AS101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Small Solar System Body, Oort Cloud, Kuiper Belt
Document Summary
Chapter 12: the origin of the solar system. Describes formulation of solar system from nebula cloud made from dust and gas. Sun, planets, moons, and asteroids formed around same time 4. 5 b years ago from nebula. Asteroid small, rocky world; most asteroids orbit between mars and jupiter in the asteroid belt. Comet one of the small, icy bodies that orbit the sun and produce tails of gas and dust when they approach the sun b/c it heats up so outgasses. Effect of solar radiation and solar wind. Comets leave trail of debris which leads to meteor showers on earth. Formed by material left over from formation of planets. The entire solar system was created by collapse of lots of cloud, gas, and dust. Terrestrial planets small, dense, rocky worlds with little or no atmosphere. Jovian planets large, low-density worlds with thick atmospheres and liquid or ice interiors.
