AST101H1 Lecture : Chapter 7

• School: UTSG
• Department: Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Course: AST101H1
• Professor: Clifford Orwin

Document Summary

Comparative planetology: the study of the solar system by examining and understanding the similarities and differences among worlds. The essence of comparative planetology lies in idea that we can learn more about individual world, including earth, by studying it in context of other objects in solar system. Swarms of asteroids and comets populate the solar system in the asteroid belt [btw. Mars and jupiter], the kuiper belt [beyond neptune"s orbit], and oort cloud [spherical region in distant solar system encompassing kuiper and asteroid belts. ] (4) several notable exceptions to the above stated trends stand out ex. Composition (by mass): 98% hydrogen and helium, 2% other elements. More than a thousand times as massive as everything else in solar system combined. 5800k, or 5500 degrees celsius) hydrogen and helium gas. Surface is speckled with sunspots that are slightly cooler than their surroundings. Fusion transforms 600 million tons of sun"s hydrogen into 596 million tons o" he.