ASTR 103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Dwarf Planet, Gas Giant, Oort Cloud
24 Oct 2018
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The sun: over (cid:891)(cid:891). (cid:890)% of solar system"s mass, made mostly of h/he gas (plasma, converts 4 million tons of mass into energy each second. Mercury: made of metal and rock with a large iron core, desolate, cratered, very hot and very cold: 700 k (day), 100 k (night) Venus: nearly identical in size to earth, surface is hidden by clouds, extreme greenhouse effect, even hotter than mercury 743 k day and night. Earth: an oasis of life, the only surface liquid water in the solar system, a surprisingly large moon. Mars: looks almost earth-like, giant volcanoes, a huge canyon, polar caps, water flowed in the distant past. Jupiter: much farther from sun than inner planets, mostly h/he, no solid surface, 300 times more massive than earth, many moons and rings. Io: active volcanoes all over, europa, possible subsurface ocean, ganymede, callisto.
