Earth and Space - Final (new material)

4 May 2026

Closest planet to the sun

Mercury

Days in mercury

88 day a year

Surface of mercury

Gray in color because ferromagnesian and graphite

Mercury surface

Volcanic surface pocketed by craters

Temperature in Mercury

1. Day: 400ºC / 800º F
   when facing the sun

2. Night: -150ºC / 300ºF
   colder than Antartica at night

Brightest planet in the sky

Venus

krn closest to the sun, lbih close than earth to mars

Venus is also called

The “Morning star” and the “evening star”

Planet that spins backwards

Venus

Nebular hypothesis

Secular model that the solar system rotates in the same direction, Venus defies this

Planet that is similar size to earth

Venus

Weather in Venus

Dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide

Venus color

Yellow because of sulfuric acid

Venus surface

Covered by volcanos, lava flows, and faults

Hottest planet

Venus: 460ºC / 900ºF

even though mercury is closer to the sun

Mars color

Red because of ironoxide

“Red Planet” refers to

Mars

Two moons of Mars

Phobos and Deimos

Mount in Mars

Olympus Mons - 25km/ 16 miles

twice than Everest

dormant volcano

Trace of waters detected in planet …

Mars

Asteroids

Smaller rocky objects that orbit the sun

Which is bigger: Asteroids or meteoroids

Asteroids

Ceres

A dwarf planet, used to be the largest asteroid

Asteroids are mostly found in

The asteroid belt

Largest planet

Jupiter

1300 times the volume of earth

how many earths can fit in jupiter

1300

“The Great Red Spot” refers to

Jupiter

Jupiter moons (largest)

Four Galilean moons

largest moons

Moons of Jupiter

• IO

• Europa

• Ganymede (largest moon in the solar system, larger than mercury)

• Callisto

Jupiter officially recognized satellites

95 satellites / moons

Jupiter is made of

Light gases

helium, hydrogen

Fastest spinning planet

Jupiter

Plane with the largest ring system in the solar system

Saturn

Largest moon of Saturn

Titan

Titan: largest moon of Saturn

• Has an atmosphere with organic compounds

• Speculated by secular astronomers that it may contain life

light gases: helium & hydrogen

Least dense planet

Saturn

Planet discovered in modern times

Uranus

Discovered Uranus

William Herschel

Planet that rotates nearly perpendicularly

Uranus

Planet that was discovered mathematically

Neptune

Planet with deep blue with raging storms

Neptune

Neptune and Uranus colo

Blueish from methane

Reclassified as a dwarf planet

Pluto

Several other dwarf planets were discovered

Planet classification

• Has to orbit the sun

• Cannot be moon (orbiting a planet)

• Round

• Clear orbital path (no debris in the path)

“Dirty snowballs”

Comets

Comets

1. Highly elliptical orbits

Parts of a comet

1. Nucleus

2. Coma

3. Tails

Nucleus

body of the comet

Coma

sublimating gases surrounding the nucleus

Tails

• Dust tail: follows the comet’s previous orbit

• Ion tail: streams out into space directly away from the sun

Meteoroids

small bits of rock that the earth encounters in space

Meteors

1.     The burning remnants of a meteoroid in the earth’s atmosphere

2.     “Shooting stars”

Meteorites

meteoroids that have reached the earth’s surface

Relative to the starts, the moon has an orbital period of …

27.3 days

Relative to the sun, the moon has an orbital period of …

29.5 days

Moon phases

1. New moon at the beginning of the lunar period

2. Waxing phases for 14 days (wx. crescent, first quarter, wx. gibbons)

3. Full moon phase

4. Waning phases for 14 days (wn. gib, last quarter, wn. or)

5. New moon indicates a new lunar period

Blocking the sun’s light

Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse

1. Earth blocks the sunlight reaching the moon

2. Occurs at the full moon

Solar eclipse

1. Moon blocks the sunlight reaching the earth

2. Occurs at the new moon

Eclipses do not occur twice a month because …

The moon is tilted 5.2º to the earth’s orbital plane

Lunar surface

Volcanic feature, crates, and mountains

Lunar Mare

Solidified lava flows

Lunar rilles

Trenches carried out by lava

Lunar highlands

• Light colored higher regions on the moon

• Made of anorthosite (plagioclase feldspar bearing route)

History of the moon

1. The moon had former igneous activity

2. It now appears to be quiet

3. The far side of the moon has less mare

4. Pocketed

Origin of the moon

Collision between earth and other planet

Accepted by secular astronomers today