1. Our Solar System and How It Formed

2. There are patterns in our solar system that give clues to its formation…

3. 1. The motions of the major bodies in our solar system are orderly.

4. 2. The planets fall into two major categories:
Terrestrial and Jovian

5. high density (~5 gm/cc)
solid surface
low density (~1 gm/cc)
no solid surface

6. In a science fiction movie the characters land their spacecraft on an alien planet. What kind of planet is it?
A) Terrestrial
B) Jovian
C) Can’t tell without more information

7. 3. Swarms of asteroids and comets populate the solar system.

8. 4. There are important exceptions to the patterns…
Venus’s rotation

9. You should know these four clues…
1. The motions of the major bodies in our solar system are orderly.
2. The planets fall into two major categories.
3. Swarms of asteroids and comets populate the solar system.
4. There are important exceptions to the patterns.

10. Which planets have rings?
A) Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus
B) Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune
C) Saturn, Venus, Mars, Neptune
D) Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus
E) Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Mars

11. Which group below lists only planets with moons?
A) Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune
B) Saturn, Earth, Uranus, Mars
C) Mercury, Uranus, Earth, Mars
D) Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus
E) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Neptune

12. Chapter 8 – The Formation of Our Solar System
The Nebular Theory

13. Star system formation is part of a cyclic process

14. Stars start as clouds of gas and dust in space

15. The densest parts of the cloud collapse due to gravity
Conservation of angular momentum makes it spin
Conservation of energy causes it to heat up
Collisions cause it to flatten out

16. This explains the orderly motion of the major solar system bodies
Conservation of angular momentum makes it spin
Conservation of energy causes it to heat up
Collisions cause it to flatten out

17. Materials in the solar nebula

18. Which materials condense depends on temperature
Outside the frost line metals, silicates, and hydrogen compounds condense
It’s hot inside the frost line, so only metals and rock condense
Hydrogen and helium don’t condense anywhere in the solar nebula

19. Which materials condense depends on temperature
Outside the frost line, planets could form from metals, rocks, AND hydrogen compounds – 2.0 % of the nebular material
Inside the frost line, the planets built up from rock and metal – only 0.6% of the nebular material
Hydrogen and helium could only be held by the most massive planets

20. Which explains the two types of planets!
Small, rocky planets:
“Terrestrial”
Large, gaseous planets:
“Jovian”

21. Jovian planets formed almost like mini-solar systems

22. What is the primary physical law responsible for the heating of the solar nebula as it collapsed?
A) Conservation of energy
B) Conservation of linear momentum
C) Conservation of angular momentum
D) Kepler’s third law

23. Asteroids formed inside the frost line, so are rock & metal.
In the early history of the solar system, planets and moons grew by collecting leftover planetesimals
Many of those leftover bits remain today. They’re called asteroids and comets.
Asteroids formed inside the frost line, so are rock & metal.
Comets formed outside the frost line, and so are made mostly of hydrogen compound ices

24. The exceptions to the rules
Captured moons
Many captured moons have retrograde,
highly inclined,
or highly eccentric orbits

25. The exceptions to the rules
Our relatively large moon – collisions

26. Astro-Cash Cab! Taylor Trujillo Casey Veneman Francisco Andrade
Lena Joycox
Demi Mizokami

27. 1) Which terrestrial planets have moons?

28. All planets rotate in the same direction as they orbit the Sun.
2) True or False?
All planets rotate in the same direction as they orbit the Sun.

29. 3) Which materials that were present in the solar nebula condensed closest to the Sun?
Hydrogen and Helium
Hydrogen compounds
Rocks
Metals

30. 4) Select the features that describe all Jovian planets (may be more than one!)
solid surface
many moons
rings
mostly rock and metal
low density