LAB 7_SOLAR SYSTEM OVERVIEW ASTRO

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Red Rocks Community College *

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101

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Astronomy

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Oct 30, 2023

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docx

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1. (12) Using your graphs as a guideline, group the planets based on similar characteristics using ONLY the 6 listed above. List your groups on a separate sheet of paper. You may have as many groups as you like, but each group must contain at least two planets. A single planet cannot be in more than one group. For each group, describe the characteristics which separate the planets in the group from those in other groups. Don’t create separate groupings for each graph . Just try to organize all the bodies you graphed into one set of groups that make sense based on all your graphs. JOVIAN PLANETS. – Jovian planets all have high masses and large radiuses. They also have the most moons and the lowest densities. These planets are: Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter TERRESTRIAL PLANETS – Terrestrial Planets all have high densities and lower distances from the sun. They also have a medium radius and very similar masses. These planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars DWARF PLANETS – Dwarf planets all have the lowest masses and smallest radiuses. They also have medium densities and the majority of them are far from the sun. These planets are: Ceres, Pluto, Makemake and Eris 2. (10) Often, elementary school science classes learn that there are two types of planets – gas giants and rocky planets. Are there any planets that don’t seem to fit too well within either of these groups? If so, explain why. Do the gas giants all fit together, or is a further division evident? Where do Eris, Makemake, Pluto and Ceres fit in? All the planets seem to fit very well with the two types of planets presented in elementary school. There are no obvious outliers. Uranus and Neptune are distinctly different from Jupiter and Saturn, with one difference being that they are colder and icier than the rest of the Gas Giants. Eris, Makemake, Pluto and Ceres are outliers because they do not necessarily classify as gas giants or rocky planets. This is why they are dubbed “Dwarf Planets”. 3. (6) Are there some patterns that are the same for all, or nearly all of the planets, regardless of what group they’re in? Describe any such patterns. Based on the characteristics that we had just observed, there is no pattern that connects all the planets. If I had to describe some pattern between all the planets, it would be that most planets have at least one moon and most planets have an axial tilt greater than 0.

4. (6) What bodies exist in the Solar System that are not included on your graphs? Do these bodies show any interesting patterns? (Look at Cosmic Context Figure 7.1 in your text for some clues on this point. Moons are not included, but that’s not really what we’re after here.) One specific body that exists in the solar system that is not include in my graphs is the dwarf planet Haumea. Another specific body that exists in the solar system that is not included in my graphs is Halley’s comet. An interesting pattern of Halley’s comet is that it moves in retrograde motion, which means its orbit moves opposite from every other planet, other than Venus, in our solar system. An interesting pattern of Haumea is that is has the fastest rotation period, of about 3.92 hours, in the solar system which may be the cause for its unusually elongated shape, which is similar to an egg. 5. (4) Are there any characteristics of individual planets that stand out as being odd or out of place? If so, which features? The first out of place feature of an individual planet is that Jupiter has the highest mass, which is far greater than any other planet in our solar system. The second out of place feature of an individual planet is that Mercury has the highest density, which is far greater than any other planet in our solar system. Another out of place feature of an individual planet is that Eris has the highest distance in AU, means that it is the farthest planet from the sun in our solar system by at least a value of 50 AU. Overall, most planets in our solar system are fairly unique, but the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Eris have obvious characteristics that are out of place relative to the rest of our solar system.

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