EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Hand out #2 (1st Quarter)

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

 It consists of an average starts called the sun, the planets and the satellites of the planet, numerous asteroids,
meteoroids, and interplanetary medium.
 The sun is considered as the richest source of electromagnetic energy that is mostly in the form of heat and
light in the solar system.
 Science believed that the solar system began about 4.6 billion years ago.
 The whole solar system, together with the local starts visible on a clear nights, orbits the center of our home
galaxy, a spiral disk of 200 billion starts known as the Milky Way
THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
1. The Planetisimal Theory
 A French scientist, George Comte de Buffon in 1788, first proposed this theory.
 He supposed that the planetary system was formed from the materials removed from the sun by great
gravitation. Eventually, the materials cooled and condensed to form small bodies, which in the course of
time become planets
2. The Dust Cloud Theory
 This was formulated by the German Physicist Carl Friedrich von Weizsacken and US chemist Harold
C. Urey in 1945
 It presumed that the nebula was flattened by its rotation and the planetary in the gas molecules,
accelerated the fighter ones so that most of them escaped from the nebula. Meanwhile, the matters in the
discs were clamping together into bigger and bigger lumps, which became the planets and their moons.
3. The Companion Star Theory
 Fred Hoyle proposed that the sun once had companion star. As this star collided with the sun, it
eventually exploded and its materials were held by sun’s gravitation. From these materials, various
planets and others bodies in the solar system were formed
4. The Nebular Hypothesis
 This was proposed by Marquis de Laplace, a French mathematician and astronomer in 1976. This
theory proposed that gas particles began to come together under gravity to form denser and denser mass
which started to rotate. The more it collapsed, the faster it rotated. Over time, it formed into a disc with a
bulge in the middle.
 As it shrank more and more, the bulge become hotter and hotter. Eventually, it became so hot that shone
as star which we call the sun. The rings caused by the spinning gave rise to planets
5. The Protoplanet Theory
 This theory was proposed by Gerald Kuoper. The original nebula was so massive that on further
contraction and flattening, it broke into separate clouds or protoplanets. As they contracted, they
developed denser cores surrounded by atmosphere.
6. The Big Bang Theory
 A theory postulated by Edwin Hubble who proposed that there was huge and dense fireball called
YLEM and this underwent gigantic explosion billion of years ago, After its explosion, it continued to
expand and cool forming sub- atomic particles which formed the simplest element hydrogen. As the
YLEM continued to expand, it also cooled and made the gases to condense forming the stars, planets
and other members of the solar system.
MEMBERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
The Sun
 The sun is ordinary star, somewhat smaller than most stars. It is the source of light for the planets
 Consider as the most prominent feature in our solar system.
 Basically known as the largest objects and contain approximately 98% of the total solar system
mass.
 It assumes that one hundred and nine (109) earths would be required to fit across the sun’s disks,
and it’s interior could hold over 1.3 million earth
 According to astronomical data, appears to have been active for 4.6 billion years and has enough
fuel to go on for another five billion years or so.
 The most important feature of the sun is the fact that it radiates light and heat year after year,
century after century. The earth receives tiny fraction of it.
THE EXTERNAL FEATURES OF THE SUN / ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS
1. Photosphere
 It is the outer visible surface of the sun or other stars and its source of its continuous spectrum.
 It has temperature of 6, 000 ̊ C (11,000 ̊ F).
 This layer has mottled appearance due to the turbulent eruptions of energy at the surface.
2. Sunspots
  The black spot scattered in the various regions of the photospheres. They can affect radio
telecommunications on earth.
 It has typical temperature of 4,000 ̊ C (7,000 ̊ F)
3. Chromospheres
 Located above the photosphere. Solar energy passes through this region on its way out from the
center of the sun.
 Faculae and flares arise also in this layer. Faculae are bright luminously hydrogen clouds that
form above regions where sunspot are about to form. Flares are bright filaments of hot gas
emerging from sunspot region. They bombard the earth with electromagnetic rays
 Spicule, a narrow jet of rising material, also appears in the solar chromospheres.
4. Prominences
 Are surges of glowing gas rising from the surface of the sun. The largest appears as huge arches
that last several hours before collapsing back.
 It follows lines of magnetic force and seen pinkish when seen at the edge of the sun during an
eclipse
5. Corona
 Is the outermost layer of the sun which is also available only during a solar eclipse
INTERNAL STRUCTURES OF THE SUN
1. Core
 The innermost layer of the sun, and the temperature is about 15 billion degrees
 Thermonuclear reaction occurs in this area, which extends to a distance of 0.2. solar radiuses
from the center
2. Radiation envelope/ zone
 The next layer after the core. It extends to about 90% of sun’s diameter.
 This layer is composed of H- atoms which exert greater pressure on the core preventing the
helium and energy from escaping the core. It takes 10 million years for helium and energy to
escape this layer.
3. Convective envelope/ zone
 This is the sun’s surface. In this layer the energy that escapes the radiation zone is converted to
thermal energy.
 The gases undergo convection, disturbing the atmospheric layer above it produce light.
How does the Sun Shine?
 The surface temperature of the sun is about 5, 500 ̊ C to 6,000 ̊ C compared to its interior temperature,
which is about 15 million ̊C and is gaseous throughout. Here the atoms that make up its main gas,
hydrogen, have so much energy that may break apart, coming together as helium gas. During this
reaction, a burst of energy is given out. This energy drives the sun.
 Coronagraph – an instrument used to further study the features of the sun. It is attached to the
telescope and it operates in the same manner as eclipse- it blocks out the light made by the sun to have
view its corona and activities related to it.
The Planets
 A celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be surrounded by its own
gravity.
 Every planets orbit around the sun. The orbit is elliptical and not circular. This was proven by Johannes
Kepler.
 An ellipse is a close curve that is elongated.
 Perihelion- the point in an orbit when an object is closest to the sun.
 Aphelion- the farthest point in its orbit from the sun.
 The 8 planets can be classified as follows:

1. By Composition
a. Terrestrial or Rocky Planets
 They composed primarily of rock and metal and have relatively high densities, slow rotation,
solid surfaces, no rings and few satellites. These are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
b. Jovian or Gas Planets
 The gas planets are basically composed of hydrogen and helium and generally have low
densities, rapid rotation, deep atmospheres, rings, and numerous satellites such as Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
2. By size
a. Small Planets
 the small planets have diameters less than 13, 000 km. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are
considered small planets
 b. Giant Planets
 The giant planets have diameters greater than 48, 000 km. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune are giant planets
 Mercury is sometimes referred to as lesser planets (which should not be confused with the
minor planets, the official term for steroids).
 The giant planets are sometimes also referred to as gas giants
3. By position relative to the sun
a. Inner Planets- like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
b. Outer Planets- such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
 The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter forms the boundary between the inner solar
system and the outer solar system.
4. By position relative to earth
a. Inferior planets
 Shows faces like the moons when viewed from the earth they are closer to the sun than the
Earth. Mercury and Venus are inferior planets.
b. Superior planets
 These planets are further from the sun than the earth and always appear as full or nearly so, Mars
considered as superior planets
5. By History
a. Classical Planets
 These planets are known since pre- historical times. They are visible to the unaided eye. They are
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
b. Modern Planets
 They are discovered in modern times visible only with telescopes. Uranus and Neptune were
discovered in modern times.

THE INNER PLANETS/ TERRESTRIAL PLANET

Mercury, Venus, Earth and mars are the inner planets. These planets are relatively close to the sun. All are
solid, rocklike bodies.
 Mercury
o The smallest, nearest, innermost planet to the sun.
o It is a dead airless world that whirls through the space in the merciless glare of the sun
o It can be observed in the sky with unaided eyes ( shortly after the sunset or sunrise)
o Its diameter is 40% smaller than the earth and 40% larger than the moon.
o In Roman mythology, Mercury is the God of commerce, travel and thievery, the Roman counterpart
of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the gods.
o The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky
o The fastest planet. It can travel 46 km in just one second.
o It revolves around the sun in 88 days and spin on its axis once every 59 days
o It holds two records for the major planet in the solar system, the longest day (176 earth days) and
shortest year (88 earth days). One mercury year is a quarter earth year.
o Its surface is filled with craters and is crisscrossed by rocks and cliffs.
o A dominant feature on Mercury is the Caloris basin. It is an ancient java- filled crater about 1,300
km across, believed to have resulted into a huge body crashed in Mercury
o It is among the hottest and coldest planet on the entire solar system due to its proximity to the sun
o It has extreme temperature that ranges from 400 ̊ C during day time which lasts about three months.
But at night its surface is colder than icy Jupiter. Temperature of 170 ̊ C.
o It has no satellite
o The only spacecraft to have visited Mercury was Mariner 10. It flew three times in March 1974 and
1975, and was photographed half, 470 miles off the planet surface
o During the 1880’s Giovanni Schiaparelli drew a sketch showing faints features on Mercury. He
stated that Mercury must be totally locked to the sun, just like as the moon is totally locked to the
earth.
o MERCURY MISSIONS
 Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) is the first mission sent to orbit
the planet closest to the sun.
 On Oct. 6, 2008, the probe flew by Mercury for the second time this year, using the planet’s
gravity for a critical assist needed to keep the spacecraft on track for its orbit insertion
around the planet three years from now.
VENUS
o Greek (Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar)
 o Is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty
o The second planet from the sun
o Sometimes referred as the Earth’s twin planet because perfectly round shape as compared to the
earth
o As seen from the earth, it is the brightest of all the planets.
o Through a telescope, Venus appears as gleaming, bright, silvery white gem. But appearance deceives
because the planet is in fact a rocky waste hotter than Mercury and it is spread out under a choking
carbon dioxide atmosphere that is denser than water.
o Venus appears to go through phases similar to that of the moon because the orbit of Venus around
the sun is inside the orbit of the earth
o It has a retrograde or opposite motion than the other planet.
o Its rotation lasts for 243 days and is little longer than its revolution around the sun which is 225
days.
o It is a very hot planet hotter than Mercury and reaches a temperature to about 455 ̊ C because of its
atmospheres is composed mainly of hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
o It does not have satellite
o It also has mountains, valleys and plains
o It can be seen as an evening star ( Hesperus) and a morning star ( Eophorus)
o In August 1962 and February 1974 a spacecraft Mariner 2 ( the first spacecraft to visit Venus) and
Mariner 10 observed that the planet is completely covered with yellow, white clouds swirling at
speeds exceeding 150 minutes per hour
o For 53 minutes in October 22, 1975, USSR’s Venera 9, and for 63 minutes of October 25 1975,
Venera 10 yielded the following pieces of information:
1. The temperature at the surface ranges from 30 ̊ C to 475 ̊ C
2. Large rocks (12-16 inches across) are scattered about the landscapes, which had been
previously believed to be sandy deserts.
3. The atmosphere is made up of more than 90% carbon dioxide and almost no oxygen
EARTH
o Our Mother Planet
o The only planet known to support all life forms
o The third planet from the sun at distance of about 150 million kilometers ( 93.2 million miles)
o It’s composed mainly of 70 5 water and 30% land
o It is almost 5 billion years old
o It appears to big and sturdy with an endless ocean of air
o It is small with a thin fragile layers of atmosphere
o For a space traveler the distinguishing Earth features are the blue waters, brown and green land
masses and white cloud set against a black background
o It has a diameter of 12,756 kilometers (7, 973 miles), only a few hundred kilometers larger than that
of Venus.
o Our atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% of other constituents.
o The earth is divided into three parts the crust, the mantle and the core
o The crust is composed of three parts : the atmosphere ( the gaseous part): lithosphere ( land part);
hydrosphere ( the water part)
o It has its natural satellite, the moon. The atmosphere is able to support life forms; however some
gases are poisonous too.
MARS
o Greek (Ares) was named after the Roman Mars, god of war because it appears like the color of
spoiled blood. It is called the ‘Angry Planet”
o The name of month March is derived from Mars
o The fourth planet from the sun and is commonly referred to as the Red Planet. The rock soil and sky
have a red or pink hue.
o The distinct red color was observed by stargazers throughout the history
o The ancient Egyptians named the planet Her Descher meaning the red one
o It shines very brightly when closest to the earth, moving quickly in front of the stars, and it has a
bright reddish color
o Before the explorations Mars was considered to be the best candidates for harboring extraterrestrial
life.
o It is half as large as the Earth.
o It rotates 24 hours as well while it revolves 687 Earth days. It also has season like the Earth
 o Mars has thin atmosphere, floating clouds, violent dust storms and white polar ice caps.
o It lacks water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen.
o The temperature can reach 30 ̊ C and drop up to 75 ̊ C
o Rocks from the Mars have landed on Earth from meteorite impacts blasting debris through space.
o It has two moons. Phobos and Deimon
o Mars has been visited by robotic vehicles Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity
o The largest volcano in the Solar system is on Mars called Olympus Mons

THE OUTER PLANETS

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the outer planets. These planets are relatively far to the sun.
They are mainly composed of gases; thus called as gas giant planet or Jovian Planets

JUPITER
o The fifth planet from the sun and by far the largest planet in the solar system.
o It is named after a Roman god. The god Jupiter was also known as Jove (Gk. Zeus). He was the king
of gods, the ruler of the Olympus and the patron of the Roman state. Zeus was the son of Cronus
(Saturn)
o It is more than twice as massive as all other planets combined (318 times earth).
o It spins fastest than any of the other planet so that its day lasts less than 10 hours. It rotates on its
axis 9 h ours and 50 minutes only
o It is made up of about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium with traces of other compounds like methane,
water, ammonia and rocks
o It has no solid surface, only gaseous atmospheres and liquid interior. Its core must be hotter than the
surface of the sun, but clouds exposed to space are bitterly cold.
o Jupiter has the strongest pull of gravity in the solar system
o If we were able to stand on the surface if the Jupiter, we would weigh three times as much as we
would on Earth
o Jupiter has 63 moons (the largest are Ganymede- the largest satellite in the solar system). Callisto
(outermost Galilean satellite). Europa and Io. These four were discovered by Galileo in 1610.
o Voyager 1 and 2 discovered Jupiter’s ring only lately in 1979. The ring is about 1.8 times its radius.
its rings are dark, they probably composed of very small grains of rocky material
SATURN
o Saturn was the Roman God of the Harvest and of Time.
o The son of Uranus and Gaia
o Father of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto.
o The Roman name for the Greek god Cronos.
o Saturnalia was the mid-winter festival in Saturns honor. It lasted seven days, and there was much
merrymaking. Public business was suspended and schools were closed. Parents gave presents to
their children
o Saturn is the root of the English word Saturday
o It has been known for centuries as the ringed planet
o Consider as the most beautiful object in the solar system
o Like Jupiter it has also have 75% hydrogen and 25% helium with some methane and ammonia.
o It is twice as far away from the Jupiter is.
o It has a low density, 0.7 g/cc which allows the planet to float when submerged on water.
o There are 4 concentric major rings visible. They are : A ring ( outermost and second brightest ring),
B- ring ( brightest ring), C- ring ( composed of dozen of ringlets yet relatively transparent). D- ring
( least bright ring)
o It has more moons than any other planet. (60 moons).12 were discovered by Voyagers probe. Titan
is the second largest moon in the solar system and the only moon in the solar system to have its own
thick atmosphere. Phoebe- is the farthest moon from the planet.
URANUS
o Barely visible in the naked eye
o Discovered in Modern times by William Herschel on March 13, 1781. He was musician from Germany
who settled in Bath, England and became fascinated by astronomy.
o In 1781, he was looking at the sky with his homemade telescope when he noticed a star that appeared
like a small disc.
o Its atmosphere is composed of hydrogen and methane.
o It has a very low temperature of 170 ° C
o Uranus has been visited by only one space craft, Voyager 2 on January 24 1986
 o Five satellites are known through earth- based observation, but Voyager 2 discovered 22 more
o It has a blue-green color from the methane gas above the deeper clouds. Methane absorbs red light and
reflects blue light. It does have a small system of rings.
o Diameter is like 4 Earth’s.
o Mass is 14.5 Earth’s.
o Takes 84 years to revolve around the sun.
o Day is a little over 17 hours long.
o Uranus is a very unusual planet because it sits on its side with north and south poles sticking out the
sides. It rotates around this axis, making it look like a ball rolling around in a circle around the Sun.
NEPTUNE
o Neptune is the Roman god of the sea.
o The Romans modeled him after the Greek god Poseidon.
o It is the outermost planet of the gas giants
o The eight planet from the sun and the fourth largest (by diameter)
o Neptune has an equatorial diameter of 49, 500 kilometers (30,760 miles). If hollow, Neptune could
contain nearly 60 earths.
o It orbits around the sun for every 165 years.
o It has 8 moons, 6 of which were found by voyager.
o A day on Neptune is 16 hours and 6.7 minutes
o It was discovered on September 23, 1846 by Johann Gottfried Galle of the Berlin Observatory and
Louis d' Arrest an astronomy student, by using mathematical predictions made by Urbain Joseph
Le Verrier
o It has 4 rings. Triton is the largest satellite of Neptune
o It has the strongest wind in the solar system, and a dark spot similar to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
o The entire of Neptune is composed of molten rock, water, liquid, ammonia, and methane. Methane
gives Neptune its blue cloud color.
o It has visited by only one spacecraft Voyager on August 25, 1982.
o It has 4 faint rings which are made up of dust particles thought to have been made by tiny meteorites
smashing into Neptune’s moon.
PLUTO: A Case of Demolition
o It has been called as the tiniest planet
o However in 2006 it was disqualified by NASA.
o It has its own moon Charon which was discovered in 1978
o It has not been visited by any space craft
o Pluto’s journey around the sun takes 248 Earth years
o A day in Pluto lasts for 6 days and 9 hours
o No one knows what Pluto look like- it’s too far away and too small.
o 2/3rds the size of our moon.
o So cold that oxygen and nitrogen in its atmosphere is frozen solid.
o Only planet not visited by a spacecraft.
o Pluto takes 248 years to make one orbit around the sun!
The Satellite of our Solar Systems
 Satellite- is any object that is revolving around a larger body. As of October 2008, there are174 known
natural moons orbiting planets in our Solar Systems. 168 moons orbit the full size planets ( Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) while 6 moons orbit the smaller “ dwarf planets ( Ceres,
Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris)
THE MOON
o It is the only natural satellite of Earth
o Composed of relatively bright highlands and darker plains
o In the middle of the 17’Th century, with the aid of the telescopes. Galileo and other early
astronomers made telescopic observations, noting an endless overlapping of craters
o It was first visited by the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 in 1959. The only extraterrestrial body to have
been visited by human
o On July 20, 1969, at 7:56 pm Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin Jr. landed on the moon from
Apollo 11
o The moons gravity is one –sixth that of the earth. Thus if a man weighs 180 lb ( pound- force) on
earth , he weighs only 30 lb on the moon
o Its diameter,3, 456 km is quarter of that of earth
o It travels around the earth at a speed of about 3,664 km/ 1 hr once every 27 days or so
 o As it revolves around the sun it sometimes comes nearer (Perigee) and farther (Apogee) from the
earth.
o Accordingly, moon has dark areas called ( Marias)
o It has no bodies of water, it has many craters an also has rilles and rays
o It is moving in an east to west position
Phases of the Moon
 As the moon revolves around with the Earth around the Sun, one half of it is lighted. The other
side that faces the Earth varies in its area of illumination, giving the moon its varied shape.
o New Moon- (no moon) when the side facing the earth is in shadow and we cannot see
the moon
o Crescent Moon- happens 2-3 days when the moon has moved some distance and we can
see thin edge of the lighted side.
o First quarter- happens a week after the new moon. We see half of the lighted side
which means that the moon has traveled through one quarter of its orbits
o Waxing Gibbous Moon- happens when three quarters of the side facing the earth is
lighted up and can be seen clearly
o Full Moon- when we can see the whole face of the lighted side clearly. After a day or
two the full moon begins to wane or shrink
o Waning gibbous
o Last Quarter
o Waning Crescent
MINOR MEMBERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Comet
o Comets are sometimes called dirty snowballs or "icy mudballs".
o They are a mixture of ices (both water and frozen gases) and dust that for some reason
didn't get incorporated into planets when the solar system was formed.
o This makes them very interesting as samples of the early history of the solar system
o Is a mass of frozen gases, cosmic dust and rocky particles that orbit the sun.
o They are fragment of the solar system, Other appear one time and are never seen again
o Their orbit is very elliptical
o They measure about a few kms in diameter.
o They are named for their discoveries, Edmund Halley
o It is divided into two groups:
 Short Period Comet- have orbital periods of less than 200 years
 Long Period Comet- have millions of years orbit
o Only a tiny numbers of comet enter the inner solar system most stay away far from the
sun
 Oort cloud- 1,000 times distance between the Pluto and sun
 Kulper belt- 100 times distance between the earth and the sun
o Halleys comet- was first recorded in 240 B.C. It has returned every 75 to 76 years. Its
last appearance was on 1986 and will next appear in mid 2061
o Other comets included Hale Bopp, Shoemaker Levy, and Hyakutake comet
o Hale boop- first seen on July 23, 1995 and it has 2 tails. The most widely observed
planet of the 20’th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades. Passed
perihelion on April 1, 1997. The “ Great Comet of 1997”
o Shoemaker Levy- seen on July 16 and July 22 1995
o Hyakutake- First seen on Jan 30, 1996
Parts of a Comet
1. Nucleus
 the central solid portion of a comet.
 It is a foten called the” dirty snowball”
 It is made of about 85% of water, ice with frozen carbon dioxide carbon monoxide, methane,
ammonia, dirt and dust mixed in.
 It size ranges from 1- 20 km.
2. Coma
 the large cloud of mass that melts and sublimates from the snowball due to heat from the sun.
 it is a fog bank surrounding the nucleus
3. Hydrogen cloud
 a much longer cloud that surrounds the coma, made up of light hydrogen gas
4. Tail
  it is simply the gases and dust of the coma being pushed back by the pressure of sunlight.
 It always point away from the sun. It is longest when the comet is closest to the sun
 It has two parts
o Ion tail- composed of ionized gas that happen due to the interaction with the solar
energy
o Dust tail- - it comes from the ice of snowball as the ice sublimates into the coma
Meteors
o Popularly known as “falling or shooting stars”
o They are not actually stars, they are pieces of rocks that are burning due to friction as they fall
through the Earth’s upper atmospheres
o 99% of all meteors seen are very small rocks larger than single grains of sand or even specks of
dust, most less than 100 meter in diameter.
o They are believed to be small pieces of asteroids
o A small piece of meteor that land on the surface of the earth is called meteorite. They are
classified into three (iron meteorites, stone meteorites, and stony iron.)
o Meteoroid- a small rocky object in space
Meteor Showers
o Occurs when Earth, during its journey around the sun, crosses the path of a comet and picks up
the dust and pebbles left behind the slowly disintegrating comet.
o Each speck if materials that collides with Earth burns up as meteors, therefore, we see greater
numbers of meteors in short period of time. And because Earth will always cross the same region
of space each year at the same time, every year we will have a meteor shower on the same date.
Asteroids
o Is an object too small to be classified as a planet
o Sizes range from 1000 km. in diameter to less than 1km. in diameter
o Most of them have slightly elliptical orbits.
o They are usually made up of rocks
o They are so called “ minor planets or planetoids”
Group of Asteroids Classified by Orbits
 Apollo Asteroids- asteroids that cross the Earth’s orbit
 Amor Asteroids- asteroids that cross Mars’s orbit but not Earth’s
 Trojan Asteroids- asteroids found within the orbit of Jupiter
 Asteroid Belt- the area between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are found
Types of Asteroids Composition
 C- type Asteroids- made up of carbonaceous materials, typical of the outer asteroids belt and
the” Trojan asteroids”
 S- type Asteroids- made up of stony or silicate materials, typical of inner asteroid belt.
 M- type Asteroids- made up mostly of metals
Some Notable Asteroids
 Ceres- 1000 km (620 miles) in diameter- the largest asteroid. First discovered in 1801. It is ac-
type asteroids. It measures over 1000 km at its longest diameter.
 Chiron - discovered in 1977, it is unique because it’s found between the orbits of Saturn and
Uranus.
 Dactyl - the first asteroids moon found. It orbits the asteroid named Ida
 Eros – a cigar shaped asteroid that landed on February 14, 2001
 Gaspra- first photographed asteroid by Galileo space Probe’
Stars
o Enormous glowing ball of gas that can live for billions of years
o The conversion of hydrogen to helium serves as the fuel for stars.
o It often viewed from the Earth as twinkling. The scientific name for the twinkling of the stars is
stellar scintillation/ astronomical scintillation)
o Star except the sun appears as tiny dots in the sky; and appears twinkling as they are viewed
from the Earth because light from it passes the different layers of the Earth atmosphere.
Star Types
o They are classified by their spectra (elements that they absorb) and their temperature. There are 7
main types of stars. In order of decreasing temperature: O,B, A, F, G, K and M.
Hertz sprung- Russel Diagram
o is a graph that plots stars colors (spectral type/ temperature) vs. its luminosity. It appears that there
are three different types of stars
Main Sequence Stars
 o Most stars fall into this category. These stars are in the most stable part of their existence.
o They lasts for about 5 billion years
Giants and Supergiants
o They are above the main sequence stars. They have depleted the supply of hydrogen and are very
cold
o They will eventually explode
White dwarf
o They are below the main sequence stars which have already depleted their hydrogen and will become
cold, dark and black dwarfs

Bright Stars and Closest Stars

o The stars appears bright because it is close to the earth or emits more radiant energy than other stats
o Luminosity- the total brightness of the stars
Apparent Magnitude
o It is a measure of the celestial objects as seen from the earth.
o The lower the number the brighter the object.
o Negative number indicate extreme brightness
Absolute Magnitude
o It is a measure of the inherent brightness of a celestial object.
o The higher the magnitude number the big the diameter of the stars
o A 1st magnitude stars is about 2.5 times brighter than a second magnitude star, and about 6.25 times
brighter than third magnitude star
STAR GROUPINGS
o Open Cluster
 Are moderately close- knit irregularly shaped groupings of stars
 They usually contain 100-1000 members and are about 2- 20 pc in diameter
o Association
 Are cousins of open cluster.
 They have lower stars but are larger in size and have a looser structure
 They have 10 to few hundred members and diameters of about 10 to 100 pc. They are rich in very
young stars like O and B stars or Tauri stars
o Globular star
 Are quite different from the two other types.
 They are more massive, tightly packed symmetrical and very old
 They contain from 20,000 to several million stars although many of these stars are too close to be
resolved by the earth- based telescopes.
 Typical diameters of central concentrations range from 5- 25 pc.
Constellations vs Asterisms
 A pattern of groups of stars in the sky is called a constellations
 A group of bright stars that form a pattern but are not a constellation is called asterisms
TheBig Dipper
 Big bear- is part of the larger constellation Ursa Major
 Pointer Star- the two star that form the edge of a bowl and point toward
 Polaris- The North Star.
THE ZODIAC CONSTELLATION
ARIES The Rum ( Messenger)
TAURUS The Bull (In Front)
GEMINI The Twins Great Twins)
CANCER The Crab (Workman of the river Bal)
LEO The Lion ( The Lion)
VIRGO The Virgin ( Proclaimer of the rain)
LIBRA The Balance ( Life Maker of Heaven)
SCORPIO The Scorpion ( Scorpion of Heaven)
SAGITTARIUS The Archer (Star of the bow)
CAPRICORN The Goat ( Goat- fish)
AQUARIUS The Water Bearer ( Um)
PISCES The Fish ( cord- place joining the fish)