...Mercury is a very rocky planet. It is heavily cratered and is scattered with boulders and pulverized dust. Mercury has been geologically dead for a long time according astronomers. The planet has no signs of any type of weather such as clouds, rivers, and dust storms. The planet of Mercury closely resembles Earth's Moon. Mercury's surface shows intercrater plains, basins, smooth plains, craters, and tectonic features. Many of the smooth plains located on Mercury seem to be a result from flood volcanism. Some other features of Mercury geology are vents that are a result from magma-carved valleys and "hollows" that are believed to be from collapsed magma chambers. There are mineral deposits and thrust faulting near the poles of Mercury. Overall, the planet of Mercury is a very barren planet with not much geology to study. The atmosphere of Venus is made up of different components. It is made up of 96.5% carbon dioxide and 3.5% of nitrogen. Though almost all of the atmosphere of Venus is made up of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, there are traces of carbon monoxide, argon, helium, and neon. The atmosphere...
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...the solar system. Large amounts of dust and gases accumulated over many years to form the planet. Venus is thought to be the result of a large collision. This is due to the fact that Venus rotates differently than the other planets in our solar system. Venus is commonly referred to as Earth's "sister planet" because of their similarity in size as well as a similar gravitational force. Although Venus and Earth share some similarities, it has shown to be very different from Earth in many other aspects. It has the most dense atmosphere out of the four terrestrial planets. Venus consists of more than 96% carbon dioxide. Surface Geography: The surface shows evidence of extreme volcanism, and the sulfur in the atmosphere may mean that there have been some recent eruptions. Venus is covered by a thick atmosphere, creating a blazing environment with temperatures reaching high enough to melt lead. Geology: Much of Venus's surface appears to have been shaped by volcanic activity. Venus is home to about 167 large volcanoes. Some stretching over 100 km long. Venusian surface is estimated to be 300–600 million years old. Almost 2x longer than Earth's. Internal Structure The similarity in size and density between Venus and Earth may mean that they share a similar internal structure: a core, mantle, and crust. Like Earth, the Venus's core is at least partially liquid because the two planets have been cooling at about the same rate. The slightly smaller size of Venus may mean that...
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...SCI 321 Research Project July 28, 2012 Mercury - History and Naming Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, circles the Sun faster than all the other planets in our solar system, which is why the Romans named it after the swift-footed messenger god Mercury (Space exploration, 2013). Human observers have been looking up at Mercury since at least the time of the Sumerians – the 3rd millennium BC (The planet mercury, 2013). These Greek astronomers believed even then that Mercury (and Venus) both orbited the Sun, and not the Earth. Mercury was the god of commerce, travel, and thievery in Roman mythology, hence the naming of Mercury. Slide 2 Early beliefs of Mercury Mercury was known since at least Sumerian times roughly 5,000 years ago, where it was often associated with Nabu, the god of writing (Mercury, the sun's, 2013). Mercury was also given separate names for its appearance as both a morning star and as an evening star (Mercury, the sun's, 2013). Early beliefs thought that perhaps there were two different planets. However, Greek astronomers knew that both names referred to the same planet (Mercury). Back in the nineteenth century, astronomers made very careful observations of Mercury's orbit, but they could not explain the orbit adequately using Newtonian mechanics (The planet mercury, 2013). There were discrepancies between what they observed and what was mathematics predicted. This problem would last for decades. Einstein's General Theory of...
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...suddenly exploded. The Universe that we know was born. What has the big bang granted us? Time, space and matter all began with the Big Bang. In a fraction of a second, the Universe grew from smaller than a single atom to bigger than a galaxy. All along, the particles kept on growing at a fantastic rate and formed elements like hydrogen and helium, which formed the planets, stars and galaxies. It is still expanding today. Space and the Solar System What is the solar system? The Solar System is made up of all the planets that orbit our Sun. In addition to planets, the Solar System also consists of moons, comets, asteroids, minor planets, and dust and gas. Everything in the Solar System orbits or revolves around the Sun. The Sun contains around 98% of all the material in the Solar System. The larger an object is, the more gravity it has. Because the Sun is so large, its powerful gravity attracts all the other objects in the Solar System towards it. At the same time, these objects, which are moving very rapidly, try to fly away from the Sun, outward into the emptiness of outer space. The result of the planets trying to fly away, at the same time that the Sun is trying to pull them inward is that they become trapped half-way in between. Balanced between flying towards the Sun, and escaping into space, they spend eternity orbiting around their parent star. How did the Solar System form? As a result of the Big Bang theory, the Solar System is formed, where...
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...The Planets and the Solar System Planets 2 " A planet is a celestial body that revolves around a central star and does not shine by its own light " (Grolier, 1992). The only planetary system that is known to man is our solar system. It is made up of nine planets which range in size and make-up. The nine major planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. There are also many other minor planets which are also in our solar system, but they are unimportant compared to the nine major planets. In this paper I will discuss the planets and how they are each unique. Mercury which is the planet that is closest to the sun is the first planet I will discuss. Mercury is the smallest of the inner planets. It is speculated that the heat from the sun made it impossible for the gases present to become part of the planetary formation. The surface of Mercury is extremely hot. It is approximately 470 degrees celsius on the surface and is thought to be even hotter at the two " hot spots." These " hot spots " are on opposite ends of the equator. It is the heat of the surface that makes it impossible for Mercury to have any type of atmosphere. Mercury orbits the sun once every 88 days and has a true rotation period of 58.6 days. " It is the closest planet to the sun and therefore orbits faster than any other planet " (Thompson/Turk, 542, 1993). It is said that Mercury rotates three times for every two trips around the sun, so that during Planets...
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...expanding universe of galaxies. Many people believe that nature, the sun and moon, the star, even human beings never had a beginning. There is an endless, external cycle of birth, life and death that constantly repeats itself and it never began and will never end. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, it was written that at first the world did not exist and that God is the only one who existed. So He created the world. The universe is the totality of everything that has ever existed. It is so large that it contains billions of stars, and all of the planets, galaxies and all of space. The study of the universe is called Cosmology. Traditional Views about the Universe 1. Geocentric Universe Greeks believed that the earth was a sphere that stayed motionless at the center of the universe or the geocentric (Earth-centered) view. Orbiting the earth were seven wanderers (planetai in Greek) including the sun, the moon and the known planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Greece was centered as the “Golden Age” of early astronomy. Claudius Ptolemy created the book Almagest, the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. His geocentric outlook later became the Ptolemaic system in the second century A.D. and dominated western thought for some 2000 years. 2. The Heliocentric System The view of the universe in which the sun is taken to be at the center is called the heliocentric system. It was first proposed by Aristarchus of Samos but is...
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...One of the most distinct features of Mercury’s surface is the fact that it looks wrinkled: this is due to the cooling of the planet’s iron core which led to the surface contracting. Mercury lost a third of its radius during this process (was reduced from 1.8 to 1.2 miles). Named “Scarps” by scientists, the wrinkles can be up to one mile high, and stretch over numerous miles. Another particularity of Mercury is that it is covered in craters, making it the most cratered planet in the entire Solar System. All of these craters strongly vary in shape and size, and originate from numerous encounters with comets and meteoroids. The largest one, Caloris Basin which was discovered in 1974, has a diameter of 1.550 kilometres and is surrounded by a...
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...is. The force of gravity depends on the product of the mass of the two attracting bodies. If the distance between the two bodies doubles, the force between them becomes one quarter of the force it was before. The Law of Universal Gravitation is vital because it mathematically proves Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary Motion. The Planets follow the same laws of motion as objects on the surface of the earth. (B) Newton discovered other types of orbits that have circular of elliptical paths. However, if the velocity of an orbiting body were increased, its orbital path would change to a parabola or hyperbola and it would escape the gravitational pull of the sun. It would then leave the solar system. Parabolas are the orbital paths of objects in the form of an open curve. If one cuts out an angle in a circular cone, it would follow this path parallel to the sides of the cone. Hyperbolas occur when a plane cuts across two parallels half-cones. Kepler’s laws applies to any situation where two bodies in the universe orbit each other due to their mutual gravitational attraction, not just two planets. For example: Moon’s that orbit planets, such as the four Galilean Moons that orbit Jupiter. #2)(A) The reflecting telescope, which uses a mirror to attract light was perfected by Isaac Newton in 1668 although it was developed by John Gregory in 1663. The refracting telescope, which uses a lens to attract light was developed by a Dutch optician in 1608 named Hans Lippershey...
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...Planetary Comparison SCI/151 May 3, 2011 Norman Stradleigh Planetary Comparison Planet Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest of the planets of the Solar System. Earth’s surface is 71 percent water and is the only astronomical planet currently known where life exists. Earth is our home planet. Scientist and astronomers have studied our planet for Centuries and they have discovered much about our planet. Scientist have gained so much more knowledge of our Solar System in the last half-century after the NASA launched the first spacecraft and travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere has opened up to those who wish to explore. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss Earth and the comparison between the other known planets in our Solar system. Earth has several layers that have distinct chemical and seismic properties: Crust, Upper mantle, Transition region, Lower mantle, D’’ layer, Outer core, and Inner core. The crust, the part we inhabit, is just a tiny fraction of the Earths mass. Most of the mass of the Earth is in the mantle, a majority of the rest is in the core (Nine Planets, 1994-2010). Earth has three layers of density: The core primarily metals, such as nickel and iron, resides in the central core and is the highest-density material. The Mantel forms the thick mantle that surrounds the core is mostly minerals that contain silicone, oxygen, and other elements and is a rocky material of modest density....
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...gravity, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Of the many objects that orbit the Sun, most of the mass is contained within eight relatively solitary planets whose orbits are almost circular and lie within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic plane. THE SUN The Sun is the most prominent feature in our solar system. It is the largest object and contains approximately 98% of the total solar system mass. Did you know? The Sun is big enough to hold over 1 million Earths. Many rituals and monuments are devoted to worshipping the Sun and/or marking important times in the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Mercury * Moon * No satellite * Giovanni Zupi * Has magnetic field * Mariner 10 * Revolution: 88 days * Rotation: 59 days Venus * Earth * No satellite * Galileo Galilei * No magnetic field * Mariner 2 * Revolution : 224.7 days * Rotation : 243 or (242 days) Mercury * Roman messenger of the gods * Smallest planet * Shortest year * Core: iron * Mantle: silicates * Crust: cratered terrain from meteors and small comets. Venus * Roman goddess of beauty * Hottest planet * Longest day * Core: iron and nickel * Mantle: unknown composition * Crust: Silicious rocks Mercury * Caloris Basin -largest crater * The sky of mercury is always black because it...
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...Gustav Holst: The Man behind The Planets Andrew Faltin Sokolowski South Piedmont Community College: MUS 110 May 8, 2015 Gustav Holst: The Man behind The Planets Gustav Holst is considered to be one of the greatest composers of his time. As most musicians did, Holst started playing music at a very young age and grew into a marvelous musician, writer, and composer. He wrote and composed over 200 pieces of music including ballets, choral music, operas, and orchestral pieces. With this in mind, there is one suite that Holst created that has long been recognized by its 1st movement, Mars, The Bringer of War. This suite, of course, is known as The Planets. It was the most famous suite written in its time and is still used today...
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...every day until she was around four years old. For Example, “...She remembered the sun and the way the sun was and the sky was when she was four in Ohio. And they, they had been on Venus all their lives, and they had only been two years old when the last sun came out...” She had been able to see and feel the sun for four years of her life while all the other kids only saw it and felt it for one hour seven years ago. She is the only one who knows and remembers what it looks and feels like. 3) What Point is made about Margot when the story says that rain had “washed the blue from her eyes” and “the red form her mouth” and the “yellow from her hair”. Explain your answer. The point was made that she was kind of depressed living on a planet that rained all the time and that it made her dull and unhappy. It showed us how much she really missed the sun. It said the rain washed away the color in hair, eyes and mouth. They are telling you she is like a ghost. 4) How do the...
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...9/9/2012 Managerial Appls of Info Tech Prof. Tahereh Daneshi Course Project Proposal Terraforming Domes and the use of Planet Cracker Mining Vessels We live in a world where one of the main threats to our society is diminishing resources and the inevitability of over population. Humans and animals alike multiply at an alarming rate and with the arrivals of new people to this planet there is a need for aggressive expansion for houses, apartments and retail stores. With new expansion comes the need for new oil and gas refineries and nuclear power plant to support the land that will soon be developed. Human civilization has been consuming natural resources at an exponential rate and the threat that we will soon run out is on the back of our minds. With new developments will come new technology and the need to improve on what we currently have. Our planet can only offer us so much and there is still much to be discovered in outer space. There are hundreds of planets that have the ability to sustain life providing certain conditions are met. NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration have been in charge of the space program for many years. While they have released this power to the private sector and given those with the resources a chance to go where they have not offers a potential solution. Terraforming (literally, “Earth-shaping”) of a planet, moon, or other body is the process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to...
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...of 100 cores of rupees. In this report, we will first analyze whether you have the potential to realize this dream in your life astrologically as per your natal chart. We will also analyze the astrological signatures for next 5 years w.r.t your natal chart and transit of each planet through your natal chart, to capture the potential ups and downs in your business during next 5 years. A) Basic Astrological Parameters: Your Birth Chart: The important parameters in your birth chart: Your Ascendant: Aquarius Your Sun-Sign: Libra Your Moon-Sign: Gemini Exalted Planet: Rahu & Ketu Debilitated Planet: Sun Retrograde Planet: Saturn Natal status of each of the planets in your chart: We have listed above the natal promise of all the 9 Vedic planets in the chart based on their status in the chart. There are likely to be lot of contradictions about their significance in different aspects of life. The same planet may be beneficial for a particular aspect in one’s life by it’s house location but it can be inauspicious for the same aspects in life because of the lordship of houses in the chart. One planet can be beneficial for a particular aspect in life and can promise great success and at the same time another planet can be most inauspicious and promise complete failure for...
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...Measuring Earth with a Stick Have you ever heard of the Greek mathematician and astronomer Eratosthenes? His name is probably best known among astronomers. Why do they think so highly of him? Eratosthenes was born about 276 B.C.E. and received some of his education in Athens, Greece. He spent a good part of his life, however, in Alexandria, Egypt, which at that time was under Greek rule. In about 200 B.C.E., Eratosthenes set out to determine the dimensions of the earth by using a simple stick. “Impossible!” you may say. How did he do it? In the city of Syene (now called Aswan), Eratosthenes observed that at noon on the first day of summer, the sun was directly overhead. He knew this because there was no shadow cast when the sunlight reached the bottom wells. However, at noon on the same day in the city of Alexandria, which was located 5,000 stadia (stadia were Greek units of length. Through the exact value varied locally, one stadium is believed to have been 530 to 600 feet) to the north of Syene, a shadow could be observed. That gave Eratosthenes an idea. Eratosthenes set up a gnomon, a simple upright stick. When the sun was overhead at noon, he measured the angle of the shadow that the stick cast in Alexandria. He determined the angle to be 7.2 degrees from vertical. Now, Eratosthenes believed the earth to be spherical, and he knew that there are 360 degrees in a circle. So he divided 360 by the angle he had measured, 7.2. The result? His angle was one...
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