The Solar System

1. The Solar System

3. How should we categorize the objects in the Solar System?

4. Our Star, the Sun

6. Our Star, the Sun

8. The Sun is the Largest Object in the Solar System • The Sun contains more than 99.85% of the total mass of the solar system • If you put all the planets in the solar system, they would not fill up the volume of the Sun • 110 Earths or 10 Jupiters fit across the diameter of the Sun How big is the Sun?

9. Tutorial: Sun Size (pg – 63) • Work with a partner! • Read the instructions and questions carefully. • Discuss the concepts and your answers with one another. Take time to understand it now!!!! • Come to a consensus answer you both agree on. • If you get stuck or are not sure of your answer, ask another group.

10. Debrief Tutorial: Sun Size • The Sun is HUGE! • Any questions?

11. The Sun has a diameter of approximately 1.4 million kilometers. Roughly how many Earths would fit across the diameter of the Sun? • 10 • 100 • 1000 • 10,000 • 1 million

12. If you were constructing a scale model of the solar system that used a Sun that was the size of a basketball (~ 12” diameter), which of the following lengths would most closely approximate the scaled distance between Earth and the Sun? • 3 feet (length of an outstretched arm) • 10 feet (height of a basketball goal) • 100 feet (height of an 8 story building) • 300 feet (length of a football field)

13. Comparisons among the nine planets show distinct similarities and significant differences

14. How should we divide the Solar System?

15. How should we divide the Solar System?

16. How should we divide the Solar System?

17. How should we divide the Solar System?

18. Jupiter Mercury

19. Mercury Jupiter

20. Mercury Jupiter

21. Brilliant blue Neptune has a giant storm too • Which of these is Earth-like? • Which of these is Jupiter-like? • Or are they the same (both Earth-like or Jupiter-like)?

22. Which of these is Earth-like? • Which of these is Jupiter-like? • Or are they the same (both Earth-like or Jupiter-like)?

23. How should we divide the Solar System?

24. The Inner Planets(Family Portrait)

25. The Outer Planets(Family Portrait)

26. Inner (Terrestrial) Planets • Mercury • Venus • Earth • Mars • Characteristics • Small • Rocky • Very close to the Sun • Have few moons • Have no rings

27. Mercury

28. Mercury Moon Photographs from Mariner 10 reveal Mercury’s lunar-like surface

29. The surface of Venus is completely hidden beneath permanent cloud cover

30. The Venusian Surface

32. Venus is covered with gently rolling hills and numerous volcanoes

33. EARTH • More on this planet later

34. Mars, as seen from Earth

35. Mars, as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope

36. Enormous shield volcanoes Valles Marineris is as big as the entire United States of America

37. Ice caps dominate the poles during different times of the year

38. Olympus Mons - the largest volcano in the solar system has a base larger than the state of Arizona

39. Early space probes to Mars found no canals but did find some controversial features

40. Ohio River valley on Earth River channels on Mars Surface features indicate that water once flowed on Mars

42. Viking I Lander Picture from 1976

43. Note the remote-control rover, Sojourner, next to a Martian rock 1999 Picture from the Mars Pathfinder Lander

44. Mars Water/Ice Discovered Activities Manual Prather • Offerdahl • Slater

45. The Martian meteorite found in Antarctica has not provided conclusive evidence about life on Mars

46. 2004 testing Opportunity Lander at JPL

47. 2004 “Opportunity” Landing Site – and tracks

48. 2004 “Opportunity” picture of Crater Wall

49. 2004 “Opportunity” drilling holes in crater wall with robotic

50. 2004 Spirit tracks back to landing site