Transcript ESSR_PNE_SunSolarSys_V01

The Sun
&
The Solar System
Structure of the Sun
• The Sun has layers which can be compared to the
Earth’s core, mantle, crust, and atmosphere
• All of these layers except the core has a unique
name as a part of the sun
Structure of the Sun (continued)
• Core = Center of the Sun, comparable to the inner
core on Earth
• Radiative Zone = Layer surrounding the core,
similar to the Earth’s outer core
• Convective Zone = Similar to the Earth’s mantle
Structure of the Sun (continued)
• Photosphere = The surface of the sun. Equivalent
to the Earth’s crust. The photosphere is what we
see from Earth.
• Chromosphere = The Sun’s atmosphere. The
uppermost part is known as the corona
Sunspots
• Sunspots are cool, dark areas of gasses in the
photosphere caused by magnetic fields
• Sunspot cycles are variations in the number of
sunspots which occur on average every 11 years
Formation of the Solar System
• The Solar Nebular Theory
• The Big Bang describes the origin of the universe
• After the Big Bang, clouds of gas and dust formed
solar nebulas
• This is the same way all new stars are formed
• Gravity caused the gas and dust to begin to condense,
collide, and heat up
• When the temperature gets hot enough, fusion begins;
the sun was born ~5 billion years ago
Kepler’s Laws of the Solar System
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) developed the
mathematical calculations which explain planetary
motion
• 1st Law = Planets circle the sun in elliptical orbits
• 2nd Law = Planets travel at different speeds at different
points in their orbit
• 3rd Law = Describes the relationship between a planet’s
distance from the sun and the amount of time it takes to
complete a revolution around the sun
The Inner Planets (The terrestrial planets)
• Mercury:
• One Year = 88 days
• One Day = 59 Earth days
• Venus:
• One Year = 225 days
• One Day = 243 Earth days
• Venus rotates on its axis opposite all the other planets.
This is known as retrograde rotation.
The Inner Planets (continued)
• Earth:
• The only planet with liquid water
• Extremely active geology (plate tectonics)
• Mars:
• One Year = 687 days
• One Day = One Earth day
• The largest volcano in the solar system is on Mars. The
name of the volcano is Olympus Mons
The Outer Planets (the gas giants)
• Jupiter:
• The largest planet, mass is twice all the other planets
combined
• One Year = 12 Earth years
• One Day = 9 hours and 50 minutes, rotates fastest
• Moons include Io, Europa, Ganymede, & Callisto;
collectively known as the Galilean moons
• Saturn:
• Complex ring system, has the most moons
• One Year = 29.5 Earth years; One Day = 10.66 hours
The Outer Planets (continued)
• Uranus:
• One Year = 84 Earth years; One Day = 17 hours
• Green color caused by methane in the atmosphere
• Neptune:
• One Year = 165 Earth years; One Day = 16 hours
• Bluish-green color with white “clouds” of frozen
methane
• Pluto:
• No longer considered a planet; One Year = 250 Earth
years; One Day = 6 Earth days; Discovered by accident
in 1930
Other Celestial Bodies
• Asteroids = Fragments of rock which orbit the sun
• Asteroids are made of the same materials the planets are
composed of
• Most asteroids exist in a belt between Mars and Jupiter
• Comet = A body of rock, dust, methane, ammonia,
and ice which orbits the sun in long ellipses
• Comets have a head and a tail
• Comets lose mass as they orbit the sun, ice melts when
the comet is near the sun
Other Celestial Bodies (continued)
• Meteoroids = small bits of rock and metal which
move randomly through the solar system
• Comets leave behind the smallest meteoroids
• Asteroids which collide can break up into larger
meteoroids
• Meteor = a meteoroid which enters the Earth’s
atmosphere5
• Meteorite = any part of a meteor which remains after it
hits the Earth’s surface