CHAPTER 23 EARTH AND THE SOLAR

SYSTEM PHYSICS
The earth
The Earth is a gigantic and almost spherical terrestrial planet and is the third planet from the
Sun and the only known astronomical object to support life and it is is believed that the
Earth is the only privileged planet that supports life due to the presence of water, food and
the correct composition of oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases that are needed in order
to support life.

Day and night

1. The sun seems to move across the sky each day, stating in the east and
setting in the west.
2. We have come to understand that this phenomenon is due to the Earth’s
rotation on its own axis.
3. As the Earth turns, one side faces the Sun, experiencing sunlight while
the other one on the other hand experiences darkness.
Months
1) The moon is the second most prominent
celestial body visible in our sky after the sun.
2) We can observe the moon because it reflects
sunlight
3) The moon completes its orbit around the
Earth every 27.5 days , and its position relative
to the Earth changes, resulting in varying
levels of sunlight illuminating different parts of
its surface.
4) the illuminated parts of the Moon that are
visible from Earth at any given time create the
distinct phases of the moon that we observe.

The years
1. The Earth travels around the sun, completing a full orbit in slightly over 365 days
2. Seasons are caused
by the Earth’s axis
being tilted.

The earth’s tilt causes

different hemisphere to
receive varying amount of
direct sunlight, creating
winter in one and summer
in the other.
 The countries located on the Equator don’t go
through distinct seasonal changes as Sun’s ray
hit them at a consistent angle through out
the year. Conversely, the difference between
seasons are more noticeable in regions farther
from the equator.

The earth’s orbital period

An orbit is the path along which a celestial body travels while revolving around a much larger
celestial body. The orbit of the Earth around the sun is assumed to be circular, with the Sun
at the centre of the circular orbit.

The time taken by Earth to complete a revolution about the Sun is known as the orbital
speed.

The Earth takes approximately 365 days to complete one revolution around the sun.

The distance between the centre of the Earth and the

centre of the Sun is approximately one Astronomical
unit( 1 AU). it is known as the average radius( r) of the
Earth’s orbit.

1 AU = 150 million km

Light rays from the sun take approximately 500s( or 8

minutes 20s0 to travels to the earth’s surface.
The speed at which the Earth orbits around the Sun is
known as its orbital speed.
The solar system
The solar system consists of the sun, which is our star, and all the object which orbit it. It
includes the following;

We also have millions of asteroids and meteoroids. They are lumps of

rock which orbit the Sun. Comets too are seen in our solar system.
The formation of the planets
1) The solar system originates from one nebula , a massive rotating cloud of gas an dust.

2) Planets were formed from the leftover materials in the nebula that were not drawn into
the sun’s gravitational pull.

3) The spinning of the nebula caused the formation of a flat disk known as an accretion
disk.
4) Through accretion, smaller particles such as dust and gas were pulled together by
gravity to form larger rocks. This process LED to the area of the inner, rocky planets.
5) Due to the intense heat near the sun, lighter materials were pushed further away from
it, eventually forming the outer planets, also known as gas giants.

DISTANCES AND TIMES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

1. Distances in the Solar system are almost unimaginably big
2. They are often expressed in terms how long it takes for light to travel.
3. One light year is the distance travelled by light in a year.
Worked example
 Find out how many minutes it takes for light from the sun to reach earth, given that the
distance between the two is 150,000,00 km

Apply the distance, time and speed formula

Speed of light = 3 x 108 m/s

Distance= 150,000,000 km
distance in km to m = 150,000,000,000 m

= distance/ speed
= 150,000,000,000m/ 300000000m/s
= 500 seconds( 8 mins 20 second)
 Find the amount of time it takes for light to travel from
the moon given that the distance between them is
390,000 km. Express your answer in
minutes.

Apply the distance, time and speed

formula

390,000 km = 390,000,000 m
Speed of light= 300,000,000 m/s
Time = 390,000,000 m / 300,000,000 m/s
= 1.13 seconds

The planets
Our solar system comprises
eight planets. Mercury is
the closest planet to the
Sun, followed by Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
and Neptune being the
farthest planet from the sun.
All the planets revolve
around the sun.

The sun, a massive ball of

burning gas, sits at the
center of our solar system,
holding more than 99% of its
mass. The planets orbit the Sun in this order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune.

Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, experiences extreme temperatures due to its thin
atmosphere. Venus, shrouded in thick clouds of sulfuric acid, is the hottest planet, with
surface temperatures high enough to melt lead. Earth, our home, is the only planet known
to support life, thanks to its perfect distance from the Sun and its protective atmosphere.
Mars, the red planet, is home to the largest volcano and canyon in the solar system.

Jupiter, the giant of the solar system, has a Great Red Spot, a massive storm larger than
Earth. Saturn is famous for its stunning rings made of ice and rock. Uranus is unique because
it rotates on its side, possibly due to a massive collision in its past. Neptune, the farthest
planet from the Sun, has the strongest winds in the solar system, reaching speeds of up to
1,200 miles per hour.

Each planet’s unique characteristics contribute to the fascinating diversity of our solar
system.
MINOR PLANETS

Asteroid are innumerable pieces of rock, with different metallic composition and of various
sizes. They all orbit the sun and lie between the planets Mars and Jupiter, forming the
asteroid belt. The formation of planets and asteroid were believed to take places at the
same time. However, the size of the asteroids are too small to be called planets and
therefore, they are also known as minor planets.

Dwarf planets
For a celestial body to be called a
planet, the following three
criteria set by International Astronomical Union( IAU), are necessary.
1. The celestial body should be in orbit around the sun
2. The celestial body has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium
 This implies that the body should have a nearly round shape.

3. The celestial body has cleared it neighbourhood around its orbit

 This implies that the celestial body should be having sufficiently strong
gravitational field for other bodies in its neighbourhood to be under its
gravitational influence.
Pluto , which was once considered as a planet, is no longer classified as a planet because it
does not meet the third criteria of the IAU, that is, Pluto has not cleared its neighbourhood
around its orbit. Pluto is therefore, classified as a dwarf planet. Other dwarf planets are:
 Ceres
 Eris
 Haumea
 Makemake

 MakemakeMakemake is another Kuiper Belt object. It’s slightly smaller than Pluto and
has a reddish color. Makemake was discovered in 2005 and is one of the largest objects
in the Kuiper Belt.
 Eris is the most distant of the recognized dwarf planets, also located in the Kuiper Belt.
It’s slightly smaller than Pluto but more massive.
 Ceres is the closest dwarf planet to the Sun, located in the asteroid belt between Mars
and Jupiter. It’s the only dwarf planet in this region.
 Pluto, once considered the ninth planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet. It resides in
the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune filled with icy bodies and
dwarf planets.
 Haumea is also in the kuiper Belt. It’s unique due to its elongated shape, likely caused
by its rapid rotation. Haumea has two moons and a ring system

Meteors
Meteors are space rocks, which are much smaller than asteroids. They are visible as bright
streaks of light when they travel in the Earths atmosphere. They are normally known as the
shooting stars. When they fall on the Earth’s surface, their size creases further due to the
collisions and they are then called meteorites.

Natural and man-made satellites

Satellites are objects that orbit around larger bodies in space. They can be installed either
natural or by man-made.

Natural satellites are celestial bodies that naturally orbit planets or other larger bodies. The
most well-known natural satellite is Earth’s Moon. Other examples include the moons of
Jupiter, such as Ganymede and Europa, and Saturn’s moons like Titan and Enceladus 1. These
natural satellites vary greatly in size, composition, and characteristics, contributing to the
diversity of our solar system.

Man-made satellites, also known as artificial satellites, are human-made machines launched
into space to orbit Earth or other celestial bodies. These satellites serve various purposes,
including communication, weather monitoring, navigation, and scientific research. Examples
of man-made satellites include the Hubble Space Telescope, which provides stunning images
of distant galaxies, and the International Space Station (ISS), a habitable space station used
for scientific research.

Man-made satellites are designed and built by engineers and scientists, often taking years to
develop and test. Once launched, they communicate with ground stations on Earth, sending
back valuable data and receiving data commands.

The sun’s gravitational pull

1. The paths of the planets around the Sun are nearly circular
2. To travel in a circular path, an object requires a force acting center of the circle.
3. The force responsible for keeping the planets in orbit around the gravitational pull
exerted by the sun.

Forces
1)
The Sun is positioned at the center of the Solar system,
and is, by significant margin, the most massive
object, constituting around 99.8% of the Solar
system’s mass.
2) The strength of the Sun’s gravitational field is
considerably higher than any object’s in the Solar
System, as gravitational attraction depend on mass.
3) The sun’s gravitational force holds all celestial
objects, including planets, asteroids, meteoroids,
and comets, in their respective orbits.
4) Gravitational attraction decreases with increasing
distance, so the outer planets experience weaker
gravitational force from the Sun than the inner
planets. Additionally, a planet’s size also affects the
gravitational force it experiences.

Orbits and energy

1. The orbits of planets are described as elliptical
2. the amount the orbit is squashed is called eccentricity.
Why are orbits elliptical
1) At the beginning, the object was travelling quickly
past the Sun due to its own momentum from the
big bang
2) When the object gets close the Sun, the Sun’s
gravity begins to pull it towards itself.
3) This causes the object to speed up, and its kinetic
energy carries it to the the farthest point of its
orbit
4) Eventually, the object shows down and is pulled
back towards the Sun again.

Energy involved;
1. Kinetic energy
a. highest when nearby the Sun, lowest when
furthest away from the sun

2. Gravitational potential energy

a) Lowest when nearby the Sun, highest when furthest away from the sun