Study Points • List the Order of the Planets

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Study Points • List the Order of the Planets Study Points • List the order of the planets. List the terrestrial planets. List the Jovian planets. • Describe one method that astronomers use to measure the age of a surface of a planet or moon. • What is the age of our solar system? • Know the diameter size comparison of our Moon to Earth, Earth to Jupiter, Jupiter to Sun, and Earth to Sun. About how many of each object fit across the diameter of the compared object? • List four similarities among the terrestrial planets. • List four similarities among the Jovian planets. • List four ways Jovian planets differ from terrestrial planets. Tour of the Planets Terrestrial vs Jovian planets Order of Planets* • My • Mercury • Very • Venus • Excellent • Earth • Mother • Mars • Just • Jupiter • Showed • Saturn • Us • Uranus • Neptune • Neptune Planet Rotation Period Revolution Period Mercury 59 days 88 days Venus 243 days 225 days Earth 1 day/24 hours 365.26 days Mars ~1 day/24.6 hours ~2 years Jupiter 0.41 days/10 hours 12 years Saturn 0.45 days/11 hours 29 years Uranus 0.72 days/17 hours 84 years Neptune 0.67 days/16 hours 165 years Pluto 6 days 249 years You do not need to know these numbers. They are only provided for comparisons. 4 Inner, Terrestrial Planets* Earth-like* Mercury Venus Earth Mars Which planet looks like our Moon? Mercury • Closest to Sun • Rocky • Many craters • Very hot • Water ice http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mercury Mercury Mercury Moon Earth Crater counts – Give age of surface* Few craters Many craters (Mercury) (Io – Jupiter Moon) → old surface → young surface Sun & Solar System are about 4.6 Billion Years Old (Know about 5 Billions Years*) Note: Some objects are younger Water ice on Mercury http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/multimedia/PressConf20121126_2.html Which planet is the hottest? Venus • 2nd from Sun • Hottest planet – About 900oF • Greenhouse Effect – Thick clouds – CO2 & N2 atmosphere • Clockwise Rotation NASA and http://www.astrosurf.com/nunes/explor/explor_m10.htm Venus in different wavelengths Visible UV From Russian Venera spacecraft Visible https://www.space.com/18551-venera-13.html Watch: Future possible NASA mission to Venus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jfH7kK61OU Radio Radio From NASA Magellan spacecraft http://solarsystem.nasa.gov//planets/profile.cfm?Object=Venus Which is the only planet known to support life? Earth • 3rd from Sun • Ocean planet – More than half covered by water • Cloudy atmosphere – Mostly N2 & O2 • Moons: 1 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov//planets/ How many people have walked on the Moon? 12 Earth’s Moon: The Moon • Many craters • Thin atmosphere • 1969-1972 astronauts landed on the moon • 12 men walked on the moon over 6 Apollo missions http://solarsystem.nasa.gov//planets/ Earth’s Moon Chinese Yutu 1 & 2 Rovers 2013-16 & 2019-20 http://www.space.com/33681-china-moon-rover-yutu-dead.html Water Ice at the Moon’s Poles (shown in blue) NASA’s Artemis Program & Returning to the Moon 2021-2024+ • Watch: NASA’s We are going (3:47) • For further viewing: NASA’s How we are going to the Moon (5:31) Which is the only planet to have a rover on its surface? Mars • 4th from Sun • Thin atmosphere – CO2, N2, Ar • Colder, rocky • Water ice • Largest volcano • 4 US Rovers • Moons: 2 - Phobos & Deimos http://solarsystem.nasa.gov//planets/ Mars ½ Earth’s size Mars Mariner Valley Mars Olympus Mons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/ http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ 23/Olympus_mons_vergleich_en.svg atlas/olympus-mons.html Mars Dust Storms Watch video: 568 (left) • http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~lemmon/mer_dd.html Mars Dust Art http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091021.html Mars Northern Hemisphere: Flat Lowlands (Ancient Ocean?) Southern Hemisphere: Rocky Highlands Mars Phoenix Lander 2008 Water Ice New Discovery – Ice at the Equator https://www.universetoday.com/137356/old -mars-odyssey-data-indicates-presence- ice-around-martian-equator/ Mars Opportunity Rover (2004) Curiosity Rover (2012) Watch: 7 Minutes of Terror (Amazing landing of Mars Curiosity) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1090 Opportunity last heard from on June 2018 NASA Mars Designed for 90 days and lasted 15 years! Rover Mars Insight Lander (2018) July 2020 launch Insight Detected Earthquakes Drilling & Sample Return Plans Humans to Mars → 2032 http://www.mars-one.com/ Watch: http://www.spacex.com/mars SpaceX – lands with propulsion NASA Space Launch System http://www.nasa.g ov/exploration/sys tems/sls/ Watch: Launch & Landing by SpaceX Nov. 2019 UAE plan for 600,000 people on Mars by 2117 (satellite video) Watch:http://www.universetoday.com/133533/united-arab- emirates-plan-colonize-mars-600000-people-100-years/ Lockheed Martin & NASA Plans 4 Outer, Jovian Planets* Gas Giants, Jupiter-Like* Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune What is the largest of our planets? Jupiter • 5th from Sun • Mostly gas & liquid • Faint rings • Huge magnetic field • Moons: 79+ – All rock & ice – Io, Europa, – Ganymede, Callisto ~10 Jupiters or ~100 Earths fit across the Sun* ~10 Earths fit across Jupiter & ~4 Moons fit across Earth* Jupiter – Great Red Spot Cloud rotation (1970’s) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHwkdcppsuo Hubble 4K View (2015) http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/hubble-s- planetary-portrait-captures-new-changes-in-jupiter-s-great-red-spot Watch Beautiful Jupiter (2017) http://www.universetoday.com/133333/91- astronomers-combine-1000-images-one-amazing-journey-jupiter/ (scroll down for video) http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/im agegallery/image_feature_539.html Jupiter’s Moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto (4 Galilean Moons) Ganymede Largest moon Jupiter – Io Most volcanic activity in solar system Sulfur Plumes http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/gallery/index.cfm http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970818.html Jupiter – Io Above: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nh-5frame.gif https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/io-volcanoes-displaced.html Jupiter – Europa Carbon enriched water oceans below ice Thin oxygen atmosphere http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960806.html http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980102.html http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/images/topTen01.html Jupiter Has Rings! • http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/images/topTen10.html Jupiter – Huge Magnetic Field • http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/jupiter/magnetic.html Saturn • 6th from Sun • 2nd largest • Mostly gas • Rings of rock & ice • Moons: 82+ – Titan, Phoebe Watch at Home: video of new moons of Saturn https://youtu.be/0dNH-odX4qE (3:59) Saturn • Summary of Cassini Spacecraft – Ended Sep. 15, 2017 – Watch: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand- finale/overview/ • Watch this video at home – http://io9.com/5777938/incredible-film-of-a- trip-to-saturn-made-entirely-from- photographs-taken-by-the-cassini-spacecraft Saturn – Orbiting moons and rings (play video) http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/archive/PIA06084.gif Saturn moon changing rings Saturn Moon – Hyperion http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051003.html Saturn Moon – Titan Cassini Huygens Probe Watch NASA video 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv _XWHnOZpKPaDTVy36z0U8GxoiIkZa&v= msiLWxDayuA Artist Creation http://www.spaceanswers.com/solar-system/five-mind-blowing-facts-about-saturns-moon-titan/ http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100420.html http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130729.html Saturn Moon – Enceladus Water Ice Plumes http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120208.html Uranus • 7th from Sun • Atmosphere • Ice Giant – Water, Methane, Ammonia • Faint rings • Tilted on side • Clockwise rotation • Moons: 27 Large magnetic Uranus field that is Magnetic tilted to North Pole rotation axis Rotational North Pole Rings Uranus Moon – Miranda Neptune • 8th from Sun • Atmosphere • Ice Giant • Cold, stormy • Windiest • Faint rings • Moons: 13 Neptune Rings From Voyager 2 https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/614/rings-of-neptune/ Neptune Moon - Triton Comparative Environments Terrestrial “Earth-like” Jovian “Jupiter-like” Think “Saturn-like” Terrestrial* Jovian* Just looking… Just looking… Small Large Close to Sun (warm) Far from Sun (cold) Rings Big storms, turbulent atmosphere, belt rotation **KNOW THIS** Terrestrial* Jovian* “Earth-like” “Jupiter-like” • Small, less massive • Large, massive • Close to Sun (warm) • Far from Sun (cold) • Rings • Big storms, turbulent atmosphere, belt rotation • Heavy elements • Hydrogen rich (light elements) • High density • Low density • Solid Surfaces • Gas and Liquid • Cratered • Few moons • Many moons • Thin atmospheres • Thick atmospheres • Weak magnetic fields • Large magnetic fields (some tilted) • Slow rotation • Fast rotation • Fast revolution (Kepler) • Slower revolution Homework & Observations • Continue answering STUDY POINTS (flashcards) • D2L Quizzes 5 & 6 open. Quizzes 5-8 for Test 2 • Observations: ❑ Moon Phases Due Thur. Mar. 5 (10 points) Observe 4 phases & record in table ❑ Stargazing (SG) Due May 12 (20 points) Go stargazing & write report ❑ Telescope (Tel) Due May 12 (20 points) Look through a telescope ❑ Moon Craters (MC) Due May 12 (10 points) Look at moon craters • Lab this week on Dimensional Analysis & Significant Figures • Come to your registered lab time this week. Don’t miss lab. Helpful for the Lab Quiz in 2 weeks. • Tutor Oskar in T3200 Mon, Wed, Fri – class website has hours • Test 2, Tuesday, March 24 • 40 multiple choice questions • 20 points for Planets Writing Assignment – print & bring to test • Study by answering Study Points and doing D2L quizzes • Happy Spring Break next week (no classes) – work on your writing assignment.
Recommended publications
  • 7 Planetary Rings Matthew S
    7 Planetary Rings Matthew S. Tiscareno Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA 1Introduction..................................................... 311 1.1 Orbital Elements ..................................................... 312 1.2 Roche Limits, Roche Lobes, and Roche Critical Densities .................... 313 1.3 Optical Depth ....................................................... 316 2 Rings by Planetary System .......................................... 317 2.1 The Rings of Jupiter ................................................... 317 2.2 The Rings of Saturn ................................................... 319 2.3 The Rings of Uranus .................................................. 320 2.4 The Rings of Neptune ................................................. 323 2.5 Unconfirmed Ring Systems ............................................. 324 2.5.1 Mars ............................................................... 324 2.5.2 Pluto ............................................................... 325 2.5.3 Rhea and Other Moons ................................................ 325 2.5.4 Exoplanets ........................................................... 327 3RingsbyType.................................................... 328 3.1 Dense Broad Disks ................................................... 328 3.1.1 Spiral Waves ......................................................... 329 3.1.2 Gap Edges and Moonlet Wakes .......................................... 333 3.1.3 Radial Structure .....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 12 the Rings and Moons of the Outer Planets October 15, 2018
    Lecture 12 The Rings and Moons of the Outer Planets October 15, 2018 1 2 Rings of Outer Planets • Rings are not solid but are fragments of material – Saturn: Ice and ice-coated rock (bright) – Others: Dusty ice, rocky material (dark) • Very thin – Saturn rings ~0.05 km thick! • Rings can have many gaps due to small satellites – Saturn and Uranus 3 Rings of Jupiter •Very thin and made of small, dark particles. 4 Rings of Saturn Flash movie 5 Saturn’s Rings Ring structure in natural color, photographed by Cassini probe July 23, 2004. Click on image for Astronomy Picture of the Day site, or here for JPL information 6 Saturn’s Rings (false color) Photo taken by Voyager 2 on August 17, 1981. Click on image for more information 7 Saturn’s Ring System (Cassini) Mars Mimas Janus Venus Prometheus A B C D F G E Pandora Enceladus Epimetheus Earth Tethys Moon Wikipedia image with annotations On July 19, 2013, in an event celebrated the world over, NASA's Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn's shadow and turned to image the planet, seven of its moons, its inner rings -- and, in the background, our home planet, Earth. 8 Newly Discovered Saturnian Ring • Nearly invisible ring in the plane of the moon Pheobe’s orbit, tilted 27° from Saturn’s equatorial plane • Discovered by the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope and announced 6 October 2009 • Extends from 128 to 207 Saturnian radii and is about 40 radii thick • Contributes to the two-tone coloring of the moon Iapetus • Click here for more info about the artist’s rendering 9 Rings of Uranus • Uranus -- rings discovered through stellar occultation – Rings block light from star as Uranus moves by.
    [Show full text]
  • The Planetary Report
    .The A Publication of THE PLANETA SOCIETY ¢ 0 0 o o • 0-e Board of Directors . FROM THE CARL SAGAN BRUCE MURRAY EDITOR President Vice President Director, Laboratory for Planetary Professor of Planetary Studies, Cornel! University Science, California Institute of Technology LOUIS FRIEDMAN Executive Director JOSEPH RYAN O'Melveny & Myers MICHAEL COLLINS Apollo 11 astronaut STEVEN SPIELBERG director and producer THOMAS O. PAINE . former Administrator. NASA; HENRY J. TANNER Chairman, National financial consultant Commission on Space Board of Advisors DIANE ACKERMAN JOHN M. LOGSDON poet Bnd author g:;~O:'~f:~~;g~cr;~7:~~~~' t had been like reading a wonderful ager 2 in August 1981. There they dis­ JSAAC ASIMOV author HANS MARK I adventure book, one you never want to covered that the famous rings are actual­ Chancellor, RICHARD BERENDZEN University of Texas System end. At the close of the last chapter, you ly made of thousands of thin, tenuous educator and astrophysicist JAMES MICHENER feel a gentle melancholy because you can ringlets. The images they returned to JACQUES BLAMONT author Chief Scientist. Centre never relive your first experience of Earth also revealed the "spokes" of National d'Etudes Spatia/es. MARVIN MINSKY France Toshiba Professor of Media Arts meeting these characters and sharing charged particles and the "kinks" that and Sciences, Massachusetts RAY BRADBURY Institute of Technology poet and author their story. complicated our understanding of plane­ ARTHUR C. CLARKE PHILIP MORRISON That was how I felt in 1989 at the end tary rings. The Voyagers also investigated author Institute Professor, Massachusetts Itystitute of Technology of Voyager's last encounter.
    [Show full text]
  • Planetary Rings ______
    Astronomy Cast Episode 195 Planetary Rings ________________________________________________________________________ Fraser: Astronomy Cast Episode 195 for Monday June 21, 2010, Planetary Rings. Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts-based journey through the cosmos, where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know. My name is Fraser Cain, I'm the publisher of Universe Today, and with me is Dr. Pamela Gay, a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Hi, Pamela, how are you doing? Pamela: I’m doing well, and thank you so much for being a morning person! This is one of those times that we’re cramming recording in between all my travel and your kids’ summer breaks. Fraser: Yeah, absolutely. I think I woke up 4 minutes ago... but I’m good to go! Ok, so Saturn is best known for its rings. This huge and beautiful planetary ring system is easy to spot in even the smallest backyard telescope. So you can imagine their surprise when Galileo first noticed them. But astronomers have gone on to find rings around the other gas giant worlds in the solar system. The differences are surprising. Alright, so let’s start and tell the story of Saturn’s rings because I think it’s quite funny. Pamela: Well, poor Galileo... he has a telescope... he’s using it to look up rather than looking for enemy vessels coming over the horizon, which was it’s original marketed purpose. When he looks at Saturn... because his telescope just isn’t that good... it kind of looks like a very symmetric teapot—a big circle in the center with two handles off to the side.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific Goals for Exploration of the Outer Solar System
    Scientific Goals for Exploration of the Outer Solar System Explore Outer Planet Systems and Ocean Worlds OPAG Report v. 28 August 2019 This is a living document and new revisions will be posted with the appropriate date stamp. Outline August 2019 Letter of Response to Dr. Glaze Request for Pre Decadal Big Questions............i, ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 3 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 The Outer Solar System in Vision and Voyages ................................................................ 5 1.2 New Emphasis since the Decadal Survey: Exploring Ocean Worlds .................................. 8 2.0 GIANT PLANETS ............................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Jupiter and Saturn ........................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Uranus and Neptune ……………………………………………………………………… 15 3.0 GIANT PLANET MAGNETOSPHERES ........................................................................... 18 4.0 GIANT PLANET RING SYSTEMS ................................................................................... 22 5.0 GIANT PLANETS’ MOONS ............................................................................................. 25 5.1 Pristine/Primitive (Less Evolved?) Satellites’ Objectives ...............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Planets Solar System Paper Contents
    Planets Solar system paper Contents 1 Jupiter 1 1.1 Structure ............................................... 1 1.1.1 Composition ......................................... 1 1.1.2 Mass and size ......................................... 2 1.1.3 Internal structure ....................................... 2 1.2 Atmosphere .............................................. 3 1.2.1 Cloud layers ......................................... 3 1.2.2 Great Red Spot and other vortices .............................. 4 1.3 Planetary rings ............................................ 4 1.4 Magnetosphere ............................................ 5 1.5 Orbit and rotation ........................................... 5 1.6 Observation .............................................. 6 1.7 Research and exploration ....................................... 6 1.7.1 Pre-telescopic research .................................... 6 1.7.2 Ground-based telescope research ............................... 7 1.7.3 Radiotelescope research ................................... 8 1.7.4 Exploration with space probes ................................ 8 1.8 Moons ................................................. 9 1.8.1 Galilean moons ........................................ 10 1.8.2 Classification of moons .................................... 10 1.9 Interaction with the Solar System ................................... 10 1.9.1 Impacts ............................................ 11 1.10 Possibility of life ........................................... 12 1.11 Mythology .............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Neptune's Rings, 1983-1989 Ground-Based Stellar Occultation Observations
    I('ARUS89, 220-243 (1991) Neptune's Rings, 1983-1989 Ground-Based Stellar Occultation Observations I. Ring-like Arc Detections BRUNO SICARDY,*"{" FRAN~OISE ROQUES,* AND ANDR[ BRAHIC *+ *University" l'aris VII. 2 iJhuc Ju.vsicu. 75005 t'ari~, and ;Oh.scrt,atoirc dc I'a/'i~. 9219.5 Mcmlon ('dde.l Principal. I"ram e Received Ma}, 14, 1991): revised September 24. 1990 by our group between 1983 and 1989. Two of these cuts A systematic campaign of stellar occultation observations by led to the discovery of Neptune's arcs, and are amdyzed Neptune was conducted by our group between 1983 and 1989, and in this paper using the Neptune pole position recently led to the initial di~overy of Neptune's rings. These ob~rvations determined by the Voyager 2 spacecraft observations provide 24 independent scans across Neptune's equatorial plane. (Smith et a/. 1989). A more complete analysis of all our Two of them give evidence for ring-like arcs around the planet. observations and the estimate of an upper limit for faint The two detections, made respectively on July 22, 1984 and August 20, 1985, are the only ones ever observed simultaneously by two material around Neptune will be given in a subsequent or more telescopes. The corresponding lightcurves are analyzed paper (paper 11). Stellar occultations by the Neptunian using Neptune's pole position recently determined after the Voy- rings give very different results when compared to stellar ager 2 spacecraft observations. Assuming that the arcs lie in Nep- occultations by Uranus' rings. In the latter case.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 10 the Outer Worlds…
    The Outer Worlds… • Beyond the orbit of Mars, the low temperatures of the solar nebula allowed condensing bodies there to capture hydrogen and hydrogen-rich gases • This, together with the vast amount of material in the outer Solar System, lead to the creation of the four large Jovian planets – Chapter 10 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune • Composed mainly of gaseous and liquid hydrogen and its compounds, these planets lack solid surfaces and may have cores The Outer Planets of molten rock • The dwarf planets Pluto and Eris are exceptions to these rules resembling the ice and rock makeup of the giant planets’ larger moons • The moons of the outer planets form families of miniature solar systems, although individually each moon presents a unique combination of size, structure, and appearance 1 2 Jupiter Jupiter • Jupiter is the largest • Clouds appear to be planet both in diameter particles of water, ice, and and mass: more than10× ammonia compounds Earth’s diameter and • Bright colors of clouds may 300× the mass! come from complex • Dense, richly colored organic molecules or parallel cloud bands compounds of sulfur or cloak the planet phosphorous • Atmosphere is mainly • Jupiter rotates once about H, He, CH , NH , and every 10 hours with this 4 3 fast rotation leading to a H2O 3 significant equatorial bulge 4 Jupiter’s Interior Jupiter’s Interior • Jupiter, with a core temperature of about 30,000 K, emits more energy than it receives – Possibly due to heat left • Jupiter’s average density is 1.3 • Deeper still, liquid hydrogen over
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 14: the Giant Planets, Their Moons, and Their Rings
    Lecture 14: The Giant Planets, their Moons, and their Rings Jupiter’s Great Red Spot! Claire Max May 22, 2014 Astro 18: Planets and Planetary Systems UC Santa Cruz Class Projects • Today: Each group send me your lists of questions • Today: Each person send me a quick email about how things are going in your group Class Projects, continued • What should your reference sources be? • At least the following, for each question: 1." Two authoritative websites to get started, frame the issues for you to work on, help identify other references. Use to get the “big picture”. 2." Two journal articles on your topic. Look over four or five (read abstracts, skim contents, take notes) before choosing the two you are going to use. Search at http://adsabs.harvard.edu/default_service.html 3." One book or monograph (need not be the whole thing, but use the relevant sections). Use Science Library or UCSC Library website to search. The Giant Planets in our own Solar System • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (and Earth for comparison)! Outline of lecture • Jovian Planets: – Properties – Formation – Interior structure – Atmospheres • Moons of the Giant Planets Jovian (or Giant) Planet Properties • Compared to the terrestrial planets, the Jovians: – are much larger & more massive – are composed mostly of Hydrogen, Helium, & Hydrogen compounds – have no solid surfaces – rotate more quickly – have slightly “squashed” shapes – have ring systems – have many moons Jupiter – 318 x Earth Saturn 95x Earth Uranus 14x Earth Neptune 17x Earth Why are the Jovian Planets so Different? • They formed beyond the frost line to form large, icy planetesimals which were massive enough to… – Capture H/He far from Sun to form gaseous planets.
    [Show full text]
  • A Vision for Ice Giant Exploration
    Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop 2017 (LPI Contrib. No. 1989) 8115.pdf A VISION FOR ICE GIANT EXPLORATION. M. Hofstadter1, A. Simon2, S. Atreya3, D. Banfield4, J. Fortney5, A. Hayes4, M. Hedman6, G. Hospodarsky7, K. Mandt8, A. Masters9, M. Showalter10, K. Soderlund11, D. Turrini12, E. P. Turtle13, J. Elliott1, and K. Reh1, 1Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech (4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 [email protected]), 2Goddard Space Flight Center, 3University of Michigan Ann Arbor, 4Cornell University, 5University of California Santa Cruz, 6University of Idaho, 7University of Iowa, 8Southwest Research Institute, 9Imperial College London UK, 10SETI Institute, 11University of Texas Austin, 12Institue for Space Astro- physics and Planetology Rome Italy, 13Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. From Voyager to a Vision for 2050: NASA and The ice giants are distinctly different planets from ESA have just completed a study of candidate missions the more familiar gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and to Uranus and Neptune, the so-called ice giant planets. the terrestrial planets. The terrestrial planets are, by It is a "Pre-Decadal Survey Study," meant to inform mass, almost entirely made up of "rock", the most re- the next Planetary Science Decadal Survey about op- fractory elements. Conversely, the gas giants are com- portunities for missions launching in the 2020's and posed almost entirely of the most volatile elements, early 2030's. There have been no space flight missions hydrogen and helium. Uranus and Neptune contain to the ice giants since the Voyager 2 flybys of Uranus some rock and gas, but about 2/3 of their mass is spe- in 1986 and Neptune in 1989.
    [Show full text]
  • Solar System Tight
    Images courtesy of: NASA Probe routes courtesy of: NASA and National Geographic Information courtesy of: Wikipedia, NASA, NSSDC, This infographic focuses on the exploration of our UNISEC, ISAS, BMDO, ESA, SAS, CSA, ASI, DLR, RKA, Solar System through the lens of space exploration ISRO, JAXA, HGS, BWF that took place since its inception sixty years ago. The routes of eight space probes are tracked and select- ed images from its vantage points are shown to pro- vide you with a view of our solar system through the MOON PHOBOS DEIMOS IO EUROPA CALLISTO GANYMEDE MIMAS ENCELADUS TETHYS DIONE RHEA TITAN HYPERION IAPETUS lens of the space probes. MIRANDA ARIEL UMBRIEL TITANIA OBERON NAIAD THALASSA DESPINA GALATEA LARISSA PROTEUS TRITON NEREID HALIMEDE SAO LAOMEDEIA PSAMANTHE NESO DEIMOS This segment shows the FAILED NASA CSA DLR ISAS BMDO amount of space probes released from the different SUCCESS USSR SAS RKA UNISEC HGS space stations on earth. ESA ASI ISRO JAXA BWF The lines represent the route of the space probes as they SOLAR PROBES MARINER 10 GALILEO VOYAGER 1 PIONER 1O PIONEER 11 make their way to explore our solar system. MARS PROBES CASSINI VOYAGER 2 PIONEER 11 NEW HORIZONS PIONEER 11 1985 - 02 1990 INSTRUMENT POWER SHARING PASSED THE ORBIT OF PLUTO BEGAN DUE TO DECLINING GENERATOR POWER OUTPUT 1995 - 09 - 30 PIONEER 11 ROUTINE DAILY MISSION OPERATIONS STOPPED. 1995 - 11 - 30 OPERATOR: NASA/ARC LAST SIGNAL RECIEVED SOLAR PROBES MERCURY PROBES VENUS PROBES LUNAR PROBES MARS PROBES ASTEROID PROBES JUPITER PROBES SATURN PROBES URANUS PROBES COSPAR ID: 1973-019A/SATCAT NO: 6421 NEPTUNE PROBES PLUTO PROBES 04/06/1973, 02:11:00 UTC - LAUNCH DATE VOYAGER 2 PIONEER 10 12/03/1974 - CLOSESTER APPROACH TO JUPITER PIONEER 5 MARINER 10 SPUTNIK 7 LUNA E-1 NO.
    [Show full text]
  • Ice Giant System Exploration in the 2020S: an Introduction Rsta.Royalsocietypublishing.Org L.N
    Ice Giant System Exploration in the 2020s: An Introduction rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org L.N. Fletcher1, A.A. Simon2, M.D. Hofstadter3, C.S. Arridge4, I. Cohen5, A. Research Masters6, K. Mandt5, and A. Coustenis7 1School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Article submitted to journal Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom. 2NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Subject Areas: 20771, USA. Planetary Science 3Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Keywords: Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, Ice Giants: Uranus & Neptune, 91109, USA. Planets and Satellites, Future 4 Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Missions Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK. 5Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Author for correspondence: Laurel, MD, USA. Leigh N. Fletcher 6The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, e-mail: leigh.fl[email protected] Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK. 7LESIA – Paris Observatory, CNRS, Paris Science Letters Research Univ., Univ. Paris-Diderot, Meudon, France. The international planetary science community met in London in January 2020, united in the goal of realising the first dedicated robotic mission to the distant Ice Giants, Uranus and Neptune, as the only major class of Solar System planet yet to be comprehensively explored. Ice-Giant-sized worlds appear to be a common outcome of the planet formation process, and pose unique and extreme tests of our understanding of exotic water-rich planetary interiors, dynamic and frigid atmospheres, complex magnetospheric configurations, geologically-rich icy satellites (both natural and captured), and delicate planetary rings. This article introduces a special issue on Ice Giant System exploration at the start of the 2020s.
    [Show full text]