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Earth and MoonEarth and Moon

Our home and our nearest neighbor

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Earth-Moon System

• Distance from the earth to the moon:– 384,000 km– Less than the radius of

the Sun (696,000 km)

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Tides

Synchronous rotation

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The Earth’s Interior

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How do we know what the Earth looks like

inside?• Seismology

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Differentiation and Heat

• A differentiated planet is not the same all the way through. A homogeneous planet is the same.

• Heating a planet allows movement.

• Heavier materials sink to the inside and lighter materials rise.

Sources of Heat

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The Earth’s Surface

• 70% water, 30% rock• Continental crust is less dense than

oceanic crust

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Rocks

• Rocks are made of minerals

• Types of rocks:– Igneous rocks are those that have formed

from a molten state (volcano made)– Sedimentary rocks are composed of

fragments of other rocks that are cemented together (water made)

– Metamorphic rocks are produced from either igneous or sedimentary rocks that have been buried and modified by high temperatures and pressures

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Why does the earth look like this?

Processes that alter the surface of the earth:

• Endogenic– Forces that act from

inside the earth:• Volcanic • Erosional• Tectonic

– These forces can make rocks

• Exogenic– Forces that act from

outside the earth:• Cratering

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TectonicsAny movement

of the earth– Folding– Fracturing– Earthquakes– Plate tectonics

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Tectonics

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Volcanoes

Spreading centers

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Volcanoes

Converging plate margins

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Volcanoes - Hotspots

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Volcanoes

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Erosion

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Atmosphere

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Atmosphere

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Terrestrial

greenhouse effect

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Magnetosphere

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Moon - Interior

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Moon - Surface

Lunar rocks are mostly igneous

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Lunar surface features

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Origin of the moon

• Current theory – planetesimal hits protoplanetary earth

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Lunar exploration