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The Exosphere…or to quote STAR TREK

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Presentation on theme: "The Exosphere…or to quote STAR TREK"— Presentation transcript:

1 The Exosphere…or to quote STAR TREK
“Space...The final frontier.” How do we know about Space? Telescopes - Visual light non-visible spectrum Earth & Space based Spacecraft - Manned e.g. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo e.g. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Shuttles - Unmanned – satellites and probes - e.g. Mariner, Viking, Voyager, Galileo, Pioneer, Surveyor, Cassini, Messenger, New Horizons, Juno Extraterrestrial "stuff" Extraterrestrial "stuff" - - Meteorites, Moon rocks, etc. Meteorites, Moon rocks, dust, etc.

2 Which statement about space is not accurate?
Galaxies are larger than solar systems The universe is expanding The Sun is a star Chemical elements like Iron (Fe) are made in the core of stars All of the planets in our solar system are made of rocks like Earth

3 1) Universe consists of everything we know
Hierarchy of Scale 1) Universe consists of everything we know 2) Galaxies are large groups of stars, dust, and chemical elements 3) Nebulae are clouds of dust and debris that form stars and star systems 4) Solar systems or star systems are a group of planets shepherded by stars 4 3 2 1

4 Origins of the Universe
The Big Bang Theory - approx billion years ago An area of space smaller than the smallest atom contained all the matter and energy that would later become the Universe. At the "Big Bang", rapid expansion occurs, time “starts”, the differentiation of the four basic forces responsible for all interactions of matter form in the first instant of time. i.e., strong atomic force, electromagnetic force, weak atomic force & gravity

5 Evidence for the Big Bang
1. Expanding Universe: galaxies appear to be retreating from each other at extreme velocities Doppler red/blue shift 2. Background Radiation Noise: a background radiation of 2.7 degrees above absolute zero with a radio signal like a hiss has been detected and interpreted as the after effect of the Big Bang.

6 Hourglass Nebula Eagle Nebula Southern Ring Nebula Nebula often form from the death of stars (supernovae) and become the nursery for new stars to be born

7 The Solar System The Sun is one average-sized star in the
Milky Way Galaxy. The sun is the gravitational anchor of our solar system. Our Solar System consists of: > 1 star (the sun) > 8 planets, -Pluto is now one of a dozen or so objects referred to as dwarf planets > ~ 176+ known moons > thousands of asteroids, comets, and interplanetary dust and gas.

8 Formation of the Solar System
Solar nebula theory

9 Our Star-the Sun A nuclear fusion reactor; uses gravity to smash atoms of H into He and heavier elements (up to Fe); It rotates- differentially; sunspots and many other disturbances in solar output

10 Orbits and Rotation Except for Pluto, all orbits lie within the ecliptic plane. Except for Venus and Uranus, all planets rotate counterclockwise.

11 Which statement about the solar system is not accurate?
The planets orbit the Sun Only Earth has an atmosphere Outer planets are larger & more massive, but less dense than inner The Sun’s gravitational pull affects all the planets The planets orbit around the Sun in the same direction

12 The Terrestrial Planets The Terrestrial Planets
Mercury Mercury > > smallest smallest & fastest year (88 days) > > closest to sun closest to sun > no moons > > > large magnetic field Venus Venus > > similar in size to Earth similar in size to Earth > > thick cloudy atmosphere > > no moons > > spins backward on axis > > day is longer than year Earth Earth > > 3rd from the sun 3rd from the sun > > only with liquid H2O only with liquid H2O > one moon Mars Mars > > 1/2 the size of Earth > > Thin CO2 atmosphere > two very small moons Earth from Apollo 17

13 <--Mercury Venus---> False color image <---Mars

14 Mars Movie

15 Origin of the Moon • • Early in the history of our Solar System
~6 to 4.5 billion years ago Proto-Earth struck by large planetary body perhaps a large asteroid glanced off the Earth large blob of molten material and debris from the collision coalesced into the Moon Moon lacks evidence of Plate tectonics or the internal structure typically associated with an active planet. Other moons on other planets may have formed much differently than ours captured pieces of interstellar dirt

16 Moon Phases- the lunar cycle
referred to as referred to as - - waxing = growing or becoming more light waxing = growing or becoming more light waning = shrinking or becoming more dark A result of sunlight reflected off of the surface of the Moon also related to our position with respect to the Moon/Sun Waxing moon phases new New Crescent Quarter gibbous Gibbous full Full Waning moon phases

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19 Which of the statements about the moon is not accurate?
The moon has “less” gravity due to its smaller size The moon has many impact craters because it is hit by meteors more frequently than Earth The moon is in orbit around the Earth The moon is made of rocks just like those found on Earth The moon began orbiting when Earth was struck by a large object early in the solar system’s history

20 The Jovian or Gas Giant Planets sometimes referred to as Ice Giants
Jupiter Jupiter > > Largest planet > > Storms (RED SPOT) > > Faint rings > > Many moons (67 at last count) - - some are large and interesting! Saturn Saturn Second largest planet > > > > Rings! Many moons (62 at last count) > > Uranus Uranus > > Faint rings > > Tilted sideways > > a lot of moons too (27) Neptune Neptune Storms (Dark Spot) > > Moons (13 moons) > >

21 Jupiter rotating with the Great Red Spot

22 Saturn with 3 moons- Voyager 2
Saturn close-up, Cassini

23 Neptune visible Uranus –visible light Uranus – False color enhnaced

24 Pluto As seen from New Horizon satellite probe

25 Which of these planets isn’t similar to the others in its composition?
Neptune Venus Jupiter Saturn Uranus

26 Planetesimals and Asteroids
Planetesimals are collections of matter that condense and collide with each other to form planets. > Earth-sized planet forms in a about 1 million years. > Early history of the Solar System was a period of common collisions. Asteroids in the belt between Mars and Jupiter have formed planetesimals, but Jupiter's gravity prevents the material from accreting into planets, and has likely contributed to the distribution of the various groups.

27 Kuiper Belt A large area beyond the orbit of Neptune Has many icy bodies that are hypothesized to be the origins for short period comets and “dwarf” Planetary bodies Oort Cloud contains the Kuiper belt on the fringes of our solar system. Has many icy bodies that are hypothesized to be the origins for Longer period comets…

28 Comets commonly have 2 tails, with one caused by moving really fast and leaving a trail of stuff, much like smoke coming from a smoke bomb that was thrown, and the other acting like a wind sock blowing in the solar wind. True False

29 Comets Comets bodies of loosely aggregated ice and solid matter, in orbit around the sun. > They are periodically dislodged from their locations near Uranus and Neptune. > commonly have two tails, one a stream of vapor and debris that’s along the trajectory path, the other made of glowing ions that points away from the sun. tail 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 Sun 4 Comet path; Debris tail 5 6 7 8 9

30 ion tail debris tail Both tails are illuminated by sunlight as it gets closer to the Sun

31 Meteorites Any Asteroid that strikes the Earth is called a Meteorite.
> Interpreted as pieces of matter that originated over 7-10 billion years ago. Three classes of meteorites: Stones (93%) Irons (6%) Stony-irons (1%)

32 The Peekskill fireball as described in the text at the beginning of Chapter 3

33 The Tunguska Event The Tunguska Event On June 30, 1908 something is
On June 30, 1908 a comet is The Tunguska Event The Tunguska Event believed to have exploded over believed to have exploded over northwest and central Siberia. northwest and central Siberia.

34 Chelyabinsk meteorite
February 15, 2013

35 Tunguska Event The explosion occurred 8 km above the surface, released 12.5 megatons of energy, and leveled more than 1,000 km2 of forest. Circa 1930 Computer models ruled out a comet or iron meteorite, making a stony meteorite (an asteroid passing through earth’s atmosphere) the likely suspect. Today

36 Roter Kamm Crater, Namibia
Manicouagan Crater, Quebec


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