The document provides information about astronomy topics including: 1. The Sun and its layers, effects on Earth like warming the planet and controlling weather patterns. 2. Details about planets like Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and their atmospheres, temperatures, and other characteristics. 3. The Moon's formation, phases, impact on tides, and eclipses involving the Moon and Sun.

1. Ast r onomy
Kaitlyn McElveen

2. The Sun
• The Sun is a yellow medium-sized
and medium-hot star.
• It is composed of gases, mainly
hydrogen. It also contains helium
which is formed from two
hydrogens.
• The Sun has 5 layers which are:
the core, radiative zone,
convective zone, photosphere, and
chromosphere.
• It is the center of our solar system.
• The Sun was estimated to be born
4 billion years ago!
• Sun prominences are arks of gas
that spews out of the Sun.
• Sun spots are dark spots that are
cooler than the rest of the Sun.

3. The Sun CONT’D
The Sun CONT’D
• Spicules are jets of gas that leaps from the Sun.
• The Sun also has solar flares, which are magnetic storms that
releases tons of gas into its atmosphere.
• How the Sun formed:
1. Explosion occurs from the death of another star.
2. The energy from the explosion made hydrogen and
helium fuse together into a compact object.
3. The Sun was formed.
• Effects on Earth:
1. Important for life.
2. Warms the planet.
3. Controls weather patterns.
4. Harms the skin with UV radiation.
5. Serious cable interferences; knocks out power grids on
satellites

4. Mercury

5. Venus
• Venus is the second planet is nearly the size
of Earth, giving it the nickname “Earth‟s
Twin.”
• Venus has a thick atmosphere, composed of
mainly carbon dioxide.
• It is the hottest planet in our solar system.
• Venus rotates slowly. It takes 255 Earth days
to rotate once on its axis.
• Venus is highly volcanic.
• Venus takes 243 days to revolve the Sun.

6. Earth, Our Home

7. Seasons on Earth
• Seasons on Earth occur from its 23.5 degree
tilt.
• For example, when it is winter in the
Northern Hemisphere, it‟s summer in the
Southern Hemisphere
• The angle of sunlight hitting Earth
determines the season.

8. The Moon
• The moon was estimated to be formed 20-30 million
years after Earth.
• It is composed of similar materials of Earth‟s crust.
• It is about 2,168 miles in diameter.
• The moon is estimated to be about 238,000 miles
away from Earth and moves 38mm away from Earth
each year.
• It orbits Earth every 29.5 days.
• Gravity from the moon impacts Earth‟s tides.
• Since the Earth drags the moon along with it, it slows
its rotation down and the rate slows 15 milliseconds a
year.
• The moon has no atmosphere.
• It has many craters, revealing it‟s been hit numerous
times by meteoroids

9. The Moon Cont’d
• The moonlight is actually
sunlight reflecting off of the
moon‟s surface.
• The moon was thought to be
created from a piece of Earth
from a meteoroid.
• The moon‟s orbit is tilted.
• Another theory, the most
accepted theory, was that a
dwarf planet named Thea
collided with Earth, destroying
Thea. Then, parts of the
collision got caught up in
Earth‟s orbit, creating what is
now our moon.

10. Phases of the Moon
• New moon: phase in which you see no part of the moon.
• Waxing crescent: ¼ of the moon is visible; it is gradually increasing
in visibility
• First Quarter (or half moon): ½ of the moon is visible, first half
moon throughout phases
• Waxing gibbous: ¾ of the moon is visible
• Full moon: whole moon is visible
• Waning gibbous: ¾ of the moon is visible; begins to decrease
• Third Quarter: ½ of the moon is visible; still decreasing
• Waning crescent: ¼ of the moon is visible
• New moon: completely dark and phases begin all over again
• You do not see all the phases of the moon at the same time. You:
1. Never see a crescent moon at midnight.
2. Never see last quarter moon at sunset.
3. Never see a full moon during the day.

11. Tides
• The moon controls the tides on Earth.
• There are two high and low tides in a
single day.
• There are two different types of tides
during a month; Neap tide and Spring
tide.
• Neap tide occurs during First and Third
Quarter.
• Spring tide occurs during Full and New
Moon.

12. Lunar and Solar Eclipses
• Solar eclipses occur when the moon is between the Earth and
Sun.
• Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth is between the moon and
Sun.
• Each can be classified in three ways; Partial eclipse, total
eclipse, and annular eclipse.
• Partial eclipse: a portion of it is blocked
• Total eclipse: blocks it entirely
• Annular eclipse: furthest point in orbit
• Solar eclipses are uncommon, but lunar eclipses happen more
often.
• The phases of an eclipse, in order, are First Contact, Second
Contact, Bailey‟s Beads, Diamond Ring, Corona, Totality, and
the Ending Contacts.

13. Lunar and Solar Eclipses Cont’d
• During lunar eclipse,
the parts of it are: the
penumbra, umbra,
Sun, Moon, and Earth.

14. Mars
• Mars has a predominately carbon dioxide and an
atmosphere thinner than Earth‟s.
• Martian days last a little over 24 hours.
• It contains ice caps similar to those on Earth.
• Temperatures are cold ranging from a chilly -200°
to 80°F.
• Mars‟s surfaces is made up of huge canyon and
rusty colored ground.
• What causes its ground to be that color is the iron
oxide in it.
• Mars has no surface water.
• It‟s weather is erratic. Sometimes the winds blow
at tremendous speeds.

15. Asteroid Belt
• The Asteroid Belt is in between Mars and
Jupiter.
• It separates the inner and outer planets.
• It is not as densely packed as many
believe.
• Some scientists believe that the Asteroid
Belt‟s asteroids were once pieces of ancient
planets.

16. Jupiter
• Jupiter orbits the Sun every 12 years.
• Its atmosphere has raging winds.
• A well-known, over 300 year old storm, has raged
on Jupiter. People call this storm the Great Red
Spot.
• It takes up 71% of the solar system‟s planetary
mass.
• Jupiter has a metal core 4 times the size of Earth.
• It is a gas planet.
• It is the largest and fifth planet from the Sun.
• Jupiter is the first outer planet.
• Jupiter has thin rings.

17. Saturn
• Saturn is the sixth planet and is yet, another gas
planet.
• It is well-known, mainly by its thick band of rings.
• It is nearly 886 million miles away from the Sun.
• Saturn has a rocky core, but its atmosphere
consists of liquid metallic hydrogen.
• A rotation at the equator takes 10 hours and 14
minutes.
• It is a very hot planet and tends to send off more
energy than it even receives.
• Saturn has raging winds and a massive magnetic
field.

18. Uranus
• Uranus is the seventh planet in our solar system.
• It spins sideways. The most accepted theory of how
Uranus became tilted the way it did was that a
space object collided the planet and the impact
tilted the axis.
• The tilt is nearly 98 .
• For a full revolution around the Sun, it takes 84
years.
• Uranus has 13 rings, 2 of them are a bit farther
than the others.
• The moons revolve Uranus the opposite way of the
other moons in the solar system.
• Uranus is also considered a gas planet.

19. Neptune
• Neptune orbits the Sun every 165 years.
• Its days last 16 hours.
• Similar to Jupiter‟s Great Red Spot, it has a
raging storm called the Great Dark Spot.
• The atmosphere is mainly made up of
hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia.
• Neptune is 4 times the size of Earth.
• Strong winds that reach over 400 mph.
• Neptune is also another gas planet and ends
the outer planets.

20. Pluto and Other Dwarf Planets

21. Pluto and Other Dwarf Planets Cont’d
Dwarf Planets
• Because it didn‟t meet criteria 3, they
decided to call Pluto and other similar
space objects „plutoids‟ or „dwarf planets.‟
• Pluto, along with many others, lie in the
Kuiper Belt.
• The Kuiper Belt consists of many space
objects and is right at the breach of our
solar system.

22. Major Moons of Other Planets
• Mercury: No moons
• Venus: No moons
• Earth: 1 moon ( Luna )
• Mars: 2 moons ( Phobos and Deimos )
• Jupiter: 63 moons (IO, Europa, Ganymede, and
Callisto)
• Saturn: 61 moons ( Titan and Rhea )
• Uranus: 27 moons ( Cordelia and Ophehia )
• Neptune: 13 moons ( Triton )
• The list above contains how many moons they
have and the major moons of each.

23. Galaxies
• There are 3 types of galaxies;
spiral, elliptical, and irregular
galaxies.
• Elliptical galaxies a densely-
packed, oval- shaped galaxies
with little to no dust clouds.
• Spiral galaxies have bulging
nucleus‟ with at least two
arms. They contain great
clouds of gas and dust.
• Irregular galaxies are the least
common. The stars are spread
out unevenly and there is no
distinct shape.
• We live in the Milky Way
galaxy, which is a spiral
galaxy.

24. Asteroids, Meteoroids, and Comets

25. Gravitational forces, Mass and
Distance
• Mass is the amount of matter in
an object. Most objects mass is
measured in kilograms.
• Weight is the amount of gravity
pulling down the mass of an
object. This is typically measured
in newtons.
• Weight measurements differ on
different planets, depending on
the gravitational pull.
• Distance is the extent of two
objects and places. They‟re
usually measured in kilometers.
• 2 Rules of Universal Gravitation:
1. Gravitational force increases as
the mass of an object increases.
2. Gravitational force decreases as
the distance between two objects
increases.

26. Light Years
• Light years don‟t measure the speed light
travels. It is actually a measurement of
how far light can travel in a year, so it is
measuring distance.
• The stellar parallax is the difference of
direction of two widely spread objects to
an observer.

27. Space Technology
• One tool to study space are telescopes.
• There are two types of telescopes; the optical
telescopes and the radio telescopes.
• Optical telescopes can be divided into two groups;
refracting and reflecting.
• Refracting telescopes uses double convex lenses.
• Reflecting telescopes use concave mirrors. An example
of a reflecting telescope is the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Radio telescopes study radio waves that travel through
space and easily travel through atmospheres.

28. Space Technology Cont’d
• Another tool used to study space is satellites. These
tools are objects that can revolve around another
object.
• They are controlled by gravity.
• There are two types of satellites; communication
satellites and scientific satellites.
• Communication satellites provide signal for radio and
TV.
• Scientific satellites are used to monitor weather.
• Spectroscopes are also another type of space
technology.
• They usually use light waves to measure how hot and
the composition of an object.
• Spectroscopes are used for planets, galaxies, and stars.

29. Space Technology Cont’d Pt.2
• Lastly, a space technology are also space
probes.
• Space probes can travel to, on, and from
planets.
• They are used to gather information to send
back to Earth.
• Space probes can travel the farthest into the
solar system than any other space instrument
known.
• An example of a space probe is Pioneer 10,
which passed Jupiter.

30. Some Pretty Interesting Facts
• Did you know? Pluto is also the name of a pet of a popular
Disney character.
• Did you know? Pluto’s name was suggested by a young girl
who at the moment was studying Greek mythology. She
thought that the planet was dark and suggested the god of
the underworld, Pluto.
• Did you know? Our solar system is estimated to be 15
trillion kilometers wide.
• Did you know? Scientists believe our solar system formed
when a nebula flattened.
• Did you know? Scientists believe that Andromeda consumed
another galaxy. They think this from its double center.
Scientists think one day it’ll consume the Milky Way!
• Did you know? Venus was named after the Roman goddess
of love and beauty.