Transcript Solar System

Solar System
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Solar Family
• The Earth is part of a solar
system.
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1 star – the Sun
8 planets
Dwarf planets
Smaller objects
• The Sun, Moon, and five
planets were known
before the telescope.
• There are over 400,000
known objects today.
Orbital Map
• Kepler’s laws set the relative sizes of the orbits from the
period.
– Transit of Venus for scale
– Now precision radar
• The Earth is part of
the inner solar
system.
– Mercury 88 day
period
– Mars 687 day period
Outer Reaches
• Most objects are in the outer solar system.
• The solar system is
100’s of times
larger than Earth’s
orbit.
– Jupiter 12 year
period (5.2 AU)
– Eris 560 year period
(98 AU)
Size
• Planet size is determined by measuring the angular width.
– Compare to distance
– Mass from gravity on other objects
• Planets are small
compared to the
Sun.
• Earth 1/100 Sun
• Jupiter 1/10 Sun
Terrestrial
• Planets in the inner solar
system have a lot in
common with Earth.
– Rocks and iron
– Solid surface
– Atmosphere
• Terrestrial comes from the
Latin word for Earth.
• There are major
differences among
terrestrial planets.
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Different atmospheres
Cratered surfaces
Rotation rates
Magnetic fields
Jovian
• Planets in the outer solar
system have a lot in
common with Jupiter.
• Jovian is from another
Roman word for Jupiter.
• Jovian planets have major
differences with
terrestrials.
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Large mass
Large size
Mostly gas, no surface
Low density
Fast rotation
Many moons
Interplanetary Debris
• The remainder of the solar system is made up of small
bodies.
– Different types: rocky, icy
• The sizes range from dust to dwarf planets.
NASA