Chapter 11 Solar System

1. Chapter 11Solar System Unit Four Beyond Our Earth

2. Bible Integration • Just as the Sun is the center of our solar system, so should Christ be the center of a Christian’s life. A godly Christian will center his daily thoughts, emotions, and actions on the One who rules in his heart at Savior.

3. The Sun • We depend on the Sun for heat, light, nourishment, and climate. • The sun is about 150,000,000 kilometers, or 93,000,000 miles, from Earth. • It takes a little less than 8½ minutes for the Sun’s light to reach the earth.

4. The Sun – Parts of the Sun • Photosphere – the surface of the Sun • Chromosphere – the Sun’s atmosphere • Corona – outermost part of the Sun

5. The Sun – Parts of the Sun Solar prominence Chromosphere Core Photosphere Sunspot 1 2 3 4 5

6. The Sun – Solar Storms • The sun has magnetic storms that affect life on Earth by disrupting communications satellites and GPS navigation signals. • Sunspots – dark spots on the Sun’s surface • Faculae – bright clouds of gas on the Sun’s photosphere • Solar flares – created by solar storms exploding from the photosphere

7. The Sun – Solar Storms (cont.) • Solar prominence – huge streams of gas that extend into the Sun’s corona • Solar wind – made of electrically charged particles form the Sun • Aurora – energy emitted in the form of beautiful colors • Auroras occur near Earth’s North and South Poles • They occur only at the Poles because electrically charged particles are trapped in Earth’s magnetic field and are pulled toward Earth’s magnetic poles. The Poles are magnetic.

8. The Seasons • The Sun’s huge mass exerts a strong gravitational pull that keeps the planets in line around it. • Revolution (or year) – Each orbit that a planet makes around the Sun • Axis – imaginary line around which a planet rotates • Rotation – the complete turning of a planet; each complete rotation around the axis is called a day

9. The Seasons (cont.) • Seasons are determined by the tilt of Earth on its axis as it revolves around the Sun. • The hemisphere tilted toward the Sun receives the most direct sunlight and experiences the summer season. • Summer solstice – the longest day of the year, when the most sunlight is received for a hemisphere

10. The Seasons (cont.) • When the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, it experiences the winter season. • Winter solstice – the shortest day of the year, or the period when a hemisphere receives the least amount of sunlight

11. The Seasons (cont.) • During the autumnal (fall) and vernal (spring) equinoxes the day and night hours are about equal in length. • Autumnal equinox – the start of autumn (fall) • Vernal equinox – the start of spring • Equinox – equal length of day and night • “Equi” meaning equal • “nox” meaning night

12. The Planets • The four inner planets (terrestrial planets) are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. • The terrestrial planets are small, dense, relatively close together, rocky, and earthlike in composition. • Asteroid Belt – an area between Mars and Jupiter

13. The Planets (cont.) • The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. • Gas giants – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune because they have surfaces made of gases. • Probes cannot land on the gas giants because their surfaces are liquefied gases that have no solid surface to land on. • Pluto is not a gas giant but rather a small solid-core planet.

14. The Planets (cont.) My Very Energetic Mother Just Swept Under Neil’s Plate.

15. The Planets – The Inner Planets • MERCURY: The planet closest to the Sun • Period of rotation – 59 Days • Period of revolution – 88 Days • Mercury is the second smallest planet. • Mercury cannot hold an atmosphere because it has a weak gravitational field. • Mercury has the shortest year in the solar system. • Similar to Earth’s moon, Mercury is a barren and scarred planet with craters.

16. The Planets – The Inner Planets • VENUS: The Evening Star • Period of rotation – 243 Days • Period of revolution – 224.7 Days • Venus is the second planet from the Sun. • Venus is called both “The Morning Star” and “The Evening Star” because it is the brightest object in the morning and evening skies. • Venus is sometimes called Earth’s twin. • Venus is the planet closest to Earth.

17. The Planets – The Inner Planets • VENUS: The Evening Star (cont.) • Even though Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is hotter because there is a thick cloud of carbon dioxide around Venus that traps heat. • Venus has a retrograde rotation meaning it rotates from east to west instead of west to east as Earth does.

18. The Planets – The Inner Planets • MARS: The Red Planet • Period of rotation – 24.5 hours • Period of revolution – 687 days • Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. • Mars is more like Earth than any other planet. • Mars experiences seasonal changes similar to those of Earth because it has a tilt similar to that of Earth. • Mars’ atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. • Mars has iron oxide (rust) in the soil.

19. The Planets – The Inner Planets • MARS: The Red Planet (cont.) • A remote-controlled rover the Mars Sojourner, gathered soil and rock samples on the surface of Mars. • Mars is dry like a desert. • Scientists think Mars may have had liquid water on it at one time because some land features show signs of the effects of liquid water.

20. The Planets – The Inner Planets • EARTH: Home Sweet Home • Period of rotation – 1 day • Period of revolution – 365¼ days • Earth is the third planet from the Sun. • Earth is the only planet on which man survives in his natural state. • Earth’s moderate temperature allows water to exist as a liquid. The Earth has a good water supply.

21. The Planets – The Inner Planets • EARTH: Home Sweet Home (cont.) • Leap year – a year that occurs every fourth year when an extra day is added to the calendar. • Gravity holds Earth’s atmosphere in place. • Earth has one naturalsatellite, the Moon. • The Earth is a perfect distance from the Sun, making it neither too hot or too cold. • The Earth’s atmosphere is helpful because it maintains warmth from the Sun, filters out the Sun’s harmful rays, and protects us from meteors.

22. The Planets – The Inner Planets • EARTH: Home Sweet Home – The Moon • Satellite – any object that revolves around another body in space. • Unlike Earth, the Moon is full of craters. • We always see the same side of the Moon because it rotates once on its axis as it makes one revolution around the Earth.

23. The Planets – The Inner Planets • EARTH: Home Sweet Home – The Moon (cont.) • The Moon does not give off its own light. It reflects the light from the Sun. • The phases of the Moon are caused as different areas of the Moon are lighted by the Sun. • It takes about 29½ days for the Moon to pass from one new moon to another.

24. The Planets – The Inner Planets • EARTH: Home Sweet Home – Project Apollo • President John F. Kennedy issued a challenge to put a man on the Moon. • 1969 was the first Moon landing. • The astronauts aboard Apollo 11 were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. • Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon. He said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

25. The Planets – The Inner Planets • EARTH: Home Sweet Home – Eclipses • Solar eclipse – a spectacular and rare event that occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and casts its shadow on Earth • Totality – the phase of an eclipse when the Moon appears to cover the Sun completely • Lunar eclipse – occurs when the Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth • More common than a solar eclipse • Can be seen about every six months somewhere in the world

26. Bible Integration • Matthew 5:16 • How does the Moon’s relationship to the Sun picture a Christian’s relationship to Christ?

27. Bible Integration • Psalm 104:13-14 and 104:16-20 • List the different things on Earth that God designed.

28. The Planets – The Outer Planets • JUPITER: The Largest Planet • Period of rotation – 10 hours • Period of revolution – 12 years • Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. • Jupiter is the first of the “gas giants.” • Jupiter’s most noticeable feature is its Great Red Spot.

29. The Planets – The Outer Planets • SATURN: The RingedPlanet • Period of rotation – 11 hours • Period of revolution – 30 years • Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. • Saturn is the second largest planet. • Saturn is a “gas giant.”

30. The Planets – The Outer Planets • SATURN: The Ringed Planet (cont.) • Saturn has rings that are made of many small, frozen particles that reflect the Sun’s light. • Saturn’s rings are brighter and larger than the rings of any other planet. • Saturn has more moons than any other planet in our solar system.

31. The Planets – The Outer Planets • URANUS: The Planet that Rotates Sideways • Period of rotation – 17 hours • Period of revolution – 84 years • Uranus is a gas giant. • Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. • Uranus has a blue-green color. • Uranus has long periods of darkness and light. • Uranus has a poisonous atmosphere of methane gas.

32. The Planets – The Outer Planets • NEPTUNE: The Blue Planet • Period of rotation – 16 hours • Period of revolution – 165 years • Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun. • Neptune is the last of the “gas giants.” • Neptune has the most violent weather in the solar system. • Neptune has a Great Dark Spot. • Neptune has a thick cloud cover of methane gas.

33. The Planets – The Outer Planets • PLUTO: The Smallest Planet • Period of rotation – 6.4 days • Period of revolution – 248 years • Pluto is the ninth planet from the Sun. • Pluto is the smallest and coldest planet. • Pluto’s orbit is elongated, or stretched out. • Some people consider Pluto to be a double planet. • Charon is Pluto’s moon.

34. The Planets – The Outer Planets • In order to be classified as a planet, an object must meet two criteria: • It must be large enough for its own gravity to keep it in the shape of a sphere • It must orbit the Sun rather than another planet.

35. The Planets – The Outer Planets • VOYAGERS 1 and 2 • Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 provided much information about the outer planets.

36. Space Exploration – Rockets • The Chinese were probably the first people to invent rockets. • The first liquid-fueled rocket was launched by Robert Goddard in 1926. • The German man who developed the V-2 and helped develop rockets for space travel was Wernher von Braun.

37. Space Exploration – Rockets • Rockets work similar to jet engines. • Hot gases are pushed very quickly out of a small opening in the rocket’s engine creates thrust. As the hot gases are pushed out, the gases push against the rocket and propel the rocket upwards. • Rockets can be used only one time; some have three stages. • To escape Earth’s gravity and orbit around Earth a rocket must have great speed.

38. Space Exploration – The Space Shuttle • A space shuttle is a reusable space vehicle; a space bus for astronauts. • The space shuttle launches as a rocket and returns to Earth as a glider airplane.

39. Space Exploration – Satellites • Satellite – an object that orbits another object in space. • The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth was called Sputnik I. • The launch of Sputnik unofficially began the “space race,” an unofficial race between the Soviet Union and the USA to gain control of space.

40. Space Exploration – Satellites • The Hubble Space Telescope is a satellite of Earth. • Purposes of satellites: • Space exploration • Communication • Tracking weather • International spying • Distance education

41. Space Exploration – Probes • Probes– unmanned research spacecraft sent beyond Earth’s orbit. • A mathematical error probably caused the crash of the probe called Mars Climate Orbiter.

42. Space Exploration – International Space Station • International Space Station (ISS) – a facility that orbits Earth and is maintained and used by astronauts from sixteen different countries. • The weightlessness (lack of gravity) in space affects how the astronauts eat, sleep, work, and exercise. • Food used in space is often dehydrated, meaning the water has been removed.