SUN NOTES

Photosphere// The surface of the sun. 

PROMINENCE// Large eruptions or loops of flaming gas from the sun's surface.

SOLAR WIND// A constant stream of particles that flow into space from the sun.

SUNSPOT// Dark, cooler areas the sun's photosphere.

*The sun is a star or giant ball of gas*

*The chromosphere of the sun is composed of hydrogen and helium gas*

*Sunspots are caused by magnetic fields in the sun. They are so strong that they slow down the flow of heat within the sun*

1868-1938 - George Hale lived

HOW WILL THE SUN DIE?

- The sun was born from a nebula-

- The sun is currently middle aged-

- When half of it's hydrogen core has been covered into helium, the core will collapse-

- Outer layer will cool and swell out becoming a red giant, a threat to earth-

- The outer layer will shrink and the inner layers will collapse, turning the sun into a white dwarf-

- Then, the sun will slowly fade out and die-

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INNER PLANETS: MERCURY, VENUS, MARS

CRATER// the hole formed in a planet's surface by the impact of a meteorite.

PLANET// a large globe composed of rock, liquid, or gas that revolves around a star.

1974-1975// mariner Io flew past Mercury three times to take overlapping photos of the surface of the planet

- the surface of Mercury is covered in craters and crossed ridges ythat can be up to a mile high-

- it is extremely hot during the day (842 degrees F) and bitterly cold at night (-274 degrees F) -

- one day lasts one month and a night lasts one month. It takes 176 Earth days for Mercury to have one year - 

- Venus appears as a bright star in our sky because sunlight is reflected off it's cloud tops - 

1990-1994// magellan mapped 98% of the surface of Venus

- humans could not survive on Venus because the air pressure is 90 times greater than what it is on Earth, the atmosphere contains toxic sulfuric acid  -

- the surface of venus is very hot. it has relatively smooth planes with volcanic craters - 

- no life has been found on mars - 

- explorers have found evidence of the post existence of water on the planet of mars - 

- mars is known as the red planet. the surface is red because the rock is 

rich in iron oxide, the sky is red because of the dust from the surface. mars surface is a rock-filled desert. It has craters, mountains, and deep canyons - 

MARS// health threats from exposure to high-energy cosmic rays and  other ionizing radiation. Low-gravity can damage human health including eyesight problemcs, psychological effects of loneliness

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EARTH::MOON

AXIS// an imaginary line through the center of a planet.

MOON// a celestial body in orbit around a planet.

ORBIT// the path of one celestial body around another.

ECLIPSE// when one celestial body casts a shadow on another celestial body.

- the earth is unique because it is the largest rock planet in the solar system. It is also very wet compared to other planets, and full of life - 

- it takes earth 23.9 hours to complete one spin on its axis - 

- it takes earth 365.25 days to orbit the sun one time - 

- earth is hurtling through space at over millions of miles an hour - 

- a moon phase is the size of the sunlight part of the moon that we can see from earth - 

- it takes the moon 29.5 days to complete a moon phase - 

0 the moon is Tidal Locked, one orbit of the moon around the Earth takes the same time as one complete spin on the moon's axis - 

- in a solar eclipse, the moon blocks the sun and prevents light from reaching Earth. In contrast, a lunar eclipse happens when the moon is in the Earth's shadow, preventing the moon from reaching the Sun's light -

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OUTER PLANETS

GALILEON MOONS// jupiter's 4 largest moons, Io, Ganymede, Callisto,  and Europa, they are named after Galileo who discovered everything 

GAS GIANT// a large planet that is mostly composed of gas.

1610// galileo discovers the four moons of Jupiter

1660// Robert Hooke reports a giant spot on Jupiter's surface

1995// the Galileo probe reached Jupiter:: it studies Jupiter's atmosphere and it's moon

- jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system - 

- jupiter has a stormy atmosphere because of its rapid spin and the heat rising from the interior of the planet - 

- its surface is gaseous with liquid below. Jupiter DOES have a solid core - 

- jupiter has at least 67 known moons -  

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DWARF PLANETS

DWARF PLANET// a minor planet in the solar system

ASTEROID// large chunks of rock and metal that orbit the sun in the region between Mars and Jupiter

- uranus receives little heat and light, so it's a cold and dark gas giant - 

- uranus's surface consists mostly of hydrogen and helium, plus a little methane which gives the planet its blue-green appearance - 

- the planet travels around the sun on its side, so its rings and moons orbit around its middle - 

- astronomers studying Uranus noticed that the planet's path was being affected by an unknown body. That unknown body was later identified as neptune - 

- neptune is a bright blue gas giant. The planet is bluer than uranus due to increased methane in its upper clouds - 

- neptune's surface is also dotted with dark spots and white clouds - 

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4 MAIN GROUPS OF MEMBERS

1. asteroids found in the asteroid belt between mars and jupiter

2. asteroids found in the Kuiper belt which can be found after neptune

3. comets which can be found in the Oort cloud 

4. dwarf planets, such as Pluto, Ceres, and Eris

- pluto's distance from the sun varies because its orbit is not circular, plus the planet's orbit is slightly tilted - 

- the asteroids in the asteroid belt are called minor planets because they are each rocky bodies that orbit the sun - 

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COMETS

COMET// a chunk of frozen gas and dirt that has an orbit 

METEOR// a meteoroid that starts to burn as it enters the atmosphere

METEROID// a small piece of space debris

1656-1742// english astronomer, Edmond Halley lived. He correctly predicted that a comet orbits around the sun

1986// the space probe, Giotto, is sent inside Halley's comet, giving people the first look at a comet's nucleus

METEOR// a shooting star is an asteroid, comet, or meteoroid that burns up as it hits Earth's atmosphere

METEORITES// comets, meteoroids, or asteroids that hit the ground

- all comets orbit around the sun - 

- comets are potato shaped balls composed of snow and rock dust - 

- comets grow a tail when they get closer to the Sun. Asteroids don't - 

- the heat from the Sun turns the surface of the comet's snow-ball nucleus to gas and thus causes some of the dust to be released. The gas and dust are blown away to form the tail of the comet - 

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