Lecture 10 Our Solar System 2 Flashcards
inner solar system consists of
- inner planets (aka. terrestrial planets), namely Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
asteroid belt
outer solar system consist of
- outer planets (aka. gas giants), namely Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
outermost parts of solar system (beyond Neptune) is considered what
a distinct region
e.g., Kuiper belt
characteristics of inner planets (6)
- solid and high density
- made up of rocks and metals
- none have rings (like ones around Saturn)
- small compared to outer planets
- made of cooled igneous (volcanic) rock
- have an iron (Fe) filled core
characteristics of outer planets (5)
- much larger than inner planets
- much lower density (mass/volume) than inner planets
- mostly made up on gases (hence the name gas giants)
- consist primarily of elements hydrogen (H) and helium (H), extremely light gases
- all have rings (not just Saturn, all)
what elements make up the sun and how does it work
LIKE OUTER PLANETS:
- hydrogen (H) and helium (He)
sun has enough gravity to hold onto H and He
where does H and He escape on earth
escape our atmosphere
- while hydrogen still occurs naturally on Earth and is produced through chemical reactions and bacterial activity, hydogen eating atmosphere can escape
what produces He
radioactive decay of elements Uranium (U) and Thorium (Th) in igneous rock produces He
what is the worlds largest producer of He
united states
how is Helium essential
essential in running MRI medical imagining equipment as it serves a vital cooling role
MRI = magnetic resonance imaging
what are outer ring planets rings made of
made of dust and particles
what is special about Saturn’s rings
- they are easy to observe
- made of water ice (H2O) and likely formed when solar system was young
what is the theory of the moons containing ice
they were drawn to saturn (by gravity) and subsequently broke apart, releasing ice dust and particles
- which is how its rings formed
what are jupiters rings made of
very small dust particles
what is neptune’s rings made of
- methane ice (CH4)
- ammonia ice (NH3)
what are Uranus rings made of
rock boulders
(large rocks)
what does the prefix “proto” mean
- first
- foremost
- earliest form of
how old is earth believed to be
4.54 billion years old
how many years ago did our solar system start forming
4.6 billion years ago
what material did our solar system form from
from material in cloud of gas and dust called Solar Nebula
what does solar nebula consist of (elements)
- Hydogen (H)
- Helium (He)
what did gravity do to solar nebula
gravity it caused solar nebula to collapse, spin and flatten into disk shape