Chapter 6.1 Notes

Chapter 6.1 notes

The solar system exhibits clear patterns of composition and motion. These patterns are far more important and interesting than numbers, names, and other trivia.

Planets are very tiny compared to distances between them.

Sun:

Over 99.8 percent of solar system’s mass

Made mostly of Hydrogen and helium

Converts 4 million tons of mass into energy each second.

Mercury:

            Made of metal and rock; large iron core

Desolate, cratered; long and tall

Venus:

            Nearly identical in size to earth; surface hidden by clouds

Hellish conditions due to an extreme greenhouse effect

Even hotter than Mercury: 470 degrees C, day and night.

Earth:

            An oasis of life.

            The only surface liquid water.

Mars:

            Looks almost earth like, but don’t go without spacesuit.

            Giant volcanoes, a huge canyon, polar cars, and more.

            Water flowed in the distant past.

Jupiter:

            Much farther from sun than inner planets

Mostly hydrogen and helium; no solid surface

Many moons, rings

Jupiter’s moons can be as interesting as planets themselves, especially Jupiter’s four Galilean moons.

Io- active volcanoes all over.

Europa- possible ocean

Ganymede- largest moon

Saturn:

            Giant and gaseous like Jupiter

            Spectacular rings

Many moon, including cloudy titan

Cassini spacecraft currently studying it.

Rings are not solid; they are made of countless small chunks of ice and rock, each orbiting like a tiny moon.

Uranus:

            Smaller than Jupiter/Saturn; much larger than earth

Neptune:

            Many moons

Pluto:

            Much smaller than other planets

            Icy, comet like composition

            Pluto’s moon Charon is similar in size to Pluto.