ASTRONOMY 3: Introductory Astronomy: The Solar System

Winter 2012

Origin of the most basic properties: planets revolve around the Sun in the same plane

Laplace's solar nebula hypothesis: co-planar motion

Astrophysical disks around Saturn, binary stars, and galaxies

Comparative studies of protostellar disks

properties:

comparable size, mass, temperature, as the solar nebula

disk life span is around a few Myr

condensation of ice and silicate grains

meteorites carry same fractional amount of elements as the Sun's atmosphere

Isotopic anomaly

daughter nuclei in chondrule meteorites

decay, half life, radiometric dating

range of isotopic chronometers

supernova precursor and different meteoritic byproduct

Putting together terrestrial planets:

planetesimals collision and coagulation

impact growth and craters

giant impacts, lunar formation

radiometric dating of terrestrial planet formation

Putting together gas giant planets:

sufficiently massive core to initiate gas accretion

preferred location for Jovian planet formation

heat transfer during accretion

environmental impact: multiple gas giants, perturbation on terrestrial planets and Kuiper Belt Objects

clearing up the solar system: disk depletion