P Lanetary Postc Ards
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Suggested Discussion Questions for Planetary PostCards That star is hotter/colder than our Sun. How do you Planetary PostCards think that might affect its planets? Here is where one of the planets orbits that star. What would it be like to live on this planet (or one of its moons)? If Earth was orbiting that star, what might be different? Artist: Lynette Cook 55 Cancri System How big do you suppose this planet is compared to Abbreviations and terms used on PostCards the planets in our Solar System? RA = Right Ascension Do you think we have found all the planets in this Dec = Declination system? mag = apparent visual magnitude AU = Astronomical Unit, the distance between the Earth and Our fastest spacecraft travels 42 miles per second. It the Sun: 93 million miles or 150 million km would take 5,000 years for that spacecraft to go one Light year = The distance light travels in a year. Light travels at light year. How long would it take to reach this star 186,000 miles per second or 300,000 km per second. Light which is ____ light years away? from the Sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth. Jupiter mass = 1.9 x1027 kg. Jupiter is about 300 times more How different do you think Earth will be in that massive than Earth (approximate difference between a large period of time? bowling ball and a small marble) Temperature of the stars is in degrees Celsius Cepheus Draco Ursa Ursa Minor gamma Cephei 39' º mag: 3.2 mag: Dec: 77 Dec: RA: 23h 39m RA: Ursa MajorUrsa Star: Gamma Cephei Planet: Gamma Cephei b Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C Neptune 150 7000 Uranus < Sun 100 Saturn Star > 5000 Gamma Cephei b > 50 3000 Jupiter < 39 < Companion Star Sun 1000 Planet (year discovered): b (2002) The brightest star with a planet is Avg Distance From Star: 2 AU (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) a Binary star AND it’s a Red Giant! Orbit: Its small “companion star” gets as 2.5 years close as 12 AU in a 40-year orbit. Mass: 1.8 Jupiters © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes permitted. Cepheus Draco Ursa Ursa Minor iota Draconis 57' º RA: 15h 24m RA: 58 Dec: mag: 3.3 mag: Ursa MajorUrsa Star: Iota Draconis Planet: Iota Draconis b Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? Mars light years? °C 150 7000 Earth < Sun Mercury iota Draconis b > 100 < 100 Star > 5000 Venus 50 3000 Sun 1000 Planet (year discovered): b (2002) Avg Distance From Star: 1.3 AU (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) Same mass as the Sun but 13x the diameter! Orbit: 1.5 years Mass: 8.7 Jupiters(!) © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes educational permitted. for Copies 2004. Society© Astronomical of the Pacific Telrad Telrad View © 2001 Lynette Cook, all rights reserved. Copies permitted from this format only. this format from permitted Copies all rights reserved. Cook, © 2001 Lynette Eridanus Epsilon Eridani Epsilon Taurus 26.8' º Orion RA: 3h 33m RA: -9 Dec: mag: 3.7 mag: closer to the planet. Also shows a possible dust ring around the star. a possible dust ring around shows Also the planet. closer to View from a frozen moon of the “b” planet, with a smaller volcanic moon with a smaller volcanic planet, moon of the “b” View a frozen from Star: Epsilon Eridani Planet: Epsilon Eridani b and c Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C Epsilon Eridani c > 7000 150 < Sun Neptune Star > 5000 Uranus Jupiter 100 Pluto Earth Mars< Epsilon Eridani b 3000 Saturn 50 < 10 1000 Sun Planets (year discovered): b (2000) c (2002) Avg Distance From Star: 3.3 AU 40 AU This is the closest star to us with (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) known planets. Our fastest spacecraft would take 50,000 Orbit: 6.8 years 260 years years to reach this star system. Mass: 90% of Jupiter 10% of Jupiter © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes permitted. 24' º Telrad View Telrad RA: 1h 26m RA: 41 Dec: mag: 4.1 mag: © 1999 Lynette Cook, all rights reserved. Copies permitted from this format only. this format permitted from Copies all rights reserved. Cook, © 1999 Lynette Cassiopeia shown with a ring likeshown Saturn’s. Cepheus Perseus Upsilon Andromedae Upsilon Pegasus Shows all three known planets – the outer and most massive planet is known and most massive all three planets – the outer Shows Andromeda Star: Upsilon Andromedae Planet: Upsilon Andromedae b, c, and d Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C Mars 150 7000 Jupiter Earth Mercury Star > < Sun < Ups And b 100 5000 Venus < upsilon Andromedae c upsilon Andromedae d > 50 3000 < 44 1000 Planets (year discovered): b (1996) c (1999) d (1999) Sun Avg Distance From Star: 0.06 AU 0.83 AU 2.5 AU (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) This is the first star discovered Orbit: 4.6 Days 8 Months 3.5 Years with a confirmed multi-planet Mass: 71% Jupiter 2.1 Jupiters 4.6 Jupiters system. Planet b was discovered in 1996 and c & d in 1999. © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes permitted. Telrad View Telrad © 1996 Lynette Cook, all rights reserved. Copies permitted from this format only. this format from permitted Copies all rights reserved. Cook, © 1996 Lynette 27' º Tau Bootis Tau mag: 4.5 mag: RA: 13h 47m RA: 17 Dec: Boötes View of the Jupiter-like planet with its star in the background. Star: Tau Bootis Planet: Tau Bootis b Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C 150 7000 Earth Star > Mars Venus < Sun 100 5000 < Tau Bootis b Mercury 50 < 49 3000 1000 Sun Planet (year discovered): b (1996) This huge planet is orbiting so Avg Distance From Star: 0.05 AU close to its star and its star is so (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) hot, this may be the hottest Orbit: 3.3 days planet yet discovered! Mass: 3.9 Jupiters © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes permitted. 47' º RA: 13h 28m RA: 13 Dec: mag: 5 mag: Telrad View Telrad © 1996 Lynette Cook, all rights reserved. Copies permitted from this format only. this format permitted from Copies all rights reserved. Cook, © 1996 Lynette 70 Virginis Coma Coma Berenices and the other moon resembling Earth.and the other moon resembling Virgo Boötes The planet is shown with a ring and two moons. A small, gold moon A small, moons. with a ring and two planet is shown The Star: 70 Virginis Planet: 70 Virginis b Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C 7000 150 Earth Venus < Sun Mars Star > 100 5000 < 70 Virginis b < 72 50 3000 Mercury 1000 Sun This massive planet is orbiting a Planet (year discovered): b (1996) star cooler than the Sun. It may Avg Distance From Star: 0.4 AU have moons with liquid water. (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) The planet is shown on the front with a ring and two moons. One Orbit: 117 days moon is shown resembling Earth, Mass: 6.6 Jupiters having oceans and land. © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes permitted. Ursa MajorUrsa 25' º RA: 10h 59m RA: 40 Dec: mag: 5.1 mag: © 2001 Lynette Cook, all rights reserved. Copies permitted from this format only. this format permitted from Copies all rights reserved. Cook, © 2001 Lynette 47 Ursae Majoris 47 Ursae View from a possible moon of the outermost planet. Also shown: the shown: Also View a possibleplanet. moon of the outermost from confirmed inner planet and a possible “water world” close to the star. close to world” inner planet and a possible “water confirmed Telrad View Telrad Star: 47 Ursae Majoris Planets: 47 Ursae Majoris b and c Same Size as Our Sun Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C 150 7000 Saturn Ursae Maj c > < Sun Star > Jupiter 100 5000 Mars < Ursae Maj b 50 3000 < 43 1000 Sun Planets (year discovered): b (1996) c (2001) Two giant planets are orbiting in Avg Distance From Star: 2.1 AU 3.7 AU nearly circular orbits far from their (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) star. This system is somewhat like our Orbit: 3 years 7.1 years Solar System. Might rocky planets Mass: 2.4 Jupiters 76% of Jupiter like Earth exist closer to the star? © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004. Copies for educational purposes permitted. Telrad View Telrad © 1998 Lynette Cook, all rights reserved. Copies permitted from this format only. this format from permitted Copies all rights reserved. Cook, © 1998 Lynette Boötes 19' º Hercules Rho Coronae Borealis Rho Coronae mag: 5.4 mag: RA: 16h 01m RA: 33 Dec: Corona Borealis Corona Jupiter-like planet orbits its star at about the same distance as Mercury orbits the Sun. the orbits Mercury as distance same the about at star its orbits planet Jupiter-like Star: Rho Coronae Borealis Planet: Rho Coronae Borealis b Star’s System Compared to Our Solar System How far in How Hot? light years? °C 150 7000 Earth Venus Mars Star > < Sun 100 5000 < Rho Cor Bor b < 55 50 3000 Mercury 1000 Sun Planet (year discovered): b (1997) A belt of rocky/icy objects appears to Avg Distance From Star: 0.23 AU orbit this star at about the same (Earth from Sun = 1 AU) distance as the Kuiper Belt from our Orbit: 39.6 days Sun.