The Planets

A Quick Tour, With Lots of Pictures!

We are here!

Started about 4.6 billion years ago Gravity starts to pull it into a disc. Sun forms at the middle Planets pull together in orbits “Wind” from the sun blows out most of what's

left. You’ve got a solar system! (100 million years or

so)

Start With Swirling Gas & Dust

The Sun Holds the solar system together

(gravity!)

Contains over 99% of the solar system's mass (“stuff”)

Runs on nuclear fusion

Has solar flares, coronal mass ejections

Core: 27 million degreesSurface: 10,000 degreesCorona: 3.5 million degrees

Solar eruption, 12/31/2012See the video at:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/news/solar-ballet2.html

Comparing the Planets

How far apart are they? See:http://www.northern-stars.com/solar_system_distance_scal.htm

Mercury

Closest planet to the sun (29-43 million miles)

Hot on one side (800 degrees), cold on the other (-290 degrees)

Slightly larger than our moon

Almost no atmosphere, but there is ice!

1 day there = 58.7 earth days

1 year there = 88 earth days

50 lb kid here = 19 lbs there

Venus HOT! 880 degrees

“Super dense atmosphere: carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulfuric acid.

Just a little smaller than Earth.

Spins backwards! The sun rises in the west, sets in east

50 lb kid on Earth = 45.5 lbs there.

One year there = 243 days here

One day there = 117 days here

Landers last about 2 hours--then the atmosphere destroys them!

http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/space-missions/missions-to-venus-mercury.html

Double Vortex

Looks like two hurricanes right next to each other!

Located at Venus' north pole

Venus' Transit of 2012

http://player.vimeo.com/video/43696319

Earth: You know this place!

About 93 million miles from the sun

Our atmosphere and magnetic field keep us safe from solar wind, radiation, etc.

1 year = 365.25 days

1 day = 23.93 hours

We've got a moon!

How we got the moon (maybe)

“Giant impactor theory”

Mars Averages 143 million miles from the Sun

About ½ as large as Earth

Thin atmosphere, very cold!

“Rusty,” surface makes it look red

Two moons (captured asteroids?)

Craters, volcanoes, ice (used to have rivers/oceans?)

Lots of rovers/landers: Curiosity is the most recent

Cool stuff on Mars

Olympus Mons (the largest volcano in the solar system!)

Vallis Marinaris

Giant canyon

2500 miles long, 310 miles wide, 4 miles deep

10 times longer3 times deeperthan the Grand Canyon!

Thought to have been made by “rift faults,” possibly deepened by flowing water.

Polar Ice Caps

Jupiter

• The largest planet: 1300 times larger than earth!

• About 480 million miles from the sun

• First of the gas giants—mostly hydrogen & helium (may have a solid core)

• Intense weather! Red spot = 300 year-old storm!

• 63 moons

• Very thin rings

• 1 year=almost 12 earth years

• 1 day = about 10 hours

• 50 pound kid would weigh 125 pounds!

Comet impact (1994)

Saturn

• Second largest planet

• About 885 million miles from the sun

• Rings! Made mostly of ice, 3/5 mile thick.

• Comets, asteroids & broken-up moons

• 53 moons

•

Rings: Close up

Uranus

• “Tipped over” in its orbit (hit by a planet?)

• About 1.8 billion miles from sun

• 63 times larger than earth

• Blue because of methane gas

• Pretty cold: -357 degrees!

• 50 lb kid = 45 lbs on Uranus

• 27 moons, very thin rings

Neptune

• About 2.8 billion miles from the sun

• Also blue from methane

• 1 year = 164 years

• 1 day = 16 hours

• COLD: -353 degrees

• 50 lb kid = 57 lbs

Great Dark Spots

• Storms, like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

• Don't last as long as the GRS

What about Pluto?

Dwarf Planets

Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea.

Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea

Don't quite make it as full “planets

May be over 100!

More Infohttp://solarsystem.nasa.gov