Madison Brown
Final Examination
Astronomy Final
The geology of solar terrestrial planets mainly deals with the geological aspects of the four terrestrial planets of the Solar System, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and one terrestrial dwarf planet, Ceres. Only one terrestrial planet, Earth, is known to have an active hydrosphere.
Terrestrial planets are substantially different from the giant planets, which might not have solid surfaces and are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various physical states. Terrestrial planets have a compact, rocky surfaces, and Venus, Earth, and Mars each also have an atmosphere. Their size, radius, and density are all similar.
By the current count of astronomers, our
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Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune are all composed primarily of gas and are known as the outer planets.
A gas giant is a large planet composed mostly of gases, such as hydrogen and helium, with a relatively small rocky core. These four large planets, also called jovian planets after
Jupiter, reside in the outer part of the solar system past the orbits of Mars and the asteroid belt.
While the inner four planets are called terrestrial planets. That means that they are like the earth in some ways. The terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and the earth 's moon have similar compositions and densities. These planets are close to the sun, rocky, and dense.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are characterised by low masses, small radii, and large
densities in comparison to the gas giant planets of the outer solar system. Their chemical compositions are dominated by rock-forming elements and metals such as iron and nickel, the latter concentrated in central cores. Gravitational and magnetic field measurements indicate that terrestrial planet interiors usually are strongly differentiated and subdivided like that of the
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The benefits to studying other worlds are endless but one that stands out to me is that it is a way to find new natural resources. We are burning through the ones we have on our planet very fast, and out in space there is virtually unlimited resources. It is all just a matter of collecting it and bringing it back, which granted will not be an easy task. It could help reduce the price of oil and can help save our home planet. Studying and exploring space will help us better protect and understand the world we live in. I do believe that benefits in the long run do outweigh the costs.
Some people may not understand why it is important to study our Solar System because they are not seeing immediate or amazing results.Yes it does cost a lot. Nasa has a very huge budget that could be going towards other things, but I feel in the long run it will all be worth it. The tiny discoveries that we make today can help lead us to bigger ones in the future that could help save
our
Saturn has an uncountable amount of physical characteristics unlike any other planet. Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, is the farthest planet in the solar system that a person is able to visualize with the naked eye (How Big Is Saturn?). Other than Jupiter, Saturn is the fastest spinning planet and completes its rotation approximately every ten and a half hours. Because of the rapid rate that it spins, Saturn tends to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles. Saturn’s main contents are hydrogen and helium along with a various amount of other gases (How Big Is Saturn?). Its dense core includes ice, water, rock, and other unknown combinations made up by extreme heat and pressure (Saturn: Read More). Saturn has the lowest density of all the planets, being le...
All planets orbit within 3 of the plane of the ecliptic. In addition, all planets also orbit in a prograde orbit which means they all orbit in the same direction. There is a total of four terrestrial planets and 5 Jovian planets. A terrestrial planet is a rocky planet that is composed of rocks or metals. For example, Mercury, Venus earth, and Mars are examples of terrestrial planets because they are small rocky and contain an atmosphere. Earth and Mars, for instance, has a thin atmosphere whereas Venus has a hot thick atmosphere. Jovian planets are the giant planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all have big gasses and many moons. Jupiter, for instance, is a big gas ball mad up of the elements Hydrogen and Helium. All five planets also have rings which mean the planet has a disc orbiting around the
Within our Solar System lies an abundance of planets, each with their own unique characteristics, including the Terrestrial planets of Venus, Earth, and Mars who vary in many aspects but, most importantly, their atmosphere.
Most of the details surrounding the planets came from real voyages that took place with the use of space crafts and probes. The information presented throughout the book was supported with data provide by the space crafts and other observations. The sample data used in the book is very valid because tools like a spectrometer were used.
Jupiter has a pretty informative history. Supposedly Babylonian astronomers discovered Jupiter in the seventh and eighth century of BC. When Galileo discovered the four moons of Jupiter in 1610, this was the first proof of an object orbiting something else than Earth. That discovery provided more evidence for the Sun-centered model. Jupiter is supposedly the fourth brightest object in our solar system. Only the Sun, Moon, and Venus are brighter than Jupiter. Surprisingly on the surface of Jupiter, it is hotter than the sun. The surface is 24,000 degrees Celsius. The surface of the sun is 5,504 degrees Celsius. The clouds of Jupiter are -145 Celsius. That is the totally opposite of the
space flight program could easily become the catalyst for creating the fresh technology needed to
In 1609, Galileo Galilei, using “spyglass” which allowed one to see things closer than they appeared, made an early version of the telescope. With it, he observed the skies in a way no one had before. He discovered the moon isn’t perfectly globular, it has craters, the Sun has sunspots, Venus orbits the Sun (contrary to widespread belief in his time), and then he observed four “stars” around Jupiter (“Our Solar System”). Within days, he realized that these objects were not stars, they were moons. Io, Ganymede, Castillo, and Europa are known as the Galilean Moons or Satellites, collectively. During the 19th century, the first measurable physical studies of these moons became achievable when Simon de Laplace derived the satellite masses from their shared gravitational perturbations and afterward, other workers used a new generation of telescopes to measure the mass of these moons. The data collected showed that the density declined from the inner to the outer satellites. According to Adam Showman, “More recent observations of water ice on the surfaces of the outer three moons led to the inference that the satellite compositions range from mostly silicate rock at Io to 60% silicate rock and 40% volatile ices (by mass) at Ganymede and Callisto” ( 77). The Voyager flybys of Jupiter in 1979 exposed indication of extensive geological activity like Europa's fractured terrains, which probably result from tidal heating and bending...
Saturn is a gas-giant planet and has no solid surface but has a solid core and a thick layer of liquid. Saturn is mostly made of hydrogen and an outer layer of gas making it the least
because it is the most similar to Earth than the other planets. Here are some key facts on the
The main reason for Uranus and Neptune are bluer than Jupiter and Saturn comes down to layers of the planets atmospheres. Uranus and Neptune have almost only methane clouds with an occasional ammonia cloud floating around with it. Jupiter and Saturn, however, have many different gas clouds floating around in it including clouds of water, ammonia and ammonium hydrosulfide. All of these different clouds are only able to form where the temperature is right for them. This is why the methane gas planets are farther away then the water and mainly ammonia ones. Now when it comes to how the planets might have formed could be just due to distances and atmosphere. The farther the planet is from the sun the colder it is. The ultra violet rays heat up
Although Saturn is one of our biggest planets it is the least dense out of them all, and is composed of gas, which means anything that lands on it will sink through. Saturn is the gas giant, which contains hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane, and
compared to Jupiter’s. The next layer of the dwarf planet is thought to be made up of large
When considering this topic, one might ask themselves why explore space? We explore space to compare other planets with the earth and to study the sun, to explore the universe while finding if intelligent life exists, for satellites to improve communications, weather forecasting, navigation, resource monitoring, and “to create a focal point for a new intellectual renaissance” (Ruzic).
Perhaps one of the most interesting features of our fathomless universe are the planets that are classified as gas giants. Huge, turbulent, and distant, the gas giants are some of the most enigmatic features in our Solar System. I have a personal interest to the gas giants and celestial bodies in general. When I was a child, I was fascinated by our Solar System. I read innumerable books about space, and my interests of outer space had been piqued further by other forms of media. Although I held this interest of space, growing up left me with little time to learn about space, and I lost interest for a while. Taking Earth Science in Milpitas High re-invigorated my interests in the celestial bodies. Using this class, I’m now able to focus on learning more about our colossal universe, in particular, the outer planets.
There are eight planets in our solar system. The first planet closest to the sun is Mercury. Therefore, Mercury is the hottest planet. Mercury’s surface is cold. However, in the daytime Mercury can get as hot as 840 degrees fahrenheit, which is 450 degrees celsius. During night time the temperature can decrease to 275 degrees fahrenheit, or -170 degrees celsius. Mercury is the smallest planet. Mercury is the quickest planet to move around the sun. Its speed is approximately 112,000 mph along its elliptical orbit. Mercury can move around the sun in 88 days. There are craters in mercury, and scientist believe ice is in the craters.