Transcript The Planets
Our Solar System Planets and other stuff! The Sun • Produces energy through nuclear fusion. ( 2 hydrogen nuclei fusing to make helium. • Very hot: up to 15 million degrees C • Our sun is about half way through its’ life, that means it has another 5 billion years to go! The Sun • Photosphere: inner layer, part you see • Chromosphere: middle layer, shows color • Corona: Outer Layer, means halo or “crown” The Sun Solar Wind • A stream of electrically charged particle from the corona • When these particle enter near the poles you get aurora’s Sun Spots • Areas of gas on the sun that are cooler then the gases around them • Occur in groups or pairs The Sun Prominences • Link different sunspots together • Make reddish loops Solar Flare • When two prominences connect they release large amounts of energy. This heats up the gas and causes it to explode. • These can cause magnetic storms n Earth upper atmosphere – They disrupt radio, telephone, and television signals What is a Planet? • Orbits the sun • Round shape due to gravity • Can clear its path • In another system: – Orbits around a star – Not big enough for nuclear fusion – Meets size requirements What is a Dwarf Planet –Orbits the sun –Nearly round shape –Can not clear its path –Is not a satellite Types of Planets • Inner Planets –Rocky or terrestrial –Have solid surfaces • Outer Planets – “Gas Giants” –large planets –Do not have solid surfaces, but do have a solid core. Our Solar System Mercury • Very dense planet • No atmosphere • Drastic temperatures (450°C- -170°C) • No moons Venus • Started out very similar to Earth. • Rotates east to west (retrograde rotation) • Its’ day is longer then its’ year • Atmosphere is very thick and full of carbon dioxide. This makes it a runaway greenhouse and very hot. • 460°C Earth • Think back to first semester if you don’t know about Earth! • Only planet that can support life. (That we know about) Mars • Is red due to iron • Polar ice caps • Has seasons like Earth’s • Thin atmosphere of Carbon Dioxide • 2 moons: Phobos and Deimos Asteroids • Objects revolving around the sun that are too small and too numerous to be considered planets • Made of rock and iron • Most are in a belt between Mars and Jupiter Ceres • Smallest Dwarf Planet • Only Dwarf Planet in the asteroid belt • Rocky Core, Water and Ice layer, and a thin dusty crust Jupiter • Largest planet • Atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium (same as the sun) • Great red spot is a storm similar to a hurricane • 62+ moons Saturn • 2nd largest planet • Lots of rings made of ice and rock • Only planet that is less dense then water • 53+ Satellites Uranus • Axis is tilted at 90 degrees • Blue from Methane • 27 moons • Twice as far from the sun as Saturn Neptune • Blue with clouds • Had a great dark spot that was a storm, but it died out • Has rings • 13 moons Pluto • Dwarf Planet • Very cold and icy • From 1979-1999 it was closer than Neptune. • Has three moons Haumea Makemake • In the Kuiper belt • 1/3 the size of pluto • Also in the Kuiper Belt • No satellites Eris • First Spotted in 2003, but not identified until 2005. • Larger than Pluto • Methane Surface Comets • A ball of ice and dust whose orbit is a long, narrow ellipse • Consists of a head, coma, and tail Meteors • Meteoroid: A chunk of rock or dust in space • Meteor: A streak of light in the sky produced by a meteoroid burning in Earth’s atmosphere • Meteorite: A meteoroid that has hit Earth’s surface.