Crash Landing Activity

First, get into teams of three to five (I will assign) and create a list of items you would need to bring to survive an extended trip on a spaceship into space. Record on a piece of paper for your team.

You are travelling through the solar system and you have to make a crash landing on a planet.

In your team, look at your options and pick a planet. (on provided worksheet)

Be able to justify your answer and record on the back of the sheet why you chose to land on that planet or moon. – you have 10 minutes to discuss and record!

Our Solar System

Solar System Formation

Your Parents’ Solar System

21st Century Solar System

Notes

Take notes of everything in BOLD. If it is not in bold, you do not need

to write it down.

Our Solar SystemOur solar system is

made up of: Sun Eight planets Their moons Asteroids Comets

The Solar System: List of

Ingredients

Ingredient

SunJupiterOther planetsEverything else

Percent of total mass

99.8% 0.1%

0.05% 0.05%

The Sun

A middle-aged, average star:

Mostly Hydrogen & Helium 99.8% of the Solar System ~4.6 billion years old

Shines because it is hot:

Surface Temp ~6000 C Mostly Visible, UV & IR

light Kept hot by nuclear

fusion in its core: Builds Helium from

Hydrogen fusion. Will shine for ~12 billion

years

The Sun dominates the Solar System

Terrestrial Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars “Earth-Like” Rocky Planets Largest is Earth Only in the inner solar system (0.4 to

1.5 AU) Rocky Planets:

Solid Surfaces Mostly Silicates and Iron High Density: (rock & metal) Earth, Venus, & Mars have atmospheres

Inner Planets

The inner four rocky planets at the center of the solar system are:

Mercury Venus Earth Mars

The Terrestrial Planets

Earth(1 M)

Mars(0.11 M)

Venus(0.82 M)

Mercury(0.055 M)

Mercury

Planet nearest the sun Second smallest planet Covered with craters Has no moons or rings About size of Earth’s moon

Venus

Sister planet to Earth Has no moons or rings Hot, thick atmosphere Brightest object in sky besides

sun and moon (looks like bright star)

Covered with craters, volcanoes, and mountains

Earth

Third planet from sun Only planet known to have life

and liquid water Atmosphere composed of

composed of Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%).

Mars

Fourth planet from sun Appears as bright reddish

color in the night sky Surface features volcanoes

and huge dust storms Has 2 moons: Phobos and

Deimos

The Jovian Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune Largest Planets: at least 15 times mass

of Earth. Only in the outer solar system (5 to 30

AU) No solid surfaces (mostly atmosphere) Low density

Gas Giants: (Jupiter & Saturn) Thick H/He atmosphere, liquid hydrogen

mantle, ice core Ice Giants: (Uranus & Neptune)

Ice/rock core & mantle, thin H/He atmosphere

The Jovian Planets

Jupiter(318 M)

Uranus(15 M)

Saturn(95 M)

Neptune(17 M)

Outer Planets

The outer planets composed of gas are :

Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Jupiter Largest planet in solar

system Brightest planet in sky 60+ moons, 5 visible from

Earth Strong magnetic field Giant red spot Rings have 3 parts: Halo

Ring, Main Ring, Gossamer Ring

Saturn 6th planet from sun Beautiful set of rings 31 moons Largest moon, Titan, Easily visible in the

night sky Voyager explored

Saturn and its rings.

Uranus 7th planet from sun Has a faint ring

system 27 known moons Covered with clouds Uranus sits on its side

with the north and south poles sticking out the sides.

Neptune

8th planet from sun Discovered through

math 7 known moons Triton largest moon Great Dark Spot

thought to be a hole, similar to the hole in the ozone layer on Earth

Pluto

Pluto, the outermost planetoid

small, solid, and is smaller than the Earth's Moon.

Pluto

9th planet from sun (usually)

Never visited by spacecraft

Orbits very slowly Moon, Charon, is

very close to Pluto and about the same size

Is Pluto a Planet?

What to consider?• Size?• Shape?• Orbit?• What is it made

of?

IAU Definition of a Planet

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) came up with the following definition of a planet: orbits the Sun has sufficient mass for its self-

gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium shape (i.e., it is spherical),

has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit,

is not a satellite

IAU Definition of a Dwarf Planet

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) came up with the following definition of a dwarf planet: orbits the Sun has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to

overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium shape (i.e., it is spherical),

has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit,

is not a satellite

Life on other planets??

Why Mars Died, and Earth Lived (9.4 min)

Or- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

v3Kcw0UrIFI (21 min)

Water on the moon

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/video-view.cfm?Vid_ID=3263

Earth 100 Million Years From Now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcDed4xVD4

Asteroids

Small bodies Believed to be left

over from the beginning of the solar system billions of years ago

100,000 asteroids lie in belt between Mars and Jupiter

Largest asteroids have been given names

Comets

Small icy bodies Travel past the Sun Give off gas and

dust as they pass by

Writing Activity

Write a paragraph comparing planets in the solar system. Include 5 facts covered in this presentation.