the solar system observing the solar system the sun the inner planets the outer planets comets,...
TRANSCRIPT
The Solar System
Observing the Solar System
The Sun
The Inner Planets
The Outer Planets
Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Is There Life Beyond Earth?
Table of Contents
The Solar System
3-1 Observing the Solar SystemObserver Approx.
DateAccomplishment
Greek Scientists
Ptolemy
Copernicus
Galileo
Brahe
Kepler
The Solar System
Geocentric Heliocentric
The Solar System
Geocentric System
- Observing the Solar System
In a geocentric system, Earth is at the center of the revolving planets and stars.
The Solar System
Heliocentric System
- Observing the Solar System
In a heliocentric system, Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun.
The Solar System
The Sun and Planets
- Observing the Solar System
Shown below are the average distances of each planet from the sun.
The Solar System
Solar System Activity
Click the Active Art button to open a browser window and access Active Art about the solar system.
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Johannes Kepler discovered a relationship between the speed of a planet and its distance from the sun. Use the graph to discover what Kepler learned.
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
About 30 km/s
Reading Graphs:
According to the graph, what is Earth’s average speed?
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Mercury; Mercury
Interpreting Data:
Which is closer to the sun, Mercury or Mars? Which moves faster?
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Planets that are closer to the sun move faster.
Drawing Conclusions:
What is the general relationship between a planet’s speed and its average distance from the sun?
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
Planet Speed Versus Distance
Uranus’s speed is less than that of Jupiter because Uranus is farther from the sun than Jupiter.
Predicting:
The planet Uranus is about 2,900 million km from the sun. Predict whether its speed is greater or less than Jupiter's speed. Explain your answer.
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
Previewing VisualsPreview Figure 2 and Figure 3. Then write two questions you have about Earth’s history in a graphic organizer like the one below. As you read, answer your questions.
Q. What is a geocentric model?
A. A model that shows Earth at the center of the revolving planets and stars
Q. What is a heliocentric system?
A. A model that shows Earth and the other planets revolving around the sun
Models of the Universe
- Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
End of Section:Observing the Solar System
The Solar System
The Layers of the Sun
- The Sun
The sun has an interior and an atmosphere, each of which consists of several layers.
The Solar System
OutliningAs you read, make an outline about the sun that you can use for review. Use the red headings for the main topics and the blue headings for the subtopics.
The Sun
I. The Sun’s InteriorA. The CoreB. The Radiation ZoneC. The Convection Zone
II. The Sun’s AtmosphereA. The PhotosphereB. The ChromosphereC. The Corona
III. Features on the SunA. SunspotsB. ProminencesC. Solar FlaresD. Solar Wind
- The Sun
The Solar System
More on the Sun
Click the Planet Diary button for an activity about the sun.
- The Sun
The Solar System
End of Section:The Sun
The Solar System
Size of the Solar System
Our Solar System is
2 light years wide.
The Solar System
The Inner Planets
- The Inner Planets
The inner planets take up only a small part of the solar system. Note that sizes and distances are not drawn to scale.
The Solar System
Mercury
- The Inner Planets
Mercury is the smallest terrestrial planet and the planet closest to the sun.
The Solar System
Mercury
- The Inner Planets
•Mercury surface is covered by a thin layer of minerals called silicates
•Mercury is dry, extremely hot, and almost airless.
•Mercury does not have enough gases in its atmosphere to reduce the amount of heat and light it receives from the sun.
The Solar System
Venus
- The Inner Planets
Venus’s density and internal structure are similar to Earth’s. But, in other ways, Venus and Earth are very different.
The Solar System
Venus
- The Inner Planets
This figure combines images of Venus taken from space with a camera (left) and radar (right). The camera image shows Venus’s thick atmosphere. Radar is able to penetrate Venus’s clouds to reveal the surface. Both images are false color.
The Solar System
Venus
•The surface of Venus is extremely hot and dry. There is no liquid water on the planet's surface because the high temperature would cause any liquid to boil away.
•Venus has a variety of surface features, plains, mountains, canyons, and valleys.
•The atmosphere consists primarily of carbon dioxide. Maat Mons, a mountain on Venus.
Thick clouds of sulfuric acid cover Venus.
The Solar System
Earth’s Layers
- The Inner Planets
Earth has three main layers—a crust, a mantle, and a core.
The Solar System
Mars
- The Inner Planets
Mars is called the “red planet.” When you see it in the sky, it has a slightly reddish tinge. This reddish color is due to the breakdown of iron-rich rocks, which creates a rusty dust that covers Mars’s surface.
The Solar System
Mars
- The Inner Planets
The Solar System
Mars
- The Inner Planets
Mars has ice caps at both poles. Scientists think that a large amount of liquid water flowed on Mars's surface in the distant past.
The Solar System
Mars’ Atmosphere
- The Inner Planets
The Solar System
What You Know
What You Learned
Using Prior KnowledgeLook at the section headings and visuals to see what this section is about. Then write what you know about the inner planets in a graphic organizer like the one below. As you read, write what you learn.
1. Most of Earth is covered with water.2. Mercury is closest to the sun.3. Venus is very hot.4. Mars is called the “red planet.”
1. Earth is unique in our solar system for having liquid water at its surface.2. Mercury has a greater temperature range than any of the other planets.3. A day on Venus is longer than its year.4. The reddish tinge on Mars is caused by the breakdown of iron-rich
rocks.
- The Inner Planets
The Solar System
Links on the Planets
Click the SciLinks button for links on the planets.
- The Inner Planets
The Solar System
End of Section:The Inner Planets
The Solar System
Gas Giants and Pluto
- The Outer Planets
The four outer planets–Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune–are much larger and more massive than Earth, and they do not have solid surfaces. Pluto is small and rocky.
The Solar System
Jupiter Compared to
Earth
- The Outer Planets
The Solar System
Jupiter’s Structure
- The Outer Planets
Jupiter is composed mainly of the elements hydrogen and helium.
The Solar System
Jupiter’s Structure
- The Outer Planets
Jupiter is a giant ball of gas and liquid with little, if any, solid surface.
Atmosphere—86 % Hydrogen and 14% Helium
Chemicals have formed colorful layers of clouds at different heights. The highest white clouds in the zones are made of crystals of frozen ammonia. Darker, lower clouds of other chemicals occur in the belts
The planet Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a huge mass of swirling gas. At its widest, it is about three times the diameter of the Earth. Image credit: NASA
The Solar System
Jupiter’s Moons
- The Outer Planets
63 Moons Total!
Only 16 are wider than 6 miles across!
Galileo discovered Jupiter’s four largest moons. They are named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
The Solar System
Jupiter’s Random, But Totally Cool Fact
- The Outer Planets
6Years it took the Galileo spacecraft to reach Jupiter.
49Number of named moons - also known as natural satellites - orbiting Jupiter.
1,321Number of Earths that could fit inside Jupiter.
59Minutes NASA's Galileo probe survived before it was crushed by the intense pressure of Jupiter's atmosphere.
3The number of rings around Jupiter.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Saturn
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Saturn
Saturn is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. The surface and merges into its atmosphere.
The seven rings make up Saturn. They are made up of billions of pieces of ice. These pieces range from ice particles that are the size of dust to chunks of ice that measure more than 10 feet in diameter.
The dark side of Saturn's rings was photographed by Voyager 1 as it flew by the side opposite the sun. The dense B-ring -- the reddish-brown band -- appears dark because it blocks much of the sunlight. It is the brightest ring when viewed from earth. Image credit: JPL
The Solar System
Saturn’s Random, But Totally Cool Fact
- The Outer Planets
70,700 mphSpeed of the Cassini spacecraft as it traveled to Saturn.
5,600Number of years it would take to travel the same distance as Cassini at 60 mph.
1Percentage of time Cassini's engines will burn during the mission. The other 99% is all cruising.
52Number of named moons orbiting Saturn.
1,100 mphWind speeds at Saturn's equator. About 1,800 kph. Earth's most violent tornadoes hit 200 mph.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Uranus
Although the gas giant Uranus is about four times the diameter of Earth, it is still much smaller than Jupiter and Saturn.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Uranus
The surface of Uranus consists of blue-green clouds made up of tiny crystals of methane.
Far below the visible clouds are probably thicker cloud layers made up of liquid water and crystals of ammonia ice.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Uranus
Uranus’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of about 90 degrees from the vertical.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Neptune is the only planet that cannot be seen without a telescope
The Solar System
Neptune
Neptune’s bluish color is caused by small amounts of methane gas in its atmosphere.
The planet has 13 moons and a very narrow, faint ring system.
The Solar System
Neptune
Neptune’s bluish color is caused by small amounts of methane gas in its atmosphere. The atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, helium and water.
The planet has 13 moons and a very narrow, faint ring system.
The Solar System
NeptuneNeptune may be the windiest planet in the solar system. Winds tear through the clouds at more than 1,200 mph
Scientists think there might be an ocean of super hot water under Neptune's cold clouds. It does not boil away because of the incredible pressure.
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Pluto
Pluto has a solid surface and is much smaller and denser than the other outer planets.
3!
The Solar System - The Outer Planets
Pluto
From Pluto, our Sun would look like a very bright star.
The Solar System
PlutoThe surface of Pluto is made of two parts An icy part made of nitrogen and a non-icy part.
The air is made mostly of nitrogen.
Pluto may in the group of icy objects just beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is made up of millions of icy and rocky objects.
The Solar System
Identifying Main IdeasAs you read the section “Gas Giants and Pluto,” write the main idea–the biggest or most important idea–in a graphic organizer like the one below. Then write supporting details that further explain the main idea.
The four gas giants are similar in…
Structure–they do not have a solid surface.
Atmosphere–thick and made up mainly of hydrogen and helium.
Rings–each is surrounded by a set of rings.
Main Idea
Size and mass–each is very large and massive.
Detail Detail Detail Detail
- The Outer Planets
The Solar System
More on the Planets
Click the PHSchool.com button for an activityabout the planets.
- The Outer Planets
The Solar System
End of Section:The Outer
Planets
The Solar System
Structure of a Comet
- Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
The main parts of a comet are the nucleus, the coma, and the tail. Most comets have two tails—a bluish gas tail and a white dust tail.
The Solar System
Comet Orbits
- Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Most comets revolve around the sun in very long, narrow orbits. Gas and dust tails form as the comet approachesthe sun.
The Solar System
The Asteroid Belt
- Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Most asteroids revolve around the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This region is called the asteroid belt.
The Solar System
Feature Comets Asteroids
Comparing and ContrastingAs you read, compare and contrast comets, asteroids, and meteoroids by completing a table like the one below.
Origin Kuiper belt and Oort cloud
Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
Size
Composition
Comets, Asteroids, and Meteoroids
Meteoroids
Comets or asteroids
Excluding the tail, about the size of a mountain
Typically less than 1 km; some are more than 300 km in diameter
Smaller than comets or asteroids
Ice, dust, small rocky particles
Rock Rock or dust
- Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
The Solar System
Links on Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
Click the SciLinks button for links on comets,asteroids, and meteors.
- Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
The Solar System
End of Section:Comets,
Asteroids, and Meteors
The Solar System
Question Answer
Asking QuestionsBefore you read, preview the red headings. In a graphic organizer like the one below, ask a question for each heading. As you read, write answers to your questions.
What are the “Goldilocks”conditions?
The favorable conditions on Earth that allow life to exist
Is there life on Mars? Scientists have not yet found evidence for life on Mars.
Why do scientists think Europa might have life?
Europa has an ice crust that could have a liquid water ocean underneath.
- Is There Life Beyond Earth?
The Solar System
Links on Extraterrestrial Life
Click the SciLinks button for links on extraterrestrial life.
- Is There Life Beyond Earth?
The Solar System
End of Section:Is There Life
Beyond Earth?
The Solar System
Graphic Organizer
Feature Geocentric System
Heliocentric System
Object at center Earth
Objects that move around center
Proposed by
Supporters
Sun
Planets and sun Planets
Early Greek astronomers
Copernicus
Ptolemy Brahe, Kepler, Galileo
The Solar System
End of Section:Graphic Organizer