BIO 70 Notes #3

THE SUN AND THE MAJOR MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY: 8 MAJOR PLANETS,
5 DWARF PLANETS, 177 SATELLITES AND OTHER OBJECTS

Modern Nebular Theory on the Origin of the Solar System

The Sun and the planets formed in a rotating nebula that cooled and collapsed about 4.5 BYA. It
condensed into rings, which eventually formed the planets and a central mass which became the Sun.
The density of this disc of rotating nebula has to be sufficient to allow the formation of the planets and
yet be thin enough for the residual matter to be blown away by the Sun as its energy output increased. In
1992 the Hubble space telescope obtained the first images of proplyds (proto-planetary discs) visible as
silhouettes against a background of hot, bright interstellar gas. They are roughly on the same scale as the
Solar System. They may hold the secrets to the origin of the solar system.

The IAU said in a statement that the definition for a Major Planet is now officially known as "a celestial
body that
1. is in orbit around the sun,
2. has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic
equilibrium (nearly round) shape and
3. has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

TERRESTRIAL PLANETS: made up of rocks and a few ices (Rocky/Small/Inner Planets)

Mercury:- No moons. Surface is scarred and pitted by meteorite impacts. It has almost no atmosphere so
it is scorched during the day and freezing at night. It has the highest orbiting speed.

Venus:- No moons. The rocky surface of Venus is marked by volcanoes, rifts and solidified lava flows. The
atmosphere is rich in CO2 and sulfuric acid clouds, which contribute to the “runaway” greenhouse effect with
a temperature of 900F at the surface. It is the brightest planet because its blanket of clouds reflect 79% of
incoming light. Atmospheric pressure at the surface is 90 times that of Earth. It rotates backwards on its
axis once every 243 days, so a “day” is longer than a “year” (225 days period of orbit around the sun)

Earth:- The Moon (ice on the moon confirmed; it is moving away from the Earth at a rate of about 4 cm (1
½ in) a year; its rotation is the same as its orbit around Earth so the same side always faces Earth) . Earth is
unique in the Solar System in having water in all its phases (especially liquid water on the surface), and is
the only planet known to be geologically active.

Mars:- 2 moons Phobos and Deimos. It is a vast red desert because of iron oxide dust. The barren wastes
of Mars have been eroded by ferocious winds. It is dotted with large volcanoes and impact craters. It has
the largest volcano – Olympus Mons. Possibly, Mars has frozen water underneath its crust. The atmosphere
is similar to that of Earth but much thinner. Its day length and seasonal changes are similar to Earth’s.

JOVIAN PLANETS: made up mainly of gases and ices (Gas/Giant/Outer Planets)

Jupiter:- Faint rings + 67 moons, Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda,
Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope (+51). Jupiter is the largest planet. Its
atmosphere is composed mainly of H and He. High pressure in the inner regions has compressed the H into
liquid and metallic layers around the rocky core. Surface spots (like the Great Red Spot) and markings are
actually atmospheric storms. It spins very fast (1 day = 9 hours 55.5 min). It is 317.9 times the mass of the
Earth. Its gravity is so great that it tore a passing comet Shoemaker-Levy into 21 pieces before pulling it
into itself. It gives off 1M rads of radiation.

Saturn:- Rings plus 62 moons, Pan, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Mimas, Enceladus,
Tethys, Telesto, Calypso, Dione, Helene, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus, Phoebe (+44). Saturn is a globe
of gases similar in composition to Jupiter. It rotates so fast (1 day = 10 hrs 40 min) that it bulges in the
middle and is flattened at the poles. Saturn’s rings consist of tens of thousands of subdivisions made up of
ice particles. Fast winds whip around the planet’s equator. Its atmosphere is recently discovered to reflect
X-rays from the sun. Its density is less than water.
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BIO 70 Notes #3

Uranus:- Rings plus 27 moons, Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind,
Belinda, Puck, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Caliban, Sycorax, Uranus XVIII, XIX, XX (+7).
Uranus’s atmosphere consists of H, He and methane. Uniquely in the Solar System, its axis of rotation
coincides with the orbital plane – it spins on its side like a rolling ball – possibly as a result of an ancient
collision with a comet. It has a sea of liquid water that is highly compressed such that it becomes
superheated and electrically charged. It has a rotating magnetic field that produces the characteristic
“electroglow” of Uranus.

Neptune:- Faint rings plus 13 moons Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Triton, Nereid
(+5). Neptune has a methane-rich atmosphere that becomes liquid and then metallic towards the center.
It has an almost circular (rather than elliptical) orbit. Large atmospheric storms on its surface are observed
(Great Dark Spot + scooters – clouds of dust around the storm)

DWARF PLANETS:

A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that

(a) is in orbit around the Sun,
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic
equilibrium (nearly round) shape,
(c) has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and
(d) is not a satellite.

Pluto:- and 4 moons Charon, Hydra, Nix, and the recently discovered P4. The smallest planet has a surface
of frozen methane with a very thin atmosphere. Pluto has the most elliptical orbit (among the 9 classical
planets) that at times brings it inside Neptune’s orbit. It has the most tilted orbit (17°; among the 9
classical planets) around the Sun. Its rotation coincides with the orbit of Charon such that the same side of
the moon is always seen on the same side of Pluto.

Eris (Xena): and Dysnomia (Gabrielle); Largest dwarf planet in the solar system; most distant object ever
seen around the sun; it is almost 10 billion miles from the sun and more than 3 times more distant than the
next closest planet, Pluto and takes more than twice as long to orbit the sun as Pluto; “plutoid” status

Ceres: has a diameter of about 950 kilometers and is by far the largest and most massive known body in
the asteroid belt, as it contains approximately a third of the belt's total mass.

Makemake: no moons discovered yet; “plutoid” status (dwarf planets beyond the orbit of Neptune); highly
inclined orbit (29°); 1 yr = 310 earth years

Haumea: and 2 moons Hi’iaka and Namaka; ellipsoidal, “plutoid” status; highly inclined orbit (28°); 1
yr=285 earth years; 1 day=3.9 earth hrs

Currently, around 28 candidate dwarf planets are listed on IAU's dwarf planet watchlist, which keeps
changing as new objects are found and the physics of the existing candidates becomes better-known.

SMALL SOLAR SYSTEM BODIES:- Asteroids, Comets, Kuiper Belt Objects, Oort Cloud Bodies

Planetary Materials:

Gases – H and He, are those with melting points near absolute zero (0K or -273C) the lowest possible
temperature

Rocks – principally silicate minerals and metallic iron which have melting points > 700C

Ices – ammonia (NH3), Methane (CH4), CO2 and water with intermediate melting points
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