9. The Sun
It is the star at the center of the Solar
System.
About three quarters of its mass consists of
hydrogen, while the rest is mostly helium.
The energy of this sunlight supports almost
all life on Earth by photosynthesis, and drives
Earth's climate and weather
10. Parts of the Sun
1. Core – sun’s center
2. Photosphere – the first layer of the sun
3. Chromosphere – innermost layer of the sun’s
atmosphere
4. Corona – extensive outer layer of the sun’s
atmosphere
5. Sunspots – dark areas on the surface of the sun
6. Solar flares – flashes of bright light are visible on
earth
7. Prominence – a giant column of hot gases formed
in the chromosphere that extends to the corona
11.
12.
13. Stars
A star is a massive, luminous ball of
plasma held together by gravity.
14. Constellations
collection of stars linked together to represent a
person, animal or object.
is an internationally defined area of the celestial
sphere.
15. Zodiacal Family
Aquarius, the water
bearer
Aries, the ram
Cancer, the crab
Capricorn, the goat
Gemini, the twins
Leo, the lion
Libra, the scales
Pisces, the fish
Sagittarius, the archer
Scorpius, the scorpion
Taurus, the bull
16. Supergiants
Have diameters up
to 1000 times the
diameter of the sun
Examples:
Rigel, Betelgeuse, a
nd Antares
17. Stars
By using a
spectroscope,
astronomers have
found out that stars
have similar
composition, the
most common is
hydrogen. He, O,
Ne, C are other
elements
18. Stars
Blue stars are the hottest and youngest
stars followed by white, yellow, red-
orange, and red as the oldest stars.
19. Stars
New stars are born from the gases in
the nebulae that clump together
because of gravity
22. NEBULA
a region or cloud of interstellar dust and
gas
23. Stars are born in nebulae. Huge clouds of dust and
gas collapse under gravitational forces, forming
protostars. These young stars undergo further
collapse, forming main sequence stars.
Stars expand as they grow old. As the core runs out
of hydrogen and then helium, the core contracts and
the outer layers expand, cool, and become less
bright. This is a red giant or a red super giant
(depending on the initial mass of the star). It will
eventually collapse and explode. Its fate is
determined by the original mass of the star; it will
become either a black dwarf, neutron star, or black
hole.
24. Our Solar System
Our solar system is made
up of:
Sun
Planets
Their moons
Asteroids
Comets
25. Inner Planets
The inner four rocky
planets at the center
of the solar system
are:
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
26. What is a planet?
The definition of planet set in 2006 by
the International Astronomical Union (IAU)
states that in the Solar System a planet is
a celestial body that:
is in orbit around the Sun,
has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic
equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and
has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its
orbit.
27. The Planets
Mercury is the planet that is closest to our
Sun. Neptune is the farthest.
Remember the order of the planets like
this:
My Very Educated Mother Just Showed
Us Nothing
which means
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn
Uranus Neptune
28. Mercury
What are Mercury‘s features?
smallest planet
nearest to the sun
one Mercury-year is a quarter Earth-year
Mercury is very difficult to be spotted with the
naked eye
Mercury has no moons
29. Venus
What are Venus‘ features?
it is a medium sized planet, 2.5 times as large as
Mercury
second nearest to the sun
Venus is very well visible to the naked
eye, always close to the sun before sunrise or
after sunset
Venus has no moons
30. Earth
What are Earth‘s features?
it is a medium sized planet, a bit larger than
Venus
(probably) the only planet with liquid water in
our Solar System
the Earth has one moon
(probably) the only planet with intelligent life in
our Solar System
31. Mars
What are Mars‘ features?
it is a small sized planet, half as large as Earth
Mars is well visible to the naked eye
Mars has two moons: Phobos and Deimos
Mars has been visited by robotic vehicles:
Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity
the question for (former) life on Mars is still
unsolved
32. Jupiter
What are Jupiter‘s features?
it is the largest planet of the Solar System,
more than 1.300 Earths could fit inside
Jupiter is well visible to the naked eye
The Great Red Spot on its surface is a giant
storm as wide as three Earths
Jupiter has 63 moons! (the largest are
Io, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa)
33. Saturn
What are Saturn‘s features?
it is the second-largest planet of the Solar
System, only a bit smaller than Jupiter
Saturn is well visible to the naked eye
the famous rings can be seen with small
telescopes
Saturn has at least 34 moons! (recently a probe
landed on Jupiter‘s moon Titan)
34. Uranus
What are Uranus‘ features?
it is medium sized planet of the Solar System
it is quite far away but still can be spotted with
small telescopes
like Saturn, Uranus has a system of rings
35. Neptune
What are Neptune‘s features?
it is medium sized planet of the Solar
System, only a little bit smaller than Uranus
it is quite far away but still can be spotted with
small telescopes
Neptune has four rings and at least 13 moons
36. Pluto
What are Pluto‘s features?
it is already a dwarf planet
Since Pluto is far away and so small, you need a
medium-sized professional telescope or a good
amateur telescope to spot it.
No one knows what Pluto looks like – it‘s too far
away and too small. The picture in the
background is an artist‘s rendition.
37. Pluto
Pluto is now classified as a
dwarf planet. It is unusual
because it is not a gas
giant and it does not seem
to be terrestrial.
The motion of Pluto’s orbit
suggests that Pluto may
have been one of
Neptune’s moons at one
time.
Pluto also has a moon called
Charon which is about the
same size as Pluto.
38. Planetary Summary
Closest to Brown crater 59 days
the Sun 0.386 0 Chunks of rock
none
To orbit Sun
2nd from Hot enough to A 1.7 KM high
0.72 0 CO2, N2
the Sun melt lead Volcano
Volcanoes,
3rd from
1 1 Soil and Water N 2, O 2 hurricanes
the Sun
Reddish Volcanoes,
4th from 0.5326 2 CO2, N2
the Sun coloured soil glaciers
5th from Coloured Bands, Winds,
the Sun
11 63 Great Red Spot H2, He, CH4 hurricanes
6th from Surface temp. is H2, He, CH4 Windy, clo
the Sun
10 33 About -180o udy
7th from Polar hood over 500 km/h
the Sun
4 29 South pole H2, He, CH4 winds
8th from 3.8 13 It’s blue. H2, He, CH4 Dark spot
the Sun
9th from 0.186 3 Cold and rocky none Rotates on
the Sun side
39. Earth’s Moon
Dry, airless, and barren world with extreme
temperature
The moon is actually moving away from earth
at a rate of 1.5 inches per year.
The moon is not round, but egg shaped with
the large end pointed towards earth.
The earth rotates about 1000 mph. By
comparison, the moon rotates about 10 mph
40.
41.
42. Asteroids
Small bodies
Believed to be left
over from the
beginning of the solar
system billions of
years ago
100,000 asteroids lie
in belt between Mars
and Jupiter
Largest asteroids
have been given
names
43. Meteoroids
Small pieces of matter (some as grains
of sand) that also orbit the sun
When a meteoroid enters the earth’s
atmosphere, friction causes it to heat
up and glow (meteors)
Some meteors that enter the earth’s
atmosphere do not burn up and they
land on earth (meteorites)
44. Comets
Small icy bodies
Travel past the Sun
Give off gas and dust
as they pass by
45. Halley’s Comet
It passes the Earth
every 76 years. Its
last pass was in
1986
46. What is the difference between an
asteroid, comet, and meteoroid?
Asteroid:A relatively small, inactive
body, composed of rock, carbon or
metal, which is orbiting the Sun.
Comet:A relatively small, sometimes active
object, which is composed of dirt and ices.
Comets are characterised by dust and gas
tails when in proximity to the Sun. Far from
the Sun it is difficult to distinguish an
asteroid from a comet.
Meteoroid:A small particle from an
asteroid or comet orbiting the Sun.
47. Movements of the Earth
Rotation – earth rotates on its axis
which is tilted at an angle of 23.5O
earth rotates towards the East
Revolution – the entire trip around the
sun; 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes,
and 46 seconds
48. Terms to be remembered:
Eclipse - an astronomical event that
occurs when an object is temporarily
obscured, either by passing into the
shadow of another body or by having
another body pass between it and the
viewer.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53. Terms to be remembered:
Perigee – moon’s orbit is closest to
Earth
Apogee – moon’s orbit is farthest to the
Earth
Umbra – small inner shadow
Penumbra – large outer shadow
54. Space News
Space exploration is one of the most
fascinating features of modern times.
Why do you think it is important to
explore the space?