AS101 Lecture Notes - Ecliptic, Kuiper Belt, Planetesimal
Document Summary
Comparative planetology seeking to understand the similarities and the differences between and among the planets. Solar nebular theory main theory of formation of our solar system. Imagines that some cataclysmic event initiated the collapse of a nebula that caused material falling inward to some centre converting gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy making the centre, or core, hotter and hotter. Terrestrial planets four inner planets - mercury, venus, earth and mars. Small, dense, rocky worlds with little or no atmosphere. Jovian planets four outer planets jupiter, saturn, uranus, and neptune. Large, low-density worlds with thick atmospheres and liquid or ice interiors. Planetary characteristics: all planets orbit the sun in the same direction counter clockwise (ccw)(as viewed from above. North pole) all orbits lie in nearly the same plane almost all planets have nearly circular orbits (mercury is a minor exception) Most planets rotate ccw (venus and uranus are exceptions) including the sun.
