EARTH AND SPACE PHYSICS

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The term solar system refers to the collection of celestial objects that are gravitationally bound to the
sun, our star.

The solar system can also be defined as the gravitationally bound system of the sun and the objects that
orbit it, either directly or indirectly.

Components And The Structure Of The Solar System

Our solar system consists of our star, the sun and everything bound to it by gravity the planets: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, dwarf planets such Pluto, dozens of moons
and millions of asteroids, comets and meteoroids.

The sun contains 99.85% of all the matter in the solar system.

The planets which condensed out of the same disk of material that formed the sun contain 0.135% of
the mass of the solar system.

Jupiter contains more than twice the matter of all the other planets combined. Satellites of the planets,
comets, asteroids, meteoroids and the interplanetary medium constitute the remaining 0.015%.

Characteristics of the sun and planets.

THE SUN

The sun is a star of intermediate mass made up of mainly Hydrogen and Helium gases.

The sun can also be defined as a huge ball of burning gas that sends energy far out into the solar system.

It accounts for about 99.85% of the solar system by mass and its gravity dominates all bodies in the solar
system. The sun is the main source of energy that supports all life on earth, its visible surface reaches a
temperature of about 5777K which increases inwards towards the core.

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PLANETS

A planet is a space body that moves around the sun in a defined path called an orbit.

In the solar system, a planet is a celestial body that;

- Is in orbit around the sun

- Has sufficient mass to keep it in around the sun
- Has “cleared the neighbourhood” around its orbit

There are eight recognized planets in our solar system, listed in order of their distance from the Sun:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

NB: Pluto was discovered in 1930 and considered as our solar system’s ninth planet but after the
discovery of similar-sized objects within the Kuiper Belt, tiny Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet
in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Therefore, according to the IAU, Pluto is technically a “dwarf planet” because it has not cleared its
neighboring region of other objects. This means that Pluto still has lots of asteroids and other space
rocks along its flight path, rather than having absorbed them over time, like the larger planets have done.

Asteroid belt and where it is found

The asteroid belt is a region within the solar system occupied by asteroids that are sparsely held together
by gravity and occupying a region taking the shape of a gradient ring orbiting the sun.

Asteroids are small rocky bodies composed of iron and nickel which orbit the sun.

The asteroid belt exists between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter between 330 million and 480 million
kilometers from the sun.

Astronomers once thought that the asteroid belt was a failed planet that fragmented during the solar
system’s development. However, this hypothesis has largely been abandoned. Astronomers now believe
the asteroid belt never gravitationally accreted into a planet but was kept from doing so because of the
massive gravity from Jupiter’s mass.

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 THE STRUCTURE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

According to their orbits, planets fall into two classes.

1. Terrestrial Planets/ inner planets

The terrestrial are the four innermost planets in the solar system. They include; Mercury, Venus, earth
and Mars. They are called terrestrial because they have a compact, rocky surface like the earth surface.
The planets Venus, Earth and Mars have significant atmospheres while Mercury has almost none.

2. Jovian Planets/Outer Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known as the Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets, because they are all
gigantic compared to the inner planets, and they are gaseous in nature.

The Jovian planets are also referred to as the gas giants, although some or all of them might have small
solid cores.

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 The table below summarises the difference between inner and outer planets

The inner planets The outer planets

(Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune)
Small size (Earth is the largest) Huge (big size)
Have solid surface and thin/no atmosphere Balls or gas with no surface
Greater density (4000 to 5500𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 ) Smaller density ((700 to 1700𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 ))
Varied atmospheres Similar atmospheres
Spin slowly Spin quickly
Orbit the sun quickly Orbit the sun slowly
Few moons Lots of moons
Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the smallest planet in the solar system. One day on Mercury
is equivalent to 59 days on Earth (earth days) and it takes 87.97 earth days for Mercury to orbit the sun.
It spins or rotates very slowly and gets very hot during the day and very cold at night.

Mercury has a very thin atmosphere due to this its temperature reach 427 oC at mid-day and drops to -
183oC immediately after night fall.

Venus

Venus if the second planet from the sun. It is the brightest body in the sky after the moon and sun. Its
structure is similar to that of the earth.

The atmosphere is very dense and mainly composed of carbon dioxide. It is the hottest planet in the
solar system with temperature of about 427oC . Unlike other planets, Venus rotates slowly on its axis in
the counter clockwise direct (retrograde rotation).

A day on Venus is equivalent to 243 earth days and its year is 225 earth days. Venus has no Satellites.

Earth

The earth is the third distant planet from the sun. It is the densest and fifth largest planet in the solar
system. It takes about 24hours for the earth to complete a rotation about its axis and 365.26 days to orbit
the sun.

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71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water and the rest is solid. It is the only known planet that
can support life. The earth’s atmosphere comprises of 71% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.074% Carbon
dioxide and water vapour average temperature on earth is about 15 oC

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the second-smallest planet after Mercury. The red colour of
Mars is du to the effect of the iron oxide on its surface.

One day on Mars is 24 hours while a year is 669.6 earth days. Mars has a steep relief with the tallest
mountain in the solar system known Olympus. Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos. Phobos
being the largest.

It is surrounded by a thin atmosphere mainly composed of carbon dioxide with an average temperature
of -60oC.

NB: Mar is the most earth-like of the all planets of our solar system. Mars has seasons similar to our
own (earth) and the soil there is similar to the soil on earth but there is very little oxygen or water vapour
in Mar’s atmosphere. The climate on Mars changes widely between seasons. Temperatures on its surface
can range from 30oC (86oF) in the summer to -130oC (-202oF) in the winter.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and the largest in the solar system. Jupiter is the third brightest
object visible to naked eye in the night sky after the Moon and Venus.

One day on Jupiter is 9.9 hours and its year is 12 earth years. It has over 60 natural satellites some of
which include Europa, Lo, Ganymede and Calisto.

Jupiter lacks a well-defined solid surface its atmosphere is made of Hydrogen and other elements at a
temperature of -145oC. It also has thin and dark rings.

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is a giant gas planet and the second largest after Jupiter. It is
least dense planet in the solar system and its atmosphere is mainly made of Hydrogen and Helium with
an average temperature of -178oC.

Saturn has more than 50 natural satellites with Titan as the largest. Its rings are one of the most beautiful
features of the solar system mainly composed of ice particles and small amounts of rocky debris and
dust. A day on Saturn is 10.7 hours and a year is 29 earth years.

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Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the third largest in the solar system. Its atmosphere is
made up of Hydrogen and Helium and is the coldest reaching a minimum temperature of -224oC.

The blue-green colour of Uranus is mainly due to the presence of methane in its atmosphere.

It has dark and bright coloured ring system. Unlike other planets, Uranus has a steep axis which points almost
directly towards the sun and rotates in the opposite direction.

A day on Uranus is 17.2 hours and its year is 84 Earth years. It has over 27 natural satellites some of which
include: Titania, Oberon, Miranda and Ariel.

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth planet and farthest from the sun. It is the largest and the densest giant planet. Its atmosphere
is made of Hydrogen, Helium and Methane with temperatures approaching -218oC. Its bluish colour is as a result
of which absorbs red light.

A day on Neptune is 16.1 hours while its year is 165 earth years. Neptune has 14 natural satellites with
Triton as the largest.

Bright Planets in the sky

Since Ancient times, there are planets in the sky which have been visible to the naked eye without the
aid of an instrument. These planets include Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

- Mercury and Venus are visible a few hours before sunrise and after sunset in the eastern and
western sky respectively. However, Mercury is difficult to observe due to its proximity to sun’s
glare. It is usually visible near the horizon just after sunset or before sunrise.
- Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn will appear in the morning or evening depending on the month of
the year.
- Jupiter and Saturn are visible for much of the year except for when they are too close to the sun
to observe. In addition, these two planets stay out until after night fall making them easy to spot
in the evening sky.
- Among all the planets at least Venus is the brightest and will appear in the evening a few hours
after sunset which makes it easy to see in the convenient time.
- Other planets may appear late in the night or very early in the morning.
- Uranus and Neptune can also be visible. However, they are hard to see since they may require
instruments or people with a sharp eye sight.

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 Motion of Planets around the Sun.

All Planets have almost circular orbits which lie within a nearly flat disc referred to as the Elliptic plane.

The motion of planets is both rotational and revolution as shown in the figures below.

Rotation involves the planet spinning about a fixed axis and revolution involves a planet travelling
around the sun.

Sun

Elliptical orbit Earth

Revolution of earth around the sun

Rotation of earth about a fixed axis

One complete rotation is equal to one day and one complete revolution is equal to a year. For instance
one day on earth is about 24hours and a year is 365 days.

The orbit motion is facilitated by the gravitational force between the planets and the sun.

All the eight planets move at different speeds around the sun.

The table below shows the speeds and orbital periods of planet.

Planet Orbital period or one planet year (days) Orbital average speed (km/s)
Mercury 87.97 47.90
Venus 224.70 35.02
Earth 365.26 29.78
Mars 686.97 24.08
Jupiter 4,331.57 13.07
Saturn 10,759.22 9.69
Uranus 30,799.10 6.81
Neptune 60,190.00 5.43

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Days and Nights

The earth is a spherical body which spins on its axis as it moves around the sun. One part of the earth
faces the sun while the other faces away into space.

As the earth rotates on its axis, the side which faces the sun receives light and heat from it, this side
therefore experiences day time.

The part of the earth which faces away into space is cooler and darker and is therefore experiencing
night time.

This is the reason why if it is day time in Uganda, it is night time in some other countries. A day is 24
hours and this is the time it takes for the earth to complete one rotation about its axis.

The seasons on Earth.

Seasons occur when different areas on earth receive more solar energy than others, this results into
changes in weather and climatic conditions of various regions on earth.

Seasons are caused by the combination of two main factors:

1. Earth’s Axil Tilt: The earth rotates on its axis, which is tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees
relative to its orbit around the Sun. This tilt causes the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth’s surface
to vary throughout the year.

Sun
Earth’s axis
Elliptical orbit Earth

2. Earth’s Orbit: The Earth orbits the sun in an elliptical path which means that the distance between
the Earth and the Sun varies throughout the year.

As the earth rotates and orbits the sun, different parts of the planet receive different amount of sunlight
leading to changes in temperature, weather patterns and the seasons.

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Below is a brief overview of each season

- Spring: The Northern Hemisphere begins to tilt towards the Sun, increasing sunlight and temperatures.

- Summer: The Northern Hemisphere is fully tilted towards the sun, receiving the most direct sunlight
and experiencing the warmest temperatures.

- Autumn (Fall): The Northern Hemisphere begins to tilt away from the sun, decreasing sunlight and
temperatures.

- Winter: The Northern Hemisphere is fully tilted away from the sun, receiving the least amount of
sunlight experiencing the coldest temperatures:

On earth we experience four seasons that is winter, summer, autumn and spring. However, countries in
equatorial region such as Uganda experience only two seasons (dry and wet) which represent summer
and winter respectively.

Summary

Seasons are formed due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis and its revolution around the sun. The Earth’s axis
is tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees relative to the orbit around the sun. As the Earth orbits around
the sun over the course of a year, the tilt causes different parts of the Earth to receive varying amounts
of sunlight at different times. When a hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, it receives more direct sun
light and longer days, leading to warmer temperature causing summer. When a hemisphere is tilted away
from the sun, it receives less direct sun light and shorter days, leading to cooler temperatures causing
winter. When the tilt is such that both hemispheres receive roughly equal amounts of sunlight spring
and autumn happens.

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The Moon

The moon is the second brightest object in the sky after the sun. It is the closest celestial body to the
earth and is earth’s only natural satellite.

The Moon is the fifth largest among all-natural satellites orbiting planets in the solar system.

As the earth orbits the sun, the moon also revolves around the earth. The moon takes about 29.5 days to
complete one revolution around the earth.

NB

- The moon revolves about the earth in an elliptical orbit for a period of 29.5 days. The
gravitational force always keeps the moon in its path.
- The motion of the moon around the earth is similar to that of planets around the sun, where the
gravitational force is responsible for keeping the bodies in their orbits.
- The different shapes of the moon in the night sky originate from the fact that there exist relative
motions between the moon and the earth orbiting the sun.

The Phases of Moon

First quarter: When the moon reaches the first quarter of its phases, it appears as a half-moon. One
half of the moon is now lit up by sunlight.

Waxing gibbous: After the first half-moon, or first quarter, the moon moves towards full moon. As
more of it is lit up, the moon is said to be waxing. It is also said to be gibbous (between a semi-circle
and a full circle in shape).

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Full moon: When the moon appears as a full moon, the entire face of the moon is illuminated by the
Sun as the Earth is between the moon and the Sun. All of its visible side is in sunlight

Waning crescent: After a full moon, the moon begins to decrease again. The moon is now said to be
waning. It is also said to be gibbous (between a semi-circle and a full circle in shape).

Last quarter (third moon): The moon continues waning until it reaches its last quarter, also known as
half-moon.

Waning gibbous: After full moon, the moon begins to decrease again. The moon is now said to be
waning. It is also said to be gibbous (between a semi-circle and a full circle in shape).

New moon: With a new moon, the moon is between the sun and the earth, causing none of the
illuminated side of the moon to be visible to the earth.

Waxing crescent: After a new moon, the moon moves through a crescent phase. The moon is now said
to be waxing.

TIDES

Tides are periodical rises and falls of large water bodies like oceans and seas.

Tides can also be defined as the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of gravitational
forces exerted by the Moon (and to a lesser extent, the sun) and are also caused by the earth and moon
orbiting one another.

Tides originate in the ocean and move towards the coastlines where they appear as the regular rise and
fall of the ocean water. Tides are categorized into high tides and low tides.

Low tide refers to the point in time when the ocean water recedes away from the shore, exposing more
of the seabed and decreasing the water level.

High tide refers to the point in time when the ocean water reaches its highest level along the shore.

Causes of sea/ocean tides

High tides and low tides are caused by the moon’s gravitational pull.

Tides occur twice a day along most coastlines after about 12 hours. The Moon’s gravitational pull is
greater on the side of the earth facing the moon. This makes the ocean waters to bulge outwards on either
side of the planet resulting into high tides.

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The other side of the earth not facing the moon experience low tides. The Sun’s gravitational pull raises
tides on earth however, that of the moon is the strongest because the moon is closer to earth compared
to the Sun.

Ocean tides are categorized into spring and neap tides.

Spring tides occur when the sun and moon are in conjunction or opposition during New Moon and Full
Moon respectively. Neap tides occur when the sun and moon exercise perpendicular gravitational
attraction on earth during the First Quarter and Last Quarter Phases of the Moon.

Eclipses

Celestial bodies such as planets orbit around the sun at different speeds, a special case occurs when one
body obstructs sunlight from reaching the other and casts a shadow on it or passes in the shadow of
another body. This phenomenon is known as an eclipse.

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There are two types of eclipse.

a) Lunar eclipse/eclipse of the moon.

b) Solar eclipse/ eclipse of the sun

Lunar eclipse

This is when the earth is between the sun and the moon.

The earth lit by the sun casts along conical shadow in space. At any point within that cone, the light of
the sun is wholly obscured.

Surrounding the shadow cone also called the umbra is an area of partial shadow called the penumbra.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes completely into the umbra. If it moves directly
through the center, it is obscured/blocked for about 2hours. If it does not pass through the center, the
period of total blockage is less and may last for only an instant if the moon travels through the very edge
of the umbra.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a part of the moon enters the umbra and is obscured. The
extent of a partial eclipse can range from near totally, when most of the moon is obscured to a slight or
minor eclipse, when only a small portion of the earth’s shadow is seen on the passing moon. Historically,
the view of the earth’s shadow advancing across the face of the moon was the first indication of the
shape of the earth.

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Solar eclipse

This is when the moon is between the earth and the sun.

Total solar eclipses occur when the moon’s umbra reaches the earth. The diameter of the umbra is never
greater than 268.7km where it touches the surface of the earth so that the area in which a total solar
eclipse is visible is never wider than that and is usually considerably narrow.

The width of penumbra shadow or area of partial eclipse on the surface of the earth is about 4,828km.
At certain times when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, its shadow does not reach the
earth. At such times, an annular eclipse occurs in which an annulus or bright ring of the solar disk
appears around the black disk of the moon.

In areas outside the band swept by the moon’s umbra but within the penumbra, the sun is only obscured
and a partial eclipse occurs.

The possibility of the moon blocking the sun’s light

This is a rare astronomical event known as a total solar eclipse. The moon’s orbit aligns with the sun
(Sun, Moon and Earth), casting a shadow on Earth, blocking direct sunlight for a short period. It’s only
visible from a specific path on Earth, known as the path of totality. Thus, forming a Penumbra and
Umbra as shown below.

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Note

 A solar eclipse can only be seen on a small region of Earth’s surface.

 It is rare that the earth and the Moon are aligned precisely enough to produce an eclipse, and so
it does not occur every new of full moon
 Looking at a solar eclipse is so spectacular and a very nice experience however, it is very
dangerous to view it directly with your eyes or using instruments such as telescopes, binoculars
and glasses because the sunlight can damage your eyes resulting to blindness. Therefore, you
need to use protective eye gear.

Origin and Structure of the Universe

Many people since ancient times were eager to know about the origin of the universe. The following are
the theories that explains the origin of the universe.

Biblical theory of evolution.

According to Holy Bible (Genesis 1:1, 2 and 3), God created the heavens and the earth. It is believed
that the earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep.

This theory states that God created the Universe and the various processes that drive physical and
biological evolution. It is on the basis of this that, Christians believe that the Universe was created by
God.

Scientific theory of evolution

The steady theory proposes that the Universe was not only uniform in space but also unchanging in
time. This implies that the Universe today is similar to what it was yesterday and will remain the same
tomorrow.

Based on the Big Bang theory, about 13 billion years ago the Universe was a tinny dense point (fireball)
made of matter/energy. Within seconds, the small fireball exploded ejecting matter/energy at very fast
speeds (close to m/s). The rest of different elements in the Universe (sun, planets, other stars, galaxies
and so on) today developed from the remains of the original explosion.

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Note (For further studies)

Scientists believe that our Universe originated from a singularity (an infinitely hot area with infinite
pressure and density) but non knows that singularity originated from!

 Before the singularity, there was no space, time, matter and energy since they all began inside it.
 The big bang is more of balloon being blown up than a bomb

This theory was first suggested by a Belgian priest named George Lemaitre in 1920. It is called the Big
Bang Theory he guessed that the Universe began from a single atom with a high density and temperature.
For a not yet known reason that single, hot chaotic atom started to expand rapidly, and cooled as it grew
older. Therefore, all the matter, energy and space came from the above expansion.

As the Universe expanded, according to the current scientific understanding, matter collected into clouds
that began to condense and rotate, forming the forerunners of galaxies. Within galaxies, including our
own Milky Way galaxies, changes in pressure caused gas and dust to form a distinct cloud. In some of
these clouds, attraction caused the cloud to collapse. If the mass of the material in the cloud.

Some proportion of stars, including our sun, formed in the middle of flattened spinning disk of material.
In the case of our sun, the gas and dust within this disk collided aggregated into small grains, and the
grains into larger bodies called planetesimals (very small planets), some of which reached diameters
several hundred kilometers. In successive stage; these planetesimals coalesced into the nine planets and
their numerus satellites. The rocky planets, including the earth, were near the sun, and the gaseous
planets were in more distant orbits.

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