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The Solar System. General Characteristics of Solar System. All planets revolve around Sun counterclockwise All planets except Venus rotate on axis counterclockwise All planets orbits lie in plane of ecliptic Axes of planets except Uranus perpendicular to ecliptic
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General Characteristics of Solar System • All planets revolve around Sun counterclockwise • All planets except Venus rotate on axis counterclockwise • All planets orbits lie in plane of ecliptic • Axes of planets except Uranus perpendicular to ecliptic • Compositional variation (Inner planets - Terrestrial; Outer planets - Gaseous)
Age of Earth Oldest Rock
Oldest Rock: 4.28 Billion Years The Nuvvuagittuq Belt on the coast of the Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec
Oldest Mineral: 4.4 Billion Years The Jack Hills of Western Australia
Structure of the Sun • Interior • Core: Fusion of H to He • Radiative ZoneEnergy Transported by Photons • Convection ZoneEnergy Transported by Convection • Atmosphere • Photosphere: Visual Surface • Chromosphere: Lower Atmosphere; Faint Red Glow • Corona: Outer Atmosphere; Plasma Cloud; Over 1,000,000°C
Definition of a Planet • Set in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that in the Solar System a planet is a celestial body that: • is in orbit around the Sun, • has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and • has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.