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OUTER PLANETS

MINOR MEMBERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

SUN

Jupiter (Earth for Scale)

Jupiter’s bands are clouds

Hubble view of Jupiter

Arrow shows entry point of Galileo probe, Dec. 1995

http://www.solarviews.com/raw/jup/vjupitr5.mpg

• http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/hstimages.html

Link to rotating view of Jupiter

Galilean moons

• http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00743

Io

True color on topEnhanced color on bottomSurface covered with calderas (like Crater calderas (like Crater Lake…without the water!)

• http://www.nineplanets.org/io.html

Volcanic Plume on Io

Europa

• http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00746

Ganymede

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Callisto

• http://www.solarviews.com/cap/jup/callist1.htm

Four Inner moons of Jupiter

Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, ThebeAmalthea is 247 km acrossPhotos by Galileo probe, 1996-97

• http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ganymede/PIA01076.html

Jupiter’s outermost ring

Discovered by Voyager IThis photo by Galileo space probe--November 9, 1996

• http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/callisto/p48188.html

Saturn

Voyager I, II went there in 1980, 81This photo by Cassini in 2004

• http://www.nineplanets.org/saturn.html• http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/index.cfm

True-color image of Saturn’s rings

• http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?path=../multimedia/images/rings/images/PIA05421.jpg&type=image

Saturn

Saturn and some of its moons Titan

• http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php?id=575

River system on Titan

• http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMHB881Y3E_1.html

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Enceladus

• http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/captions/saturn/encelads.htm

Uranus Uranus (by Hubble)

• http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/1996/15/image/a

Neptune Minor Members of Solar System

AsteroidsMeteoroidsCometsK i B l ObjKuiper Belt ObjectsDwarf Planets

“Planet”

Orbits SunNot a satelliteDominates its orbital path

“Dwarf Planet”

is in orbit around Sun has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to pull itself into near-spherical shape has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit is not a satellite

Pluto and Charon

HST image

• http://www.solarviews.com/cap/pluto/pluto3.htm

Pluto and Charon

Pluto does not dominate its orbitPluto is the first discovered Kuiper Belt Object

“Plutonian objects” of which it is the original example

Pluto’s moon is Charon

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Orbits of outer planets

Notice Pluto is sometimes closer to Sun than Neptune p

• http://www.nineplanets.org/plutodyn.html

Inclination of Planetary orbits

Notice Pluto’s large inclination to Sun’s equator• http://www.nineplanets.org/plutodyn.html

Kuiper Belt

Donut shaped area containing numerous icy bodies of various sizesEris is the largest discoveredPluto and Charon are someTriton moon of Saturn is likely one that was Triton, moon of Saturn, is likely one that was captured by Saturn’s gravityOrigin of numerous comets that orbit Sun in periods less than 200 yearsA division of Trans-Neptunian Objects

Eris

Kuiper Belt ObjectLarger than PlutoDiscovered in 2003

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)

Eris (2003 UB 313)

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/#size

Orbit of Orcus (2004 DW)Kuiper Belt Object

In redCompare to

Pluto in black

• http://www.gps.caltech.edu/%7Echad/2004dw/

black

Inclination of Orbit of Orcus

Pluto in red Neptune in grayOrcus in blue wikipedia, Orcus-transNeptunian object, 2008-1013

Trans-Neptunian Objects

Earth for scale wikipedia, Orcus-transNeptunian object, 2008-1013

More Info: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=KBOs&Display=OverviewLong

TNOs

Orbits of Makemake (blue), Haumea (green), contrasted with the orbit of Pluto (red) and the ecliptic (grey). The perihelia (q)[3] and the aphelia (Q) are marked with the dates of passage. The positions on April 2006 are marked with the spheres illustrating relative sizes and differences in albedo and colour.

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Dwarf planets

Large Kuiper Belt ObjectsPlutoErisM k kMakemakeHaumea

The asteroid CeresOther KBOs likely to be discovered that are also dwarf planets

Ceres composition

• http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050907_ceres_planet.html

Asteroids

Gaspra Asteroids

Ida, Gaspra, Deimos, Phobos

• http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html

Detail of Comet

Hale Bopp Meteors

• http://www.jplnet.com/img2002/meteor.jpg• http://www.dmsweb.org/

Major Impact Structures

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Meteor Crater, Arizona

• http://www.xtec.es/recursos/astronom/craters/METEOR.jpg

Manicouagan, QuebecShoemaker-Levy 9

• http://www.nineplanets.org/sl9.html

SL9 scar on Jupiter

• http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/sl9/image/sl9g_hst5.gif

Electromagnetic Spectrum Spectrum

Continuous Spectrum

From glowing gas under pressureLike the interior of Sun

Dark Line Spectrum

White light passing through cold, low pressure gasGas absorbs its elemental wavelength signature

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Bright Line Spectrum

Incandescent hot gas emits its elemental wavelength signature

3 types of spectra Sun

Photo of Sun’s granular surface Detail of Sunspot Group of Sunspots

Sunspot Variation over time Spicules of the Chromosphere Solar Corona

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Solar wind blows comet tails

http://www.astro.uva.nl/demo/sun/inter.htm

Solar Prominence

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0109/sunplume_soho_big.gif Video clip http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030223.html

Another video clip http://spacescience.com/headlines/images/prominence/prominence_10jan00.mov

Auroras

Aurora photo from Skylab

http://www.astro.uva.nl/demo/sun/aarde.htm

Surface Detail of Sun Solar Interior

Nuclear Fusion of 4 Hydrogen to 1 HeliumDifference in atomic mass is released as energyReleased as photons—light particlesConvection brings photons to photosphereSun will last about another 5 billion years

Structure of SunSun Structure

Photosphere: most visible part— “Surface”Hydrogen and heliumGranules, sunspots

Chromosphere: lower atmosphereSpicules from granules of photosphereprominences

Corona: outer atmosphereIonized gasesSolar wind

Solar flaresCreate aurorasAssociated with sunspots

Sun now and later

This page was copied from Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes. Go to his site at www.astronomynotes.com for the updated and corrected version

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Red Giant BetelgeuseThis page was copied from Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes. Go to his site at www.astronomynotes.com for the updated and corrected version

Nebula—eventual Sun

http://www.astro.uva.nl/demo/sun/leven.htm

Main Sequence to Red Giant to White Dwarf

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/dwarfs.html

BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

Earth Science 11th ed.Pages 660-680

Lagoon Nebula