Sun Facts. Diameter: ~870,000 miles Rotation: 25-36 days Temperature: Sunspots 6,700  F Surface 10,000  F Core 27,000,000 F Facts Contains ~98% of our Solar System’s mass Could hold 1.3 million Earths Fusion of hydrogen atoms produces light & heat. Sun. Planet.

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Our Solar System

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  1. Our Solar System

  2. Sun Facts • Diameter: ~870,000 miles • Rotation: 25-36 days • Temperature: • Sunspots 6,700F • Surface 10,000F • Core 27,000,000F • Facts • Contains ~98% of our Solar System’s mass • Could hold 1.3 million Earths • Fusion of hydrogen atoms produces light & heat

  3. Sun

  4. Planet • A large body orbiting a central star. • ‘Planetes’ is the Greek word for wanderer. • New International Astronomical Union (IAU) Definition • A planet is a celestial body that • Is in orbit around the Sun, • Is nearly round, • Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and • Is not a satellite (moon). • Examples • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune

  5. Other Bodies • Dwarf Planet is a celestial body that • Is in orbit around the Sun, • Is nearly round in shape, • Has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, • And is not a satellite. • Examples – Ceres, Pluto, & Eris (2003 UB 313) • Small Solar System Bodies • All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun. • Examples – Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Kuiper Belt Objects etc.

  6. Inner Planets • Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars • Also known as the “Terrestrial Planets” • Tend to be smaller, denser, & rockier.

  7. Inner Planets

  8. Mercury Data • Distance from the Sun: 36 million miles • Diameter: ~3,000 miles • Temperature: -280F to 800F • Moons: zero • Facts: • No atmosphere • Craters & Cliffs • Rotation perpendicular to its orbital path

  9. Mercury

  10. Venus Data • Distance from the Sun: 67 million miles • Diameter: ~7,500 miles • Temperature: 900 F (greenhouse effect) • Moons: zero • Facts: • Rotates from east to west • A day is longer than a year! • CO2 atmosphere & sulfuric acid clouds • Craters & Volcanic Rock

  11. Venus

  12. Earth Data • Distance from the Sun: 93 million miles • Diameter: ~8,000miles • Temperature: -128F to 140F • Moons: One • Facts: • Life! • Water in all 3 States • Atmosphere (Nitrogen, Oxygen, & other gases)

  13. Earth

  14. Mars Data • Distance from the Sun: 142 million miles • Diameter: ~4,200 miles • Temperature: -184F to 59F • Moons: 2 • Facts: • Atmosphere (CO2 & other gases) • Polar Ice Caps (frozen CO2) • Olympus Mons (largest volcano)

  15. Mars

  16. Asteroid Belt

  17. Asteroid Facts • Rocky, Metallic objects • Orbit the sun in a “belt” • Known as “minor planets” • Range in size • From pebbles to • Ceres formerly considered an asteroid has been reclassified as a “Dwarf Planet” (~600 miles) • Theories • Remains of a destroyed planet • Planet never formed

  18. Asteroids

  19. Meteoroids • Small bodies that travel through SPACE. Nasa.gov

  20. Meteors • Meteors which enter earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Nasa.gov

  21. Meteorites • If meteor does not completely vaporize, it lands on earth as a meteorite.

  22. Barringer Meteorite Crater

  23. Outer Planets • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune • Also known as “Gas Giants” or the “Jovian Planets” • Tend to be much larger & most are made up of gases.

  24. Jupiter Data • Distance from the Sun: 484 million miles • Diameter: ~89,000 miles • Temperature: • Surface -163F • Core 54,000F • Moons: 63 • Facts: • Largest Planet • Faint Ring System • Atmospheric Clouds & Storms (Red Spot)

  25. Jupiter

  26. Saturn Data • Distance from the Sun: 886 million miles • Diameter: ~74,000 miles • Temperature: • Surface -219F • Core 27,000F • Moons: 58 • Facts: • Flat at the poles • Less dense than water • Ring System

  27. Saturn

  28. Uranus Data • Distance from the Sun: 1.8 billion miles • Diameter: ~32,000 miles • Temperature: -330F • Moons: at least 22 • Facts: • Gaseous Planet (H, He, Methane) • Bluish Color • Orbits on its Side • Faint Ring System

  29. Uranus

  30. Neptune Data • Distance from the Sun: 2.8 billion miles • Diameter: ~30,000 miles • Temperature: -330F • Moons: 8 • Facts: • Great dark spot • Strongest winds in the solar system (1,200mph) • Orbital path crosses Pluto’s • Faint rings made of dust particles • Composed of H, He, & Methane & a core of molten rock

  31. Neptune

  32. Pluto Data • Distance from the Sun: ~4 billion miles • Diameter: ~1,400 miles • Temperature: -390F • Moons: 3 – Charon, Hydra, Nix • Facts: • Thin atmosphere freezes & falls to the surface • Orbits almost on its side • Orbital path crosses Neptune’s • Newly defined as a “Dwarf Planet”

  33. Dwarf Planet Pluto

  34. Orbits of Pluto & Eris (aka 2003 UB 313)

  35. Kuiper Belt

  36. Kuiper Belt • Disk-shaped region past the orbit of Neptune • Contains icy “Small Solar System Objects” & “Dwarf Planets” that orbit the Sun • Contains over 35,000 objects over 100 km (62 miles) in diameter • Possibly where Short-Period Comets Originate • Orbits of Kuiper Belt Objects may be affected by interactions with the Gas Giants • Examples – Pluto & Eris

  37. Eris (2003 UB 313) • Discovered: July-August, 2005 • Distance: >8 billion miles • Diameter: At least as large as Pluto • Dwarf Planet

  38. Eris

  39. Comet Facts • Small, fragile, irregularly shaped bodies • Made of ice, dust, and gases (“dirty snowballs”) • Highly elliptical orbits around the sun • Coma – surrounding cloud which grows in size & brightness as it approaches the Sun (& melts)

  40. Comets

  41. Sedna

  42. Sedna Data • Distance from the Sun: ~12 billion miles • Diameter: 800-1,100 miles • Discovered in 2004 • Facts: • Moon? • Rocky? • Highly Elliptical Orbit (10,000 years to orbit the Sun)

  43. Sedna Size Comparison

  44. View from Sedna

  45. Oort Cloud • In 1950, Jan Oort proposed that comets reside in a vast could at the outer reaches of the solar system. • No direct evidence of an Oort Cloud • Possibly where Long-Period Comets Originate • Possibly extends halfway to the next known star • Recent discoveries (such as Sedna) indicate that the Oort Cloud might contain more objects than originally thought

  46. Pluto’s Other Satellites?

  47. Centaurs • Nine known “Small Solar System Objects,” orbiting between Jupiter & Neptune • Unstable orbits • Thought to have been part of the Kuiper Belt at one time • Examples • Chiron & Pholus

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