Transcript heliocentric models of the solar system

LESSON 4
FORMATION
OF OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM
 Our
 It
solar system is 4.6 billion years old.
was created by fragments of an interstellar gas
clouds (solar nebula).
FORMATION
OF PLANETS
 This
cloud would have been mostly hydrogen with
some helium and small amounts of the heavier
elements – which is what you see in the composition of
the Sun.

The solar nebular
theory (SNT) supposes
that planets form in
the rotating disks of
gas and dust around
our young star.

Proof- the sun, planets
and moons mostly
revolve and rotate in
the same direction.

The planet orbits, for
the most part, lie
close to a common
plane.
SOLAR NEBULAR THEORY
SOLAR NEBULAR
THEORY
 When
the sun became hot enough, the remaining gas
and dust were blown away into space, leaving the
planets orbiting the sun.
CLEARING THE
NEBULA
 Occurs
because of the sun’s radiation pressure and
strong surging wind from the young sun.
 Planets
would help clear the nebula by sweeping up the
remaining space debris.
ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
 The
major factor in the origin of the solar system is
temperature.
ORIGIN OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM
 The
inner nebula was hot, and only metals and rock
could condense there.
 The
cold outer nebula could form from lots of ices along
with metals and rocks.
ORIGIN OF
THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
 The
ice “frost” line seems to have between Mars and
Jupiter, and it separates the region for formation of
the high-density Terrestrial planets from that of the
low-density Jovian planets.
DENSITY
DIFFERENCES
OF THE
PLANETS
 The
variation in densities is an important clue to
understanding the making of the solar system.
 The
four inner planets are small with high densities while
the four outer planets are large and have low densities.
INNER
PLANETS
 The
heavier density is due to larger percentages of heavy
elements, such as iron, magnesium and aluminum.
 The
inner Terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth,
and Mars.
OUTER
PLANETS
 The
outer planets are rich in low density gases like
hydrogen and helium.
 They
four outer Jovian (Gas Giants) are Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune.
ORIGIN
OF THE
SOLAR
SYSTEM
 Technically
 It
Saturn is so light…
can float on water.
PLUTO

Declassified in 2006 as a
planet to dwarf planet,
asteroid number 134340.

In order to be a planet
there are 3 rules.
 (1) Must orbit a Star
 (2) Have sufficient
mass so that it is round
in shape
 (3) has cleared the
neighborhood around
its orbit.
PLUTO
KUIPER
BELT

Use picture to show a clear neighborhood
 Kuiper
belt a region of the solar system that is just
beyond the orbit of Neptune and that contains small
bodies made mostly of ice.
 Including
dwarf planets of Eris and Pluto.
 Asteroids
are
understood to be the
last remains of the
rocky planetesimals
that formed in the
warmer inner solar
system and therefore
could not incorporate
much ice.
 Most
are between
Mars and Jupiter –
including Ceres
(another Dwarf
planet).
ASTEROIDS
COMETS
 Comets
are quite small and composed of a fluffy mixture
of ice, dust and significant amounts of empty space.
 They
easily break apart when they pass by the Sun and
are believed to have formed in the cold outer solar
system, the huge comet cloud known as the Oort Cloud.
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OORT CLOUD
 The
Oort Cloud is
considered the
edge of the Sun's
orb of physical and
gravitational
influence and
answers the
question where do
comets come
from?
OORT CLOUD
 When
Earth first
formed, it was very
hot but over time
cooled to form
three distinct layers.
 In
a process called
differentiation,
denser materials
sank to the center,
and less dense
materials were
forced to the outer
layers.
LESSON 5 –
EARLY SOLID EARTH
RESONANCE WINE GLASS
MYTH BUSTER BRIDGE
 The
center is a
dense core
composed mostly
of iron and nickel.
 Around
the core is
a very thick layer of
iron- and
magnesium-rich
rock called the
mantle.
 The
outermost layer
of Earth is a thin
crust of less dense,
silica-rich rock.
EARLY SOLID EARTH
 Eventually,
Earth’s
surface cooled enough
for solid rock to form
from less dense
elements that were
pushed toward the
surface during
differentiation.
PRESENT DAY EARTH
 The
Earth
formed 4.6
billion years ago
(BYA), at this
point, it was
nothing more
than a molten
ball of rock
surrounded by
an atmosphere
of hydrogen
and helium.
EARTH’S EARLY
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH’S
EARLY
ATMOSPHERE
 In
the beginning the Earth did not have a magnetic
field to protect it.
 The
intense solar wind along with the collision with the
moon blew this early 1st atmosphere away.
 2nd
atmosphere formed
through outgassing of
active volcanoes as
Earth cooled to form a
solid crust (4.4 BYA).
 These
volcanoes
spewed out gasses, like
water vapor, carbon
dioxide and ammonia.
OUTGASSING

Light from the Sun broke
down the ammonia
molecules released by
volcanoes, releasing
nitrogen into the
atmosphere.

Over billions of years,
the quantity of nitrogen
built up to the levels we
see today.
ORIGIN OF NITROGEN
 Although
life formed
just a few hundred
million years later, it
was not until the
evolution of bacteria
3.5 billion years ago
that really changed
the early Earth
atmosphere into the
one we know today.
ORIGIN OF OXYGEN
 Fossils
of early
bacteria at least 3.4
BYA (HORIZONS 2012)
known as
cyanobacteria
(stromatolites)–
would have used
energy from the Sun
for photosynthesis,
and release oxygen
as a byproduct.
 They
also
sequestered carbon
dioxide in organic
molecules.
ORIGIN OF OXYGEN
 Over
hundreds of
millions of years, this
bacteria would
completely change the
Earth’s atmosphere
composition, bringing
us to our current mixture
of 21% oxygen and 78%
nitrogen.
ORIGIN OF OXYGEN
 The
abundance
of oxygen (O2)
would also create
a special oxygen
molecule known
as ozone (O3) in
the stratosphere.
 Most
ecosystems
rely on the ozone
to protect them
from harmful
ultraviolet
(UV) light from the
Sun.
OZONE IN EARTH’S
PRESENT ATMOSPHERE

Scientists believe Earth’s
water was delivered
sometime after the planet
formed.

Close proximity to the sun
would have boiled off
water inside rocks that
were part of the original
building materials
(assuming that is where
we started).
FORMATION OF EARTH
OCEANS
FORMATION
OF EARTH
OCEANS
 So
far water (ice) found on most comets does not match
water on Earth. (deuterium (2H) = heavy hydrogen D2O)
 Some
think asteroids were the primary source of water
HOW EARTH
RECEIVED WATER –
THE LATE HEAVY
BOMBARDMENT
 One
theory that would
explain the existence of
foreign water is known as
the Nice Model.
HOW EARTH
RECEIVED
WATER – THE
LATE HEAVY
BOMBARDMENT
 The
Nice Model postulates that the planets formed in a
much more compact configuration and that the
planets started crossing one another due to the 2:1
synchronous resonance of Jupiter and Saturn 3.9 BYA.
 This
resonance would scatter Uranus and Neptune into
their current orbits around the Sun and also disrupted
the ice particles of the Kuiper Belt creating the “Late
Heavy Bombardment” or cosmic pinball machine.
HOW EARTH RECEIVED WATER
 Hal
Levison is
a planetary scientist
(Colorado) and worked
on the Nice Model.
 While
asteroids remain
a prime suspect
scientist have found
some proof from Kuiper
Belt Comet Hartley 2,
that comets can have
the same water
chemistry that matches
Earth (Klotz 2011).
HOW EARTH
RECEIVES WATER
 Most
scientists agree on the
Giant Impact Hypothesis
which states that the
formation of the moon
began when a large object
(Theia) collided with Earth
around 4.5 bya.
 This
hypothesis would explain
why moon rocks share many
of the same chemical
characteristics of Earth’s
mantle.
LESSON 6 - THE
CREATION OF
OUR MOON
 Rocks
from the lunar
terrae, “lands” are lightcolored, coarse-grained
and contain calcium and
aluminum.
 Rocks
from the maria,
“seas” are dark-colored
fine-grained basalts and
contain titanium,
magnesium, and iron.
THE LUNAR
ANATOMY
 Craters
abound on the
moon, at least 30,000 of
them boasting a
diameter greater then
0.6 miles.
 Most
of the craters that
cover the moon formed
when debris struck the
moon between 3.9 and
3.8 billion years ago
(BYA).
THE MOONS
SURFACE
THE LUNAR
ANATOMY
 The
dark and light patches on the full moon’s surface
reveal the bright mountains, dark plains, and thousands of
giant craters that tell of a long history of violent impacts.
 Aristotle
(322 B.C.)
suggested an Earthcentered, or
geocentric, model of
the solar system.
 In
this model, the sun,
the stars, and the
planets revolved
around Earth.
GEOCENTRIC MODEL
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
 The
major problem
with a geocentric
model is that it does
not explain the
retrograde motion of
the planets in our
night sky.
EPICYCLES MODELS
OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
 Ptolemy
(168 A.D.)
theorized that
planets most move
in small circles,
called epicycles, as
they revolved in
larger circles around
Earth.
EPICYCLES MODELS
OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
 This
model made
some sense and the
astronomical
predictions of
Ptolemy's geocentric
model were used to
prepare astrological
charts for over 1500
years.
EPICYCLES MODELS
OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
 What
is the Geocentric Model of the
solar system and who created it?
 What
does epicycles refer to?
 What
is the anatomy of the moon?

In 1543, the geocentric
system met its first serious
challenge with the
publication of Copernicus’
‘De revolutionibus orbium
coelestium’, which
suggested that the Earth
and the other planets
instead revolved around the
Sun.

Aristarchos (230 BC), was
a Greek mathematician,
presented the first
known heliocentric model of
the solar system.
HELIOCENTRIC
MODELS OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM
HELIOCENTRIC
MODELS OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM
 Despite
Copernicus’s convincing work, the geocentric
model does not go away quickly.
 With
the Invention of the telescope 1609, Galileo made
observations of Jupiter’s moons which also called into
question some of the tenets of geocentrism but his work
alone did not seriously threaten it.
HELIOCENTRIC
- TURNING THE
TIDE
Kepler
 As
the telescope becomes more accessible and
refined (better) Galileo’s work along with: Kepler, Brahe,
Cassini and Huygens were finally enough to turn the tide
of the skeptics.
 Sir
Isaac Newton would
be born the same day
Galileo died.
 In
the 1700’s Newton’s laws of
motion, when
combined with his law
of gravity and Kepler’s
elliptical orbit theory,
successfully explained
all motions of
astronomical bodies for
the next 200 years.
HELIOCENTRICTURNING THE TIDE
 In
1758 the Catholic
Church dropped the
general prohibition of
books advocating
heliocentrism from
the Index of Forbidden
Books.
 In
1822 Pope Pius
VII approved a decree
by the Sacred
Congregation of the
Inquisition to allow the
printing of heliocentric
books in Rome.
OPPOSITION TO HELIOCENTRISM WANES
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

What is the Heliocentric Model of the solar system
and who created it?

What significant findings did Newton and Kepler
discover?
LAND
TELESCOPES
 Telescopes
 The
Chile’s Atacama Desert
have come a long way since Galileo.
European Southern Observatory is planning to build a
telescope in Chile that will be almost half the length of a
soccer field in diameter and gather 15 times more light
than the largest optical telescopes operating today.
LAND
TELESCOPES
 Here
in L.A we have the Griffith Observatory which allows
the entrance to the general public for a fee – of course.
 While
land telescopes are more accessible, space
telescopes have the advantage of no atmospheric
interference (weather, dust, smog).
HUBBLE
SPACE
TELESCOPE

The Hubble Space Telescope was developed NASA and
deployed from shuttle Discovery, STS-31 April 25, 1990.

Hubble’s domain extends from the ultraviolet, through the
visible (to which our eyes are sensitive), and to the nearinfrared.
HUBBLE
DEEP
FIELD
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 Developed
by Cal Tech
in Pasadena and
operated by JPL, the
NASA Spitzer Space
Telescope is designed
to detect infrared
images.
 It
was launched by
Delta II rocket Aug. 25,
2003.
SPITZER SPACE
TELESCOPE
SPITZER
MESSIER
95
CHANDRA
SPACE
TELESCOPE
 Launched
 NASA's
July 23, 2003 STS 93–Shuttle Columbia
Chandra X-ray Observatory is designed to
detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the
universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and
matter around black holes.
CHAND
RA
M84
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SPACE
TELESCOPES
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE (JWST)

The James Webb Space Telescope is an orbiting infrared
observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of
the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage
and greatly improved sensitivity.
WHERE WILL THE JWST ORBIT