Astronomy                 Natural Science 1001

Courses
Astronomy
Meteorology
Geology

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Astronomy
Meteorology
Geology

Primary goals

• Describe the processes that affect the interiors, surfaces, and atmospheres of inner planets
• Describe characteristics of the inner planets

Inside of Inner Planets   [section 9.1  p. 234-240]

• Characteristics
  --Define differentiated.
• How Interiors Heat Up
  --Describe how accretion heats up the interior of a planet
  --Describe how radioactive decay heats up the interior of a planet
  --Describe how differentiation heats up the interior of a planet
• How Interiors Cool Off
  --Describe the general process in which the interiors of planets cool off
• How Warm/Cool Are the Interiors of Inner Planets Today?
  --Describe the general history of the interiors of the inner planets
  --How does size of a planet affect how fast it cools down?
  --Compare the relative temps of the interiors the inner planets

Surface Features of Inner Planets    [section 9.2  p. 240-247]

• Geologic Activity
  --How does geologic activity depend on planet size?
  --Compare the time period of the most recent geologic activity.
  How does that relate to planet size?
  --How does internal temperature relate to distance from the sun? How does the sun's radiation affect the internal temperature of an inner planet?
  --What kinds of surface features are caused by geologic activity?
• Craters
  --Describe the general process of forming a crater
     --What happens to the object that hits?
     --How does the crater rim form?
     --How does the size of the crater compare to the size of the object that hits? Why is the crater bigger?
     --Why do large craters have smooth, flat bottoms?
  --Crater density
     --How does crater density help us determine the age of the surface of a solar system object?
     --How can we compare the relative age of the surfaces of solid objects by using crater density?
• Erosion
  --Describe features caused by erosion

Atmospheres of Planets   [p. 270-272]     Explanation D2L

• What atmospheres are possible for different planets?
  --How do mass and surface temperature affect the possibility of a planet having an atmosphere?
  --How does the mass of a gas affect the possibility of it being in a planet's atmosphere?
• How did planets get atmospheres?
  --Inner planets   [p. 284]
  --Outer planets

The Moon   [p. 248-251]    

• Surface features
   --What types of surface features (of the 3 we described earlier) do we see on the moon?
  --Why are maria only on one side of the moon?  SKIP!
  --Why are the maria only on the side of the moon that faces us?       Explanation D2L
• Interior
  --Describe a brief history of the interior of the Moon.
  --Is the moon differentiated?
• Atmosphere
  --Describe the atmosphere of the Moon.
  --Explain (using our discussion of what atmospheres are possible) the current state of the atmosphere on the Moon
• History
  --Describe the 4 stages of the history of the moon.
• Formation of the Moon   [p. 233-234]
  --How do we think the moon formed?
      --Standard scenario
      --new simulation
      --Alternative scenarios 1 and 2
• Videos
  --research video  2 min  Recent geo activity on the moon
  --research video  2 min  permanent shadows

Mercury        [p. 248-251]

• Surface features 
  --What types of surface features (of the 3 we described earlier) do we see?
• Inside
  --Describe a brief history of the interior.
  --Is Mercury differentiated?
• Atmosphere
  --Describe the atmosphere.
  --Explain (using our discussion of what atmospheres are possible) the current state of the atmosphere.
• History
  --Briefly describe the history of Mercury

Mars        [p. 251-256]

• Surface
  --Describe the 3 basic surface areas of Mars.
  --How do we know that the northern hemisphere is younger than the southern hemisphere?
  --What evidence do we have that liquid water existed on the surface of Mars?
• Inside
  --Describe a brief history of the interior.
  --Is Mars differentiated?
• Atmosphere
  --Describe the atmosphere.
  --Explain (using our discussion of what atmospheres are possible) the current state of the atmosphere.
• History
  --Briefly describe the history of Mars
• videos
  --research video  4 min  what happened to Mars ocean
  --research video  3 min MAVEN mission      maven site
  --research video  1 min solar wind strips Mars atmosphere
  --research video  1 min gravity data
  --Rover sees Mars' moons pass    1 min
  --Mars landing sites
  --How the Curiosity rover was put onto the surface  5 min
  --Curiosity after 3 years   3 min
  --Animation of bouncing lander   3 min
  --How Mars' moons formed   2 min
  --YouTube  How Long Could You Survive on Mars?

Venus    [p. 256-258]

• Surface
  --What types of surface features (of the 3 we described earlier) do we see?
• Inside
  --Describe a brief history of the interior.
  --Is Venus differentiated?
• Atmosphere
  --Describe the atmosphere.
  --Explain (using our discussion of what atmospheres are possible) the current state of the atmosphere.
• History
• Videos
  --research video  4 min ESA finds evidence of volcanism
  --research video  4 min Venus Express end
  --YouTube What's it like on venus?
   

Tasks you should be able to do as a result of learning this material:

• Compare the sizes, geologic activity, and internal temperatures of the inner planets
• Compare the atmospheres of the inner planets
• Compare the histories of the inner planets