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introduction to the solar system | T_0556 | Today we know that we have eight planets, five dwarf planets, over 165 moons, and many, many asteroids and other small objects in our solar system. We also know that the Sun is not the center of the universe. But it is the center of the solar system. Figure 25.3 shows our solar system. The planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Table 25.1 gives some data on the mass and diameter of the Sun and planets relative to Earth. Object Mass (Relative to Earth) Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus 333,000 Earths mass 0.06 Earths mass 0.82 Earths mass 1.00 Earths mass 0.11 Earths mass 317.8 Earths mass 95.2 Earths mass 14.6 Earths mass Diameter of Planet (Relative to Earth) 109.2 Earths diameter 0.39 Earths diameter 0.95 Earths diameter 1.00 Earths diameter 0.53 Earths diameter 11.21 Earths diameter 9.41 Earths diameter 3.98 Earths diameter Neptune 17.2 Earths mass |
introduction to the solar system | T_0557 | Youve probably heard about Pluto. When it was discovered in 1930, Pluto was called the ninth planet. Astronomers later found out that Pluto was not like other planets. For one thing, what they were calling Pluto was not a single object. They were actually seeing Pluto and its moon, Charon. In older telescopes, they looked like one object. This one object looked big enough to be a planet. Alone, Pluto was not very big. Astronomers also discovered many objects like Pluto. They were rocky and icy and there were a whole lot of them. Astronomers were faced with a problem. They needed to call these other objects planets. Or they needed to decide that Pluto was something else. In 2006, these scientists decided what a planet is. According to the new definition, a planet must: Orbit a star. Be big enough that its own gravity causes it to be round. Be small enough that it isnt a star itself. Have cleared the area of its orbit of smaller objects. If the first three are true but not the fourth, then that object is a dwarf planet. We now call Pluto a dwarf planet. There are other dwarf planets in the solar system. They are Eris, Ceres, Makemake and Haumea. There are many other reasons why Pluto does not fit with the other planets in our solar system. |
introduction to the solar system | T_0558 | Figure 25.4 shows the Sun and planets with the correct sizes. The distances between them are way too small. In general, the farther away from the Sun, the greater the distance from one planets orbit to the next. In Figure 25.5, you can see that the orbits of the planets are nearly circular. Plutos orbit is a much longer ellipse. Some astronomers think Pluto was dragged into its orbit by Neptune. Distances in the solar system are often measured in astronomical units (AU). One astronomical unit is defined as the distance from Earth to the Sun. 1 AU equals about 150 million km (93 million miles). Table 25.2 shows the distance from the Sun to each planet in AU. The table shows how long it takes each planet to spin on its axis. It also shows how long it takes each planet to complete an orbit. Notice how slowly Venus rotates! A day on Venus is actually longer than a year on Venus! Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Average Distance from Sun (AU) 0.39 AU 0.72 1.00 1.52 5.20 9.54 19.22 30.06 Length of Day (In Earth Days) 56.84 days 243.02 1.00 1.03 0.41 0.43 0.72 0.67 Length of Year Earth Years) 0.24 years 0.62 1.00 1.88 11.86 29.46 84.01 164.8 (In |
introduction to the solar system | T_0559 | Planets are held in their orbits by the force of gravity. What would happen without gravity? Imagine that you are swinging a ball on a string in a circular motion. Now let go of the string. The ball will fly away from you in a straight line. It was the string pulling on the ball that kept the ball moving in a circle. The motion of a planet is very similar to the ball on a string. The force pulling the planet is the pull of gravity between the planet and the Sun. Every object is attracted to every other object by gravity. The force of gravity between two objects depends on the mass of the objects. It also depends on how far apart the objects are. When you are sitting next to your dog, there is a gravitational force between the two of you. That force is far too weak for you to notice. You can feel the force of gravity between you and Earth because Earth has a lot of mass. The force of gravity between the Sun and planets is also very large. This is because the Sun and the planets are very large objects. Gravity is great enough to hold the planets to the Sun even though the distances between them are enormous. Gravity also holds moons in orbit around planets. |
introduction to the solar system | T_0560 | Since the early 1990s, astronomers have discovered other solar systems. A solar system has one or more planets orbiting one or more stars. We call these planets extrasolar planets, or exoplanets. They are called exoplanets because they orbit a star other than the Sun. As of June 2013, 891 exoplanets have been found. More exoplanets are found all the time. You can check out how many we have found at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/. We have been able to take pictures of only a few exoplanets. Most are discovered because of some tell-tale signs. One sign is a very slight motion of a star that must be caused by the pull of a planet. Another sign is the partial dimming of a stars light as the planet passes in front of it. |
introduction to the solar system | T_0561 | To figure out how the solar system formed, we need to put together what we have learned. There are two other important features to consider. First, all the planets orbit in nearly the same flat, disk-like region. Second, all the planets orbit in the same direction around the Sun. These two features are clues to how the solar system formed. |
introduction to the solar system | T_0562 | Scientists think the solar system formed from a big cloud of gas and dust, called a nebula. This is the solar nebula hypothesis. The nebula was made mostly of hydrogen and helium. There were heavier elements too. Gravity caused the nebula to contract (Figure 25.6). As the nebula contracted, it started to spin. As it got smaller and smaller, it spun faster and faster. This is what happens when an ice skater pulls her arms to her sides during a spin move. She spins faster. The spinning caused the nebula to form into a disk shape. This model explains why all the planets are found in the flat, disk-shaped region. It also explains why all the planets revolve in the same direction. The solar system formed from the nebula about 4.6 billion years ago |
introduction to the solar system | T_0563 | The Sun was the first object to form in the solar system. Gravity pulled matter together to the center of the disk. Density and pressure increased tremendously. Nuclear fusion reactions begin. In these reactions, the nuclei of atoms come together to form new, heavier chemical elements. Fusion reactions release huge amounts of nuclear energy. From these reactions a star was born, the Sun. Meanwhile, the outer parts of the disk were cooling off. Small pieces of dust started clumping together. These clumps collided and combined with other clumps. Larger clumps attracted smaller clumps with their gravity. Eventually, all these pieces grew into the planets and moons that we find in our solar system today. The outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune condensed from lighter materials. Hydrogen, helium, water, ammonia, and methane were among them. Its so cold by Jupiter and beyond that these materials can form solid particles. Closer to the Sun, they are gases. Since the gases can escape, the inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars formed from denser elements. These elements are solid even when close to the Sun. |
inner planets | T_0564 | Mercury is the smallest planet. It has no moon. The planet is also closest to the Sun and appears in Figure 25.7. As Figure 25.8 shows, the surface of Mercury is covered with craters, like Earths Moon. The presence of impact craters that are so old means that Mercury hasnt changed much geologically for billions of years. With only a trace of an atmosphere, it has no weather to wear down the ancient craters. Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, it is difficult to observe from Earth, even with a telescope. The Mariner 10 spacecraft did a flyby of Mercury in 19741975, which was the best data from the planet for decades. In 2004, the MESSENGER mission left Earth. On its way to Mercury it did one flyby of Earth, two of Venus and three of Mercury. In March 2011, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to enter an orbit around Mercury. During its year-long mission, the craft will map the planets surface and conduct other studies. One of these images can be seen in Figure 25.9. |
inner planets | T_0565 | Mercury is named for the Roman messenger god. Mercury was a messenger because he could run extremely fast. The Greeks gave the planet this name because Mercury moves very quickly in its orbit around the Sun. Mercury orbits the Sun in just 88 Earth days. Mercury has a very short year, but it also has very long days. Mercury rotates slowly on its axis, turning exactly three times for every two times it orbits the Sun. Therefore, each day on Mercury is 58 Earth days long. |
inner planets | T_0566 | Mercury is very close to the Sun, so it can get very hot. Mercury also has virtually no atmosphere. As the planet rotates very slowly, the temperature varies tremendously. In direct sunlight, the surface can be as hot as 427C (801F). On the dark side, the surface can be as cold as 183C (297F)! The coldest temperatures may be on the insides of craters. Most of Mercury is extremely dry. Scientists think that there may be a small amount of water, in the form of ice, at the planets poles. The poles never receive direct sunlight. |
inner planets | T_0567 | Figure 25.10 shows a diagram of Mercurys interior. Mercury is one of the densest planets. Scientists think that the interior contains a large core made mostly of melted iron. Mercurys core takes up about 42% of the planets volume. Mercurys highly cratered surface is evidence that Mercury is not geologically active. |
inner planets | T_0568 | Named after the Roman goddess of love, Venus is the only planet named after a female. Venus is sometimes called Earths sister planet. But just how similar is Venus to Earth? Venus is our nearest neighbor. Venus is most like Earth in size. |
inner planets | T_0569 | Viewed through a telescope, Venus looks smooth and featureless. The planet is covered by a thick layer of clouds. You can see the clouds in pictures of Venus, such as Figure 25.11. We make maps of the surface using radar, because the thick clouds wont allow us to take photographs of the surface of Venus. Figure 25.12 shows the topographical features of Venus. The image was produced by the Magellan probe on a flyby. Radar waves sent by the spacecraft reveal mountains, valleys, vast lava plains, and canyons. Like Mercury, Venus does not have a moon. Clouds on Earth are made of water vapor. Venuss clouds are a lot less pleasant. They are made of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and large amounts of corrosive sulfuric acid! The atmosphere of Venus is so thick that the pressure on the surface of Venus is very high. In fact, it is 90 times greater than the pressure at Earths surface! The thick atmosphere causes a strong greenhouse effect. As a result, Venus is the hottest planet. Even though it is farther from the Sun, Venus is much hotter even than Mercury. Temperatures at the surface reach 465C (860F). Thats hot enough to melt lead! |
inner planets | T_0570 | Venus has more volcanoes than any other planet. There are between 100,000 and one million volcanoes on Venus! Most of the volcanoes are now inactive. There are also a large number of craters. This means that Venus doesnt have tectonic plates. Plate tectonics on Earth erases features over time. Figure 25.13 is an image made using radar data. The volcano is Maat Mons. Lava beds are in the foreground. Scientists think the color of sunlight on Venus is |
inner planets | T_0571 | Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise as viewed from its North Pole. All of the other planets rotate counterclockwise. Venus turns slowly, making only one turn every 243 days. This is longer than a year on Venus! It takes Venus only 225 days to orbit the Sun. Because the orbit of Venus is inside Earths orbit, Venus always appears close to the Sun. You can see Venus rising early in the morning, just before the Sun rises. For this reason, Venus is sometimes called the morning star. When it sets in the evening, just after the Sun sets, it may be called the evening star. Since planets only reflect the Suns light, Venus should not be called a star at all! Venus is very bright because its clouds reflect sunlight very well. Venus is the brightest object in the sky besides the Sun and the Moon. |
inner planets | T_0572 | Earth is the third planet out from the Sun, shown in Figure 25.14. Because it is our planet, we know a lot more about Earth than we do about any other planet. What are main features of Earth? |
inner planets | T_0573 | Earth is a very diverse planet, seen in Figure 25.14. Water appears as vast oceans of liquid. Water is also seen as ice at the poles or as clouds of vapor. Earth also has large masses of land. Earths average surface temperature is 14C (57F). At this temperature, water is a liquid. The oceans and the atmosphere help keep Earths surface temperatures fairly steady. Earth is the only planet known to have life. Conditions on Earth are ideal for life! The atmosphere filters out harmful radiation. Water is abundant. Carbon dioxide was available for early life forms. The evolution of plants introduced more oxygen for animals. |
inner planets | T_0574 | The Earth is divided into many plates. These plates move around on the surface. The plates collide or slide past each other. One may even plunge beneath another. Plate motions cause most geological activity. This activity includes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the buildup of mountains. The reason for plate movement is convection in the mantle. Earth is the only planet that we know has plate tectonics. |
inner planets | T_0575 | Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours. This is the length of an Earth day. Earth orbits the Sun once every 365.24 days. This is the length of an Earth year. Earth has one large moon. This satellite orbits Earth once every 29.5 days. This moon is covered with craters, and also has large plains of lava. The Moon came into being from material that flew into space after Earth and a giant asteroid collided. This moon is not a captured asteroid like other moons in the solar system. |
inner planets | T_0576 | Mars, shown in Figure 25.15, is the fourth planet from the Sun. The Red Planet is the first planet beyond Earths orbit. Mars atmosphere is thin compared to Earths. This means that there is much lower pressure at the surface. Mars also has a weak greenhouse effect, so temperatures are only slightly higher than they would be if the planet did not have an atmosphere. Mars is the easiest planet to observe. As a result, it has been studied more than any other planet besides Earth. People can stand on Earth and observe the planet through a telescope. We have also sent many space probes to Mars. In April 2011, there were three scientific satellites in orbit around Mars. The rover, Opportunity, was still moving around on the surface. No humans have ever set foot on Mars. NASA and the European Space Agency have plans to send people to Mars. The goal is to do it sometime between 2030 and 2040. The expense and danger of these missions are phenomenal. |
inner planets | T_0577 | Viewed from Earth, Mars is red. This is due to large amounts of iron in the soil. The ancient Greeks and Romans named the planet Mars after the god of war. The planets red color reminded them of blood. Mars has only a very thin atmosphere, made up mostly of carbon dioxide. |
inner planets | T_0578 | Mars is home to the largest volcano in the solar system. Olympus Mons is shown in Figure 25.16. Olympus Mons is a shield volcano. The volcano is similar to the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands. But Olympus Mons is a giant, about 27 km (16.7 miles/88,580 ft) tall. Thats three times taller than Mount Everest! At its base, Olympus Mons is about the size of the entire state of Arizona. Mars also has the largest canyon in the solar system, Valles Marineris (Figure 25.17). This canyon is 4,000 km (2,500 miles) long. Thats as long as Europe is wide! One-fifth of the circumference of Mars is covered by the canyon. Valles Marineris is 7 km (4.3 miles) deep. How about Earths Grand Canyon? Earths most famous canyon is only 446 km (277 miles) long and about 2 km (1.2 miles) deep. Mars has mountains, canyons, and other features similar to Earth. But it doesnt have as much geological activity as Earth. There is no evidence of plate tectonics on Mars. There are also more craters on Mars than on Earth. Buy there are fewer craters than on the Moon. What does this suggest to you regarding Mars plate tectonic history? |
inner planets | T_0579 | Water on Mars cant be a liquid. This is because the pressure of the atmosphere is too low. The planet does have a lot of water; it is in the form of ice. The south pole of Mars has a very visible ice cap. Scientists also have evidence that there is also a lot of ice just under the Martian surface. The ice melts when volcanoes erupt. At this times liquid water flows across the surface. Scientists think that there was once liquid water on the planet. There are many surface features that look like water- eroded canyons. The Mars rover collected round clumps of crystals that, on Earth, usually form in water. If there was liquid water on Mars, life might have existed there in the past. |
inner planets | T_0580 | Mars has two very small, irregular moons, Phobos (seen in Figure 25.18) and Deimos. These moons were discovered in 1877. They are named after the two sons of Ares, who followed their father into war. The moons were probably asteroids that were captured by Martian gravity. |
outer planets | T_0581 | Jupiter, shown in Figure 25.19, is the largest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is named for the king of the gods in Roman mythology. Jupiter is truly a giant! The planet has 318 times the mass of Earth, and over 1,300 times Earths volume. So Jupiter is much less dense than Earth. Because Jupiter is so large, it reflects a lot of sunlight. When it is visible, it is the brightest object in the night sky besides the Moon and Venus. Jupiter is quite far from the Earth. The planet is more than five times as far from Earth as the Sun. It takes Jupiter about 12 Earth years to orbit once around the Sun. |
outer planets | T_0582 | Since Jupiter is a gas giant, could a spacecraft land on its surface? The answer is no. There is no solid surface at all! Jupiter is made mostly of hydrogen, with some helium, and small amounts of other elements. The outer layers of the planet are gas. Deeper within the planet, the intense pressure condenses the gases into a liquid. Jupiter may have a small rocky core at its center. |
outer planets | T_0583 | Jupiters atmosphere is unlike any other in the solar system! The upper layer contains clouds of ammonia. The ammonia is different colored bands. These bands rotate around the planet. The ammonia also swirls around in tremendous storms. The Great Red Spot, shown in Figure 25.20, is Jupiters most noticeable feature. The spot is an enormous, oval-shaped storm. It is more than three times as wide as the entire Earth! Clouds in the storm rotate counterclockwise. They make one complete turn every six days or so. The Great Red Spot has been on Jupiter for at least 300 years. It may have been observed as early as 1664. It is possible that this storm is a permanent feature on Jupiter. No one knows for sure. |
outer planets | T_0584 | Jupiter has lots of moons. As of 2011, we have discovered over 60 natural satellites of Jupiter. Four are big enough and bright enough to be seen from Earth using a pair of binoculars. These four moons were first discovered by Galileo in 1610. They are called the Galilean moons. Figure 25.21 shows the four Galilean moons and their sizes relative to Jupiters Great Red Spot. These moons are named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The Galilean moons are larger than even the biggest dwarf planets, Pluto and Eris. Ganymede is the biggest moon in the solar system. It is even larger than the planet Mercury! Scientists think that Europa is a good place to look for extraterrestrial life. Europa is the smallest of the Galilean moons. The moons surface is a smooth layer of ice. Scientists think that the ice may sit on top of an ocean of liquid water. How could Europa have liquid water when it is so far from the Sun? Europa is heated by Jupiter. Jupiters tidal forces are so great that they stretch and squash its moon. This could produce enough heat for there to be liquid water. Numerous missions have been planned to explore Europa, including plans to drill through the ice and send a probe into the ocean. However, no such mission has yet been attempted. In 1979, two spacecrafts, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, visited Jupiter and its moons. Photos from the Voyager missions |
outer planets | T_0585 | Saturn, shown in Figure 25.22, is famous for its beautiful rings. Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. Saturns mass is about 95 times Earths mass. The gas giant is 755 times Earths volume. Despite its large size, Saturn is the least dense planet in our solar system. Saturn is actually less dense than water. This means that if there were a bathtub big enough, Saturn would float! In Roman mythology, Saturn was the father of Jupiter. Saturn orbits the Sun once about every 30 Earth years. Saturns composition is similar to Jupiters. The planet is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. These elements are gases in the outer layers and liquids in the deeper layers. Saturn may also have a small solid core. Saturns upper atmosphere has clouds in bands of different colors. These clouds rotate rapidly around the planet. But Saturn has fewer storms than Jupiter. Thunder and lightning have been seen in the storms on Saturn (Figure 25.23). |
outer planets | T_0586 | There is a strange feature at Saturns north pole. The clouds form a hexagonal pattern, as shown in the infrared image in Figure 25.24. This hexagon was viewed by Voyager 1 in the 1980s. It was still there when the Cassini Orbiter visited in 2006. No one is sure why the clouds form this pattern. |
outer planets | T_0587 | Saturns rings were first observed by Galileo in 1610. He didnt know they were rings and thought that they were two large moons. One moon was on either side of the planet. In 1659, the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens realized that they were rings circling Saturns equator. The rings appear tilted. This is because Saturn is tilted about 27 degrees to its side. The Voyager 1 spacecraft visited Saturn in 1980. Voyager 2 followed in 1981. These probes sent back detailed pictures of Saturn, its rings, and some of its moons. From the Voyager data, we learned that Saturns rings are made of particles of water and ice with a little bit of dust. There are several gaps in the rings. These gaps were cleared out by moons within the rings. Ring dust and gas are attracted to the moon by its gravity. This leaves a gap in the rings. Other gaps in the rings are caused by the competing forces of Saturn and its moons outside the rings. |
outer planets | T_0588 | As of 2011, over 60 moons have been identified around Saturn. Only seven of Saturns moons are round. All but one is smaller than Earths Moon. Some of the very small moons are found within the rings. All the particles in the rings are like little moons, because they orbit around Saturn. Someone must decide which ones are large enough to call moons. Saturns largest moon, Titan, is about one and a half times the size of Earths Moon. Titan is even larger than the planet Mercury. Figure 25.25 compares the size of Titan to Earth. Scientists are very interested in Titan. The moon has an atmosphere that is thought to be like Earths first atmosphere. This atmosphere was around before life developed on Earth. Like Jupiters moon, Europa, Titan may have a layer of liquid water under a layer of ice. Scientists now think that there are lakes on Titans surface. Dont take a dip, though. These lakes contain liquid methane and ethane instead of water! Methane and ethane are compounds found in natural gas. |
outer planets | T_0589 | Uranus, shown in Figure 25.26, is named for the Greek god of the sky, the father of Saturn. Astronomers pronounce the name YOOR-uh-nuhs. Uranus was not known to ancient observers. The planet was first discovered with a telescope by the astronomer William Herschel in 1781. Uranus is faint because it is very far away. Its distance from the Sun is 2.8 billion kilometers (1.8 billion miles). A photon from the Sun takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach Uranus. Uranus orbits the Sun once about every 84 Earth years. |
outer planets | T_0590 | Uranus is a lot like Jupiter and Saturn. The planet is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. There is a thick layer of gas on the outside. Further on the inside is liquid. But Uranus has a higher percentage of icy materials than Jupiter and Saturn. These materials include water, ammonia, and methane. Uranus is also different because of its blue-green color. Clouds of methane filter out red light. This leaves a blue-green color. The atmosphere of Uranus has bands of clouds. These clouds are hard to see in normal light. The result is that the planet looks like a plain blue ball. Uranus is the least massive outer planet. Its mass is only about 14 times the mass of Earth. Like all of the outer planets, Uranus is much less dense than Earth. Gravity is actually weaker than on Earths surface. If you were at the top of the clouds on Uranus, you would weigh about 10 percent less than what you weigh on Earth. |
outer planets | T_0591 | All of the planets rotate on their axes in the same direction that they move around the Sun. Except for Uranus. Uranus is tilted on its side. Its axis is almost parallel to its orbit. So Uranus rolls along like a bowling ball as it revolves around the Sun. How did Uranus get this way? Scientists think that the planet was struck and knocked over by another planet-sized object. This collision probably took place billions of years ago. |
outer planets | T_0592 | Uranus has a faint system of rings, as shown in Figure 25.27. The rings circle the planets equator. However, Uranus is tilted on its side. So the rings are almost perpendicular to the planets orbit. We have discovered 27 moons around Uranus. All but a few are named for characters from the plays of William Shakespeare. The five biggest moons of Uranus, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, are shown in Figure |
outer planets | T_0593 | Neptune is shown in Figure 25.29. It is the eighth planet from the Sun. Neptune is so far away you need a telescope to see it from Earth. Neptune is the most distant planet in our solar system. It is nearly 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun. One orbit around the Sun takes Neptune 165 Earth years. Scientists guessed Neptunes existence before it was discovered. Uranus did not always appear exactly where it should. They said this was because a planet beyond Uranus was pulling on it. This gravitational pull was affecting its orbit. Neptune was discovered in 1846. It was just where scientists predicted it would be! Due to its blue color, the planet was named Neptune for the Roman god of the sea. Uranus and Neptune are often considered sister planets. They are very similar to each other. Neptune has slightly more mass than Uranus, but it is slightly smaller in size. |
outer planets | T_0594 | Like Uranus, Neptune is blue. The blue color is caused by gases in its atmosphere, including methane. Neptune is not a smooth looking ball like Uranus. The planet has a few darker and lighter spots. When Voyager 2 visited Neptune in 1986, there was a large dark-blue spot south of the equator. This spot was called the Great Dark Spot. When the Hubble Space Telescope photographed Neptune in 1994, the Great Dark Spot had disappeared. Another dark spot had appeared north of the equator. Astronomers believe that both of these spots represent gaps in the methane clouds on Neptune. Neptunes appearance changes due to its turbulent atmosphere. Winds are stronger than on any other planet in the solar system. Wind speeds can reach 1,100 km/h (700 mph). This is close to the speed of sound! The rapid winds surprised astronomers. This is because Neptune receives little energy from the Sun to power weather systems. It is not surprising that Neptune is one of the coldest places in the solar system. Temperatures at the top of the clouds are about 218C (360F). |
outer planets | T_0595 | Like the other outer planets, Neptune has rings of ice and dust. These rings are much thinner and fainter than Saturns. Neptunes rings may be unstable. They may change or disappear in a relatively short time. Neptune has 13 known moons. Only Triton, shown in Figure 25.30, has enough mass to be round. Triton orbits in the direction opposite to Neptunes orbit. Scientists think Triton did not form around Neptune. The satellite was captured by Neptunes gravity as it passed by. |
outer planets | T_0596 | Pluto was once considered one of the outer planets, but when the definition of a planet was changed in 2006, Pluto became one of the dwarf planets. It is one of the largest and brightest objects that make up this group. Look for Pluto in the next lesson, in the discussion of dwarf planets. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0597 | Asteroids are very small, irregularly shaped, rocky bodies. Asteroids orbit the Sun, but they are more like giant rocks than planets. Since they are small, they do not have enough gravity to become round. They are too small to have an atmosphere. With no internal heat, they are not geologically active. An asteroid can only change due to a collision. A collision may cause the asteroid to break up. It may create craters on the asteroids surface. An asteroid may strike a planet if it comes near enough to be pulled in by its gravity. Figure 25.31 shows a typical asteroid. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0598 | Hundreds of thousands of asteroids have been found in our solar system. They are still being discovered at a rate of about 5,000 new asteroids per month! The majority are located in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This region is called the asteroid belt, as shown in Figure 25.32. There are many thousands of asteroids in the asteroid belt. Still, their total mass adds up to only about 4 percent of Earths Moon. Asteroids formed at the same time as the rest of the solar system. Although there are many in the asteroid belt, they were never were able to form into a planet. Jupiters gravity kept them apart. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0599 | Near-Earth asteroids have orbits that cross Earths orbit. This means that they can collide with Earth. There are over 4,500 known near-Earth asteroids. Small asteroids do sometimes collide with Earth. An asteroid about 510 m in diameter hits about once per year. Five hundred to a thousand of the known near-Earth asteroids are much bigger. They are over 1 kilometer in diameter. When large asteroids hit Earth in the past, many organisms died. At times, many species became extinct. Astronomers keep looking for near-Earth asteroids. They hope to predict a possible collision early so they can to try to stop it. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0600 | Scientists are very interested in asteroids. Most are composed of material that has not changed since early in the solar system. Scientists can learn a lot from them about how the solar system formed. Asteroids may be important for space travel. They could be mined for rare minerals or for construction projects in space. Scientists have sent spacecraft to study asteroids. In 1997, the NEAR Shoemaker probe orbited the asteroid 433 Eros. The craft finally landed on its surface in 2001. The Japanese Hayabusa probe returned to Earth with samples of a small near-earth asteroid in 2010. The U.S. Dawn mission will visit Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0601 | If you look at the sky on a dark night, you may see a meteor, like in Figure 25.33. A meteor forms a streak of light across the sky. People call them shooting stars because thats what they look like. But meteors are not stars at all. The light you see comes from a small piece of matter burning up as it flies through Earths atmosphere. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0602 | Before these small pieces of matter enter Earths atmosphere, they are called meteoroids. Meteoroids are as large as boulders or as small as tiny sand grains. Larger objects are called asteroids; smaller objects are interplanetary dust. Meteoroids sometimes cluster together in long trails. They are the debris left behind by comets. When Earth passes through a comet trail, there is a meteor shower. During a meteor shower, there are many more meteors than normal for a night or two. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0603 | A meteoroid is dragged towards Earth by gravity and enters the atmosphere. Friction with the atmosphere heats the object quickly, so it starts to vaporize. As it flies through the atmosphere, it leaves a trail of glowing gases. The object is now a meteor. Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere. They never reach Earths surface. Large meteoroids may not burn up entirely in the atmosphere. A small core may remain and hit the Earths surface. This is called a meteorite. Meteorites provide clues about our solar system. Many were formed in the early solar system (Figure 25.34). Some are from asteroids that have split apart. A few are rocks from nearby bodies like Mars. For this to happen, an asteroid smashed into Mars and sent up debris. A bit of the debris entered Earths atmosphere as a meteor. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0604 | Comets are small, icy objects that orbit the Sun. Comets have highly elliptical orbits. Their orbits carry them from close to the Sun to the solar systems outer edges. When a comet gets close to the Sun, its outer layers of ice melt and evaporate. The vaporized gas and dust forms an atmosphere around the comet. This atmosphere is called a coma. Radiation and particles streaming from the Sun push some of this gas and dust into a long tail. A comets tail always points away from the Sun, no matter which way the comet is moving. Why do you think that is? Figure Gases in the coma and tail of a comet reflect light from the Sun. Comets are very hard to see except when they have comas and tails. That is why they appear only when they are near the Sun. They disappear again as they move back to the outer solar system. The time between one visit from a comet and the next is called the comets period. The first comet whose period was known was Halleys Comet. Its period is 75 years. Halleys Comet last traveled through the inner solar system in 1986. The comet will appear again in 2061. Who will look up at it? |
other objects in the solar system | T_0605 | Some comets have periods of 200 years or less. They are called short-period comets. Short-period comets are from a region beyond the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. Kuiper is pronounced KI-per, rhyming with viper. The Kuiper Belt is home to comets, asteroids, and at least two dwarf planets. Some comets have periods of thousands or even millions of years. Most long-period comets come from a very distant region of the solar system. This region is called the Oort cloud. The Oort cloud is about 50,000100,000 times the distance from the Sun to Earth. Comets carry materials in from the outer solar system. Comets may have brought water into the early Earth. Other substances could also have come from comets. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0606 | For several decades, Pluto was a planet. But new solar system objects were discovered that were just as planet-like as Pluto. Astronomers figured out that they were like planets except for one thing. These objects had not cleared their orbits of smaller objects. They didnt have enough gravity to do so. Astronomers made a category called dwarf planets. There are five dwarf planets in our solar system: Ceres, Pluto, Makemake, Haumea and Eris. Figure 25.36 shows Ceres. Ceres is a rocky body that orbits the Sun and is not a star. It could be an asteroid or a planet. Before 2006, Ceres was thought to be the largest asteroid. Is it an asteroid? Ceres is in the asteroid belt. But it is by far the largest object in the belt. Ceres has such high gravity that it is spherical. Is it a planet? Ceres only has about 1.3% of the mass of the Earths Moon. Its orbit is full of other smaller bodies. Its gravity was not high enough to clear its orbit. Ceres fails the fourth criterion for being a planet. Ceres is now considered a dwarf planet along with Pluto. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0607 | For decades Pluto was a planet. But even then, scientists knew it was an unusual planet. The other outer planets are all gas giants. Pluto is small, icy and rocky. With a diameter of about 2400 kilometers, it has only about 1/5 the mass of Earths Moon. The other planets orbit in a plane. Plutos orbit is tilted. The shape of the orbit is like a long, narrow ellipse. Plutos orbit is so elliptical that sometimes it is inside the orbit of Neptune. Plutos orbit is in the Kuiper belt. We have discovered more than 200 million Kuiper belt objects. Pluto has 3 moons of its own. The largest, Charon, is big. Some scientists think that Pluto-Charon system is a double dwarf planet (Figure 25.37). Two smaller moons, Nix and Hydra, were discovered in 2005. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0608 | Haumea was named a dwarf planet in 2008. It is an unusual dwarf planet. The body is shaped like an oval! Haumeas longest axis is about the same as Plutos diameter, and its shortest axis is about half as long. The bodys orbit is tilted 28. Haumea is so far from the Sun that it takes 283 years to make one orbit (Figure 25.38). Haumea is the third-brightest Kuiper Belt object. It was named for the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth. Haumea has two moons, Hiiaka and Namaka, the names of the goddess Haumeas daughters. Haumeas odd oval shape is probably caused by its extremely rapid rotation. It rotates in just less than 4 hours! Like other Kuiper belt objects, Haumea is covered by ice. Its density is similar to Earths Moon, at 2.6 3.3 g/cm3 . This means that most of Haumea is rocky. Haumea is part of a collisional family. This is a group of astronomical objects that formed from an impact. This family has Haumea, its two moons, and five more objects. All of these objects are thought to have formed from a collision very early in the formation of the solar system. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0609 | Makemake is the third-largest and second-brightest dwarf planet we have discovered so far (Figure 25.39). Make- make is only 75 percent the size of Pluto. Its diameter is between 1300 and 1900 kilometers. The name comes from the mythology of the Eastern Islanders. Makemake was the god that created humanity. At a distance between 38.5 to 53 AU, this dwarf planet orbits the Sun in 310 years. Makemake is made of methane, ethane, and nitrogen ices. |
other objects in the solar system | T_0610 | Eris is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. It is 27 percent larger than Pluto (Figure 25.40). Like Pluto and Makemake, Eris is in the Kuiper belt. But Eris is about 3 times farther from the Sun than Pluto. Because of its distance, Eris was not discovered until 2005. Early on, it was thought that Eris might be the tenth planet. Its discovery helped astronomers realize that they needed a new definition of planet. Eris has a small moon, Dysnomia. Its moon orbits Eris once about every 16 days. Astronomers know there may be other dwarf planets far out in the solar system. Look for Quaoar, Varuna and Orcus to be possibly added to the list of dwarf planets in the future. We still have a lot to discover and explore! |
stars | T_0611 | The stars that make up a constellation appear close to each other from Earth. In reality, they may be very distant from one another. Constellations were important to people, like the Ancient Greeks. People who spent a lot of time outdoors at night, like shepherds, named them and told stories about them. Figure 26.1 shows one of the most easily recognized constellations. The ancient Greeks thought this group of stars looked like a hunter. They named it Orion, after a great hunter in Greek mythology. The constellations stay the same night after night. The patterns of the stars never change. However, each night the constellations move across the sky. They move because Earth is spinning on its axis. The constellations also move with the seasons. This is because Earth revolves around the Sun. Different constellations are up in the winter than in the summer. For example, Orion is high up in the winter sky. In the summer, its only up in the early morning. |
stars | T_0612 | Only a tiny bit of the Suns light reaches Earth. But that light supplies most of the energy at the surface. The Sun is just an ordinary star, but it appears much bigger and brighter than any of the other stars. Of course, this is just because it is very close. Some other stars produce much more energy than the Sun. How do stars generate so much energy? |
stars | T_0613 | Stars shine because of nuclear fusion. Fusion reactions in the Suns core keep our nearest star burning. Stars are made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Both are very lightweight gases. A star contains so much hydrogen and helium that the weight of these gases is enormous. The pressure at the center of a star is great enough to heat the gases. This causes nuclear fusion reactions. A nuclear fusion reaction is named that because the nuclei (center) of two atoms fuse (join) together. In stars like our Sun, two hydrogen atoms join together to create a helium atom. Nuclear fusion reactions need a lot of energy to get started. Once they begin, they produce even more energy. |
stars | T_0614 | Scientists have built machines called particle accelerators. These amazing tools smash particles that are smaller than atoms into each other head-on. This creates new particles. Scientists use particle accelerators to learn about nuclear fusion in stars. They can also learn about how atoms came together in the early universe. Two well-known accelerators are SLAC, in California, and CERN, in Switzerland. |
stars | T_0615 | Stars shine in many different colors. The color relates to a stars temperature and often its size. |
stars | T_0616 | Think about the coil of an electric stove as it heats up. The coil changes in color as its temperature rises. When you first turn on the heat, the coil looks black. The air a few inches above the coil begins to feel warm. As the coil gets hotter, it starts to glow a dull red. As it gets even hotter, it becomes a brighter red. Next it turns orange. If it gets extremely hot, it might look yellow-white, or even blue-white. Like a coil on a stove, a stars color is determined by the temperature of the stars surface. Relatively cool stars are red. Warmer stars are orange or yellow. Extremely hot stars are blue or blue-white. |
stars | T_0617 | The most common way of classifying stars is by color as shown, in Table 26.1. Each class of star is given a letter, a color, and a range of temperatures. The letters dont match the color names because stars were first grouped as A through O. It wasnt until later that their order was corrected to go by increasing temperature. When you try to remember the order, you can use this phrase: Oh Be A Fine Good Kid, Man. Class O Color Blue Temperature range 30,000 K or more Sample Star An artists depiction of the O class star Zeta Pup- pis. B Blue-white 10,00030,000 K An artists depiction of Rigel, a Class B star. Class A Color White Temperature range 7,50010,000 K Sample Star Sirius A is the brightest star that we see in the night sky. The dot on the right, Sirius B, is a white dwarf. F Yellowish-white 6,0007,500 K There are two F class stars in this image, the super- giant Polaris A and Po- laris B. What we see in the night sky as the single star Polaris, we also known as the North Star. G Yellow 5,5006,000 K Our Sun: the most im- portant G class star in the Universe, at least for hu- mans. Class K M Color Orange Red Temperature range 3,5005,000 K 2,0003,500 K Sample Star Arcturus is a Class K star that looks like the Sun but is much larger. There are two types of Class M stars: red dwarfs and red giants. An artists concept of a red dwarf star. Most stars are red dwarfs. The red supergiant Betel- geuse is seen near Orions belt. The blue star in the lower right is the Class B star Rigel. The surface temperature of most stars is due to its size. Bigger stars produce more energy, so their surfaces are hotter. But some very small stars are very hot. Some very big stars are cool. |
stars | T_0618 | We could say that stars are born, change over time, and eventually die. Most stars change in size, color, and class at least once during their lifetime. |
stars | T_0619 | Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust called nebulas. Our Sun and solar system formed out of a nebula. A nebula is shown in Figure 26.2. In Figure 26.1, the fuzzy area beneath the central three stars contains the Orion nebula. For a star to form, gravity pulls gas and dust into the center of the nebula. As the material becomes denser, the pressure and the temperature increase. When the temperature of the center becomes hot enough, nuclear fusion begins. The ball of gas has become a star! |
stars | T_0620 | For most of a stars life, hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium atoms. A star like this is a main sequence star. The hotter a main sequence star is, the brighter it is. A star remains on the main sequence as long as it is fusing hydrogen to form helium. Our Sun has been a main sequence star for about 5 billion years. As a medium-sized star, it will continue to shine for about 5 billion more years. Large stars burn through their supply of hydrogen very quickly. These stars live fast and die young! A very large star may only be on the main sequence for 10 million years. A very small star may be on the main sequence for tens to hundreds of billions of years. |
stars | T_0621 | A star like our Sun will become a red giant in its next stage. When a star uses up its hydrogen, it begins to fuse helium atoms. Helium fuses into heavier atoms like carbon. At this time the stars core starts to collapse inward. The stars outer layers spread out and cool. The result is a larger star that is cooler on the surface, and red in color. Eventually a red giant burns up all of the helium in its core. What happens next depends on the stars mass. A star like the Sun stops fusion and shrinks into a white dwarf star. A white dwarf is a hot, white, glowing object about the size of Earth. Eventually, a white dwarf cools down and its light fades out. |
stars | T_0622 | A more massive star ends its life in a more dramatic way. Very massive stars become red supergiants, like Betelgeuse. In a red supergiant, fusion does not stop. Lighter atoms fuse into heavier atoms. Eventually iron atoms form. When there is nothing left to fuse, the stars iron core explodes violently. This is called a supernova explosion. The incredible energy released fuses heavy atoms together. Gold, silver, uranium and the other heavy elements can only form in a supernova explosion. A supernova can shine as brightly as an entire galaxy, but only for a short time, as shown in Figure 26.3. |
stars | T_0623 | After a supernova explosion, the stars core is left over. This material is extremely dense. If the core is less than about four times the mass of the Sun, the star will become a neutron star. A neutron star is shown in Figure 26.4. This type of star is made almost entirely of neutrons. A neutron star has more mass than the Sun, yet it is only a few kilometers in diameter. If the core remaining after a supernova is more than about 5 times the mass of the Sun, the core collapses to become a black hole. Black holes are so dense that not even light can escape their gravity. For that reason, we cant see black holes. How can we know something exists if radiation cant escape it? We know a black hole is there by the effect that it has on objects around it. Also, some radiation leaks out around its edges. A black hole isnt a hole at all. It is the tremendously dense core of a supermassive star. |
stars | T_0624 | Astronomers use light years as the unit to describe distances in space. Remember that a light year is the distance light travels in one year. How do astronomers measure the distance to stars? For stars that are close to us, they measure shifts in their position over time. This is called parallax. For distant stars, they use the stars brightness. For example, if a star is like the Sun, it should be about as bright as the Sun. They then figure out the stars distance from Earth by measuring how much less bright it is than expected. |
stars | T_0625 | Our solar system has only one star. But many stars are in systems of two or more stars. Two stars that orbit each other are called a binary star system. If more than two stars orbit each other, it is called a multiple star system. Figure 26.5 shows two binary star systems orbiting each other. This creates an unusual quadruple star system. |
galaxies | T_0626 | Star clusters are groups of stars smaller than a galaxy. There are two main types, open clusters and globular clusters. Open clusters are groups of up to a few thousand stars held together by gravity. The Jewel Box, shown in Figure an open cluster are young stars that all formed from the same nebula. Globular clusters are groups of tens to hundreds of thousands of stars held tightly together by gravity. Globular clusters have a definite, spherical shape. They contain mostly old, reddish stars. Near the center of a globular cluster, the stars are closer together. Figure 26.7 shows a globular cluster. The heart of the globular cluster M13 has hundreds of thousands of stars. M13 is 145 light years in diameter. The cluster contains red and blue giant stars. |
galaxies | T_0627 | The biggest groups of stars are called galaxies. A few million to many billions of stars may make up a galaxy. With the unaided eye, every star you can see is part of the Milky Way Galaxy. All the other galaxies are extremely far away. The closest spiral galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, shown in Figure 26.8, is 2,500,000 light years away and contains one trillion stars! |
galaxies | T_0628 | Galaxies are divided into three types, according to shape. There are spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, and irregular galaxies. Spiral galaxies are a rotating disk of stars and dust. In the center is a dense bulge of material. Several arms spiral out from the center. Spiral galaxies have lots of gas and dust and many young stars. Figure 26.9 shows a spiral galaxy from the side. You can see the disk and central bulge. |
galaxies | T_0629 | Figure 26.10 shows a typical elliptical galaxy. Elliptical galaxies are oval in shape. The smallest are called dwarf elliptical galaxies. Look back at the image of the Andromeda Galaxy. It has two dwarf elliptical galaxies as its companions. Dwarf galaxies are often found near larger galaxies. They sometimes collide with and merge into their larger neighbors. Giant elliptical galaxies contain over a trillion stars. Elliptical galaxies are red to yellow in color because they contain mostly old stars. Most contain very little gas and dust because the material has already formed into stars. |
galaxies | T_0630 | Look at the galaxy in Figure 26.11. Do you think this is a spiral galaxy or an elliptical galaxy? It doesnt look like either! If a galaxy is not spiral or elliptical, it is an irregular galaxy. Most irregular galaxies have been deformed. This can occur either by the pull of a larger galaxy or by a collision with another galaxy. |
galaxies | T_0631 | If you get away from city lights and look up in the sky on a very clear night, you will see something spectacular. A band of milky light stretches across the sky, as in Figure 26.12. This band is the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy. This is the galaxy where we all live. The Milky Way Galaxy looks different to us than other galaxies because our view is from inside of it! |
galaxies | T_0632 | The Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral galaxy that contains about 400 billion stars. Like other spiral galaxies, it has a disk, a central bulge, and spiral arms. The disk is about 100,000 light-years across. It is about 3,000 light years thick. Most of the galaxys gas, dust, young stars, and open clusters are in the disk. Some astronomers think that there is a gigantic black hole at the center of the galaxy. Figure 26.13 shows what the Milky Way probably looks like from the outside. Our solar system is within one of the spiral arms. Most of the stars we see in the sky are relatively nearby stars that are also in this spiral arm. We are a little more than halfway out from the center of the Galaxy to the edge, as shown in Figure 26.13. Our solar system orbits the center of the galaxy as the galaxy spins. One orbit of the solar system takes about 225 to 250 million years. The solar system has orbited 20 to 25 times since it formed 4.6 billion years ago. |
types of rocks | T_0685 | All rocks on Earth change, but these changes usually happen very slowly. Some changes happen below Earths surface. Some changes happen above ground. These changes are all part of the rock cycle. The rock cycle describes each of the main types of rocks, how they form and how they change. Figure 4.1 shows how the three main rock types are related to each other. The arrows within the circle show how one type of rock may change to rock of another type. For example, igneous rock may break down into small pieces of sediment and become sedimentary rock. Igneous rock may be buried within the Earth and become metamorphic rock. Igneous rock may also change back to molten material and re-cool into a new igneous rock. Rocks are made of minerals. The minerals may be so tiny that you can only see them with a microscope. The minerals may be really large. A rock may be made of only one type of mineral. More often rocks are made of a mixture of different minerals. Rocks are named for the combinations of minerals they are made of and the ways those minerals came together. Remember that different minerals form under different environmental conditions. So the minerals in a rock contain clues about the conditions in which the rock formed (Figure 4.2). |
types of rocks | T_0686 | Geologists group rocks based on how they were formed. The three main kinds of rocks are: 1. Igneous rocks form when magma cools below Earths surface or lava cools at the surface (Figure 4.3). 2. Sedimentary rocks form when sediments are compacted and cemented together (Figure 4.4). These sediments may be gravel, sand, silt or clay. Sedimentary rocks often have pieces of other rocks in them. Some sedimentary rocks form the solid minerals left behind after a liquid evaporates. 3. Metamorphic rocks form when an existing rock is changed by heat or pressure. The minerals in the rock change but do not melt (Figure 4.5). The rock experiences these changes within the Earth. Rocks can be changed from one type to another, and the rock cycle describes how this happens. |
types of rocks | T_0687 | Any type of rock can change and become a new type of rock. Magma can cool and crystallize. Existing rocks can be weathered and eroded to form sediments. Rock can change by heat or pressure deep in Earths crust. There are three main processes that can change rock: Cooling and forming crystals. Deep within the Earth, temperatures can get hot enough to melt rock. This molten material is called magma. As it cools, crystals grow, forming an igneous rock. The crystals will grow larger if the magma cools slowly, as it does if it remains deep within the Earth. If the magma cools quickly, the crystals will be very small. Weathering and erosion. Water, wind, ice, and even plants and animals all act to wear down rocks. Over time they can break larger rocks into smaller pieces called sediments. Moving water, wind, and glaciers then carry these pieces from one place to another. The sediments are eventually dropped, or deposited, somewhere. The sediments may then be compacted and cemented together. This forms a sedimentary rock. This whole process can take hundreds or thousands of years. Metamorphism. This long word means to change form. A rock undergoes metamorphism if it is exposed to extreme heat and pressure within the crust. With metamorphism, the rock does not melt all the way. The rock changes due to heat and pressure. A metamorphic rock may have a new mineral composition and/or texture. An interactive rock cycle diagram can be found here: The rock cycle really has no beginning or end. It just continues. The processes involved in the rock cycle take place over hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years. Even though for us rocks are solid and unchanging, they slowly change all the time. |
igneous rocks | T_0688 | Igneous rocks form when magma cools and forms crystals. These rocks can form at Earths surface or deep underground. Figure 4.7 shows a landscape in Californias Sierra Nevada that consists entirely of granite. Intrusive igneous rocks cool and form into crystals beneath the surface. Deep in the Earth, magma cools slowly. Slow cooling gives large crystals a chance to form. Intrusive igneous rocks have relatively large crystals that are easy to see. Granite is the most common intrusive igneous rock. Figure 4.8 shows four types of intrusive rocks. Extrusive igneous rocks form above the surface. The lava cools quickly as it pours out onto the surface (Figure |
igneous rocks | T_0689 | Igneous rocks are grouped by the size of their crystals and the minerals they contain. The minerals in igneous rocks are grouped into families. Some contain mostly lighter colored minerals, some have a combination of light and dark minerals, and some have mostly darker minerals. The combination of minerals is determined by the composition of the magma. Magmas that produce lighter colored minerals are higher in silica. These create rocks such as granite and rhyolite. Darker colored minerals are found in rocks such as gabbro and basalt. There are actually more than 700 different types of igneous rocks. Diorite is extremely hard and is commonly used for art. It was used extensively by ancient civilizations for vases and other decorative art work (Figure 4.11). |
sedimentary rocks | T_0690 | Most sedimentary rocks form from sediments. Sediments are small pieces of other rocks, like pebbles, sand, silt, and clay. Sedimentary rocks may include fossils. Fossils are materials left behind by once-living organisms. Fossils can be pieces of the organism, like bones. They can also be traces of the organism, like footprints. Most often, sediments settle out of water (Figure 4.13). For example, rivers carry lots of sediment. Where the water slows, it dumps these sediments along its banks, into lakes and the ocean. When sediments settle out of water, they form horizontal layers. A layer of sediment is deposited. Then the next layer is deposited on top of that layer. So each layer in a sedimentary rock is younger than the layer under it. It is older than the layer over it. Sediments are deposited in many different types of environments. Beaches and deserts collect large deposits of sand. Sediments also continuously wind up at the bottom of the ocean and in lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, and swamps. Avalanches produce large piles of sediment. The environment where the sediments are deposited determines the type of sedimentary rock that can form. |
sedimentary rocks | T_0691 | Sedimentary rocks form in two ways. Particles may be cemented together. Chemicals may precipitate. |
sedimentary rocks | T_0692 | Over time, deposited sediments may harden into rock. First, the sediments are compacted. That is, they are squeezed together by the weight of sediments on top of them. Next, the sediments are cemented together. Minerals fill in the spaces between the loose sediment particles. These cementing minerals come from the water that moves through the sediments. These types of sedimentary rocks are called clastic rocks. Clastic rocks are rock fragments that are compacted and cemented together. Clastic sedimentary rocks are grouped by the size of the sediment they contain. Conglomerate and breccia are made of individual stones that have been cemented together. In conglomerate, the stones are rounded. In breccia, the stones are angular. Sandstone is made of sand-sized particles. Siltstone is made of smaller particles. Silt is smaller than sand but larger than clay. Shale has the smallest grain size. Shale is made mostly of clay-sized particles and hardened mud. |
sedimentary rocks | T_0693 | Chemical sedimentary rocks form when crystals precipitate out from a liquid. The mineral halite, also called rock salt, forms this way. You can make halite! Leave a shallow dish of salt water out in the Sun. As the water evaporates, salt crystals form in the dish. There are other chemical sedimentary rocks, like gypsum. Table 4.1 shows some common types of sedimentary rocks and the types of sediments that make them up. Picture Rock Name Conglomerate Type of Sedimentary Rock Clastic Breccia Clastic Sandstone Clastic Siltstone Clastic Limestone Bioclastic Coal Organic Picture Rock Name Rock Salt Type of Sedimentary Rock Chemical precipitate |
metamorphic rocks | T_0694 | Metamorphic rocks start off as some kind of rock. The starting rock can be igneous, sedimentary or even another metamorphic rock. Heat and/or pressure then change the rocks physical or chemical makeup. During metamorphism a rock may change chemically. Ions move and new minerals form. The new minerals are more stable in the new environment. Extreme pressure may lead to physical changes like foliation. Foliation forms as the rocks are squeezed. If pressure is exerted from one direction, the rock forms layers. This is foliation. If pressure is exerted from all directions, the rock usually does not show foliation. There are two main types of metamorphism: 1. Contact metamorphism results when magma contacts a rock, changing it by extreme heat (Figure 4.14). 2. Regional metamorphism occurs over a wide area. Great masses of rock are exposed to pressure from rock and sediment layers on top of it. The rock may also be compressed by other geological processes. Metamorphism does not cause a rock to melt completely. It only causes the minerals to change by heat or pressure. Hornfels is a rock with alternating bands of dark and light crystals. Hornfels is a good example of how minerals rearrange themselves during metamorphism (Figure 4.14). The minerals in hornfels separate by density. The result is that the rock becomes banded. Gneiss forms by regional metamorphism from extremely high temperature and pressure. |
metamorphic rocks | T_0695 | Quartzite and marble are the most commonly used metamorphic rocks. They are frequently chosen for building materials and artwork. Marble is used for statues and decorative items like vases (Figure 4.16). Quartzite is very hard and is often crushed and used in building railroad tracks. Schist and slate are sometimes used as building and landscape materials. |
earths energy | T_0696 | Almost all energy comes from the Sun. Plants make food energy from sunlight. Fossil fuels are made of the remains of plants and animals that stored the Suns energy millions of years ago. The Sun heats some areas more than others, which causes wind. The Suns energy also drives the water cycle, which moves water over the surface of the Earth. Both wind and water power can be used as renewable resources. Earths internal heat does not depend on the Sun for energy. This heat comes from remnant heat when the planet formed. It also comes from the decay of radioactive elements. Radioactivity is an important source of energy. |
earths energy | T_0697 | Energy provides the ability to move or change matter from one state to another (for example, from solid to liquid). Every living thing needs energy to live and grow. Your body gets its energy from food, but that is only a small part of the energy you use every day. Cooking your food takes energy, and so does keeping it cold in the refrigerator or the freezer. The same is true for heating or cooling your home. Whether you are turning on a light in the kitchen or riding in a car to school, you are using energy. Billions of people all around the world use energy, so there is a huge demand for resources to provide all of this energy. Why do we need so much energy? The main reason is that almost everything that happens on Earth involves energy. |
earths energy | T_0698 | Energy changes form when something happens. But the total amount of energy always stays the same. The Law of Conservation of Energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Scientists observed that energy could change from one form to another. They also observed that the overall amount of energy did not change. |
earths energy | T_0699 | Here is an example of how energy changes form: kicking a soccer ball. Your body gets energy from food. Where does the food get its energy? If youre eating a plant, then the energy comes directly from the Sun. If youre eating an animal, then the energy comes from a plant that got its energy from the Sun. Your body breaks down the food. It converts the food to chemical energy and stores it. When you are about to kick the ball, the energy must be changed again. Potential energy has the potential to do work. When your leg is poised to kick the ball but is not yet moving, your leg has potential energy. A ball at the top of a hill has the potential energy of location. Kinetic energy is the energy of anything in motion. Your muscles move your leg, your foot kicks the ball, and the ball gains kinetic energy (Figure 5.1). The kinetic energy was converted from potential energy that was in your leg before the kick. The action of kicking the ball is energy changing forms. The same is true for anything that involves change. |
earths energy | T_0700 | Energy is the ability to do work. Fuel stores energy and can be released to do work. Heat is given off when fuel is burned. |
earths energy | T_0701 | What makes energy available whenever you need it? If you unplug a lamp, the light goes off. The lamp does not have a supply of energy to keep itself lit. The lamp uses electricity that comes through the outlet as its source of energy. The electricity comes from a power plant. The power plant has a source of energy to produce this electricity. |
earths energy | T_0702 | The energy to make the electricity comes from fuel. Fuel stores the energy and releases it when it is needed. Fuel is any material that can release energy in a chemical change. The food you eat acts as a fuel for your body. Gasoline and diesel fuel are fuels that provide the energy for most cars, trucks, and buses. But there are many different kinds of fuel. For fuel to be useful, its energy must be released in a way that can be controlled. |
earths energy | T_0703 | When fuel is burned, most of the energy is released as heat. Some of this heat can be used to do work. Heat cooks food or warms your house. Sometimes the heat is just waste heat. It still heats the environment, though. Heat from a fire can boil a pot of water. If you put an egg in the pot, you can eat a hard boiled egg in 15 minutes (cool it down first!). The energy to cook the egg was stored in the wood. The wood got that energy from the Sun when it was part of a tree. The Sun generated the energy by nuclear fusion. You started the fire with a match. The head of the match stores energy as chemical energy. That energy lights the wood on fire. The fire burns as long as there is energy in the wood. Once the wood has burned up, there is no energy left in it. The fire goes out. |
earths energy | T_0704 | Energy resources can be put into two categories renewable or non-renewable. Nonrenewable resources are used faster than they can be replaced. Renewable resources can be replaced as quickly as they are used. Renewable resources may also be so abundant that running out is impossible. The difference between non-renewable and renewable resources is like the difference between ordinary batteries and rechargeable ones. If a flashlight when ordinary batteries goes dead, the batteries need to be replaced. But if the flashlight has rechargeable batteries, the batteries can be placed in a charger. The charger transfers energy from an outlet into the batteries. Once recharged, the batteries can be put back into the flashlight. Rechargeable batteries can be used again and again (Figure 5.2). In this way, the energy in the rechargeable batteries is renewable. |
earths energy | T_0705 | Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels are the greatest energy source for modern society. Millions of years ago, plants used energy from the Sun to form carbon compounds. These compounds were later transformed into coal, oil, or natural gas. Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. For this reason, they are non-renewable. We will use most fossil fuels up in a matter of decades. Burning fossil fuels releases large amounts of pollution. The most important of these may be the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. |
earths energy | T_0706 | Renewable energy resources include solar, water, wind, biomass, and geothermal power. These resources are usually replaced at the same rate that we use them. Scientists know that the Sun will continue to shine for billions of years. So we can use the solar energy without it ever running out. Water flows from high places to lower ones. Wind blows from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. We can use the flow of wind and water to generate power. We can count on wind and water to continue to flow! Burning wood is an example of biomass energy. Changing grains into biofuels is biomass energy. Biomass is renewable because we can plant new trees or crops to replace the ones we use. Geothermal energy uses water that was heated by hot rocks. There are always more hot rocks available to heat more water. Even renewable resources can be used unsustainably. We can cut down too many trees without replanting. We might need grains for food rather than biofuels. Some renewable resources are too expensive to be widely used. As the technology improves and more people use renewable energy, the prices will come down. The cost of renewable resources will go down relative to fossil fuels as we use fossil fuels up. In the long run renewable resources will need to make up a large amount of what we use. |
earths energy | T_0707 | Before we put effort into increasing the use of an energy source, we should consider two things. Is there a practical way to turn the resource into useful form of energy? For example, it is not practical if we dont get much more energy from burning a fuel than we put into making it. What happens when we turn the resource into energy? What happens when we use that resource? Mining the resource may cause a lot of health problems or environmental damage. Using the resource may create a large amount of pollution. In this case, that fuel may also not be the best choice for an energy resource. |