SSCE 211

PLANETARY GEOGRAPHY
EDUCATION

Study Unit 1.1

THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE EARTH’S

PLACE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Definitions
Planet: A non-luminous celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light
from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves.
Satellite: A celestial body that orbits a planet; a moon.
Comet: A celestial body, observed only in that part of its orbit that is relatively close to the
sun, having a head consisting of a solid nucleus surrounded by a nebulous coma up to 2.4
million kilometers (1.5 million miles) in diameter and an elongated curved vapor tail arising
from the coma when sufficiently close to the sun. (Image: Comet Halley, courtesy of NASA)
Asteroid: Any of numerous small celestial bodies that revolve around the sun, with orbits
lying chiefly between Mars and Jupiter and characteristic diameters between a few and
several hundred kilometers. Also called minor planet, planetoid.
Trans-Neptunian Objects: A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system
with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. The Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud are
names for some subdivisions of that volume of space.
Definitions
Milky Way: The Milky Way is a large barred spiral galaxy. All the stars we see in the
night sky are in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way because
it appears as a milky band of light in the sky when you see it in a really dark area.
Nebula: A nebula is a formation in space which is constituted mostly of helium, dust,
and other gases in various concentrations. The shape and size of a nebula varies, and as
such there can be various types of formations having different sizes. Very often, they
are huge in size, and their diameters can be a number of light years across. It is derived
from Latin, and as such means a cloud.
Light-year: A unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels
in one year, which is 9.4607 × 1012 km (nearly 6 million miles).
Elliptical orbits: A small body in space orbits a large one (like a planet around the sun)
along an elliptical path, with the large body being located at one of the ellipse foci. Two
bodies with similar mass orbiting around a common barycentre with elliptic orbits.
Definitions
Perihelion and aphelion: The perihelion and aphelion are the nearest and farthest
points (apsides) of a body's direct orbit around the Sun. The perihelion is the point
in the orbit of a celestial body where it is nearest to its orbital focus, generally a star.
Geoid form: The shape that the surface of the oceans would take under the
influence of Earth's gravity and rotation alone, in the absence of other influences
such as winds and tides.
Astronomy: The branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the
physical universe as a whole.
Galactic system: The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in
spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its centre, the primary direction aligned with
the approximate centre of the Milky Way galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel
to an approximation of the galactic plane but offset to its north.
Definitions
Meteors: A small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's
atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a
streak of light.
Meteorite: A piece of rock or metal that has fallen to the earth's surface from outer
space as a meteor. Over 90 per cent of meteorites are of rock while the remainder
consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel.
Nebular hypothesis: The theory that the solar and stellar systems were developed
from a primeval nebula.
What does outer space consist
of?
Outer space is not completely
empty; it is a near-perfect
vacuum containing a low
density of particles,
predominantly a plasma of
hydrogen and helium, as well
as electromagnetic radiation,
magnetic fields, neutrinos,
dust, and cosmic rays.
 Studying space
People have been fascinated by space for
thousands of years. Long before modern
astronomy revealed the secrets of the cosmos,
ancient civilization tried to make sense of the
night sky. Over four thousand years ago, people
in Europe laid out giant circles of stone to mark
the movement of the Sun and Moon. At around
the same time, Egyptians were using the
movements of the Moon and the brightest star,
Sirius, to make their calendars. Through history,
people have used the stars to guide their
travels.
 Studying space
However, it wasn’t until the invention of the
telescope around four hundred years ago that
astronomers were finally able to see the Moon
and plants in great detail. At last, they were able
to understand what these strange objects in the
sky were and why they moved the way they did.
Over the following centuries, the development
of the bigger and better telescopes has let
people see even more distant objects. In the
past two decades, telescopes have even been
sent into space to see further than ever before.
Despite all remains mysterious. There are still a
lot more to discover.
Egyptians view of the Universe

https://theosophywatch.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/seb-supports-nut.png?w=500&h=323
Egyptians view of the Universe
In Egyptian mythology, the universe emerged from a vast cosmic
ocean of nothingness.

For countless eons, the creator-sun god Atum had drifted asleep in
this primordial sea that the Egyptians called Nun.

Eventually, the creator god awoke and willed a small island to emerge
from out of the cosmic sea.
Aristotle in 360s BC and
Ptolemy in 90 AD

http://slideplayer.com/9337705/28/images/3/Aristotle+in+360s+BC+and+Ptolemy+in+90+AD.jpg
Aristotle and Ptolemy
Ptolemy accepted Aristotle's idea that the Sun and the planets
revolve around a spherical Earth, a geocentric view.

Ptolemy developed this idea through observation and in mathematical

detail.

In doing so, he rejected the hypothesis of Aristarchus of Samos, who

came to Alexandria about 350 years before Ptolemy was born.
Copernicus view of the Universe

Thompson & Turk p.564

Copernicus view of the Universe
Copernican heliocentrism is the astronomical model developed by
Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543.

This model positioned the Sun at the center of the Universe,

motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in
circular paths, modified by epicycles, and at uniform speeds.
Ptolemy and Copernicus
Ptolemy and Copernicus
Through Islamic astronomers, Ptolemy's nested spheres became a
standard feature of medieval cosmology.

When Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model—with Earth and

the planets all orbiting the Sun—he was compelled to abandon
the notion that there is no empty space between the spheres.
Origin of the universe
The most popular theory of
our universe's origin centers
on a cosmic cataclysm
unmatched in all of history—
the big bang. This theory was
born of the observation that
other galaxies are moving
away from our own at great
speed, in all directions, as if
they had all been propelled
by an ancient explosive force. https://s3.amazonaws.com/user-media.venngage.com/937076-7ae6fd161b2d744dc04d1dddda2df55f.jpg
Big bang
The theory maintains that, after the big bang, the universe
expanded with incomprehensible speed from its pebble-size
origin to astronomical scope.

As time passed and matter cooled, more diverse kinds of atoms

began to form, and they eventually condensed into the stars and
galaxies of our present universe.
Self-study
Use the reading bundle to read about other
theories about the origin of the universe.
 The Solar System
The Solar System: consists of the Sun
and all the objects orbiting within its
gravitational field and extends to the
edge of the Oort Cloud.
There are eight planets in the solar
system: four inner rocky planets
(Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and
four outer gas planets (Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).
 The Solar System
The planets follow nearly circular orbits around the Sun and they all lie in
the same plane, which is known as the Solar Ecliptic.
The inner and outer planets are separated by the Asteroid Belt, which
contains many thousands of asteroids. Some more than 1000 km in diameter.
It takes light over four hours to travel from the Sun to Neptune.
All the planets, with the exception of Mercury and Venus, have at least one
moon and altogether there are at least 136 moons in the Solar System.
Pluto used to be considered a planet, but in 2006 it was officially designated
as a planetoid along with some asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects.
Terrestrial planets
• Terrestrial planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

• Rocks and minerals.

• Was formed near the earth through gasses that boiled away,
these planets are small.

• LigLight gasses blown away by the sun.

• Developed 4.5 billion years .

Jovian planets
• Jovian Planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and their moons.

• Jovian planets are mainly composed of ice and gas.

• In the reading bundle, you can learn more about the composition of
the Planets.
The Solar System
Planetary orbits
• All planets orbit in the same direction around the sun – the same as
the rotation of the Sun.

• Almost all rotate on their axes in the same direction as the planets
orbit the sun.
 The Solar System
The Kuiper Belt is a disc-shaped region of
space located 30-100 Astronomical Unit (AU)
from the Sun, which contains numerus
orbiting objects ranging from 50-2000 km in
diameter.
A spherical region of space that extends
between 10,000 and 200,000 AU from the
Sun, the Oort Cloud contains an estimated
1000 billion comets.
The outer edge of the Oort Cloud (the edge
of the Solar System) is about halfway to the
nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which may well
be surrounded by its own comet cloud.
The Milky way
5 Incredible Facts About The
Milky Way Galaxy
Life cycle of a star - animation
Earth
• The third planet out from the Sun, the Earth, is 149,6 million km away on average.
• The Earth is the fifth largest planet in the Solar system, with a diameter of 12, 756 km and a
circumference of 40,075 km at the Equator.
• Along with Mercury, Venus and Mars, the Earth is one of four rocky planets. It is made mostly
of rock, with a core of iron and nickel.
• No other planet in the Solar system has liquid water on its surface, so Earth is uniquely
suitable for life. More than 70% of Earth`s surface is underwater.
• The atmosphere is mainly harmless nitrogen and life-giving oxygen, and it is over 200 km
deep. The oxygen has been made and maintained by plants over billions of years.
• A magnetic field, stretching 60, 000 km out into space, protects Earth from the Sun’s radiation.
• The Earth’s orbit around the Sun is 940 million km in length and takes 365.242.
• Although the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, it orbits the Sun on a level plane – the
plane of the Ecliptic.
Why is there life on earth?
Earth is unique in the Solar
System as being the only planet
which is able to support life in all
its forms: from basic living micro-
organisms to highly sophisticated
and intelligent human beings.
There are many reasons why this
happens.
Reason One: Atmosphere
Earth has a breathable atmosphere. Oxygen is the
gas that is required for the life of most creatures.
This is present in Earth's atmosphere and also in
water. Oxygen is constantly put into the
atmosphere by plants and trees. Earth's
atmosphere also contains a small amount of
carbon dioxide. This is a poisonous gas which
makes up most of the atmosphere of planets like
Venus and Mars and makes them unable to
support human life. However, its smaller presence
on Earth is useful as it helps to moderate the
planet's temperature and is absorbed by plants
during photosynthesis to produce oxygen.
Reason Two: Climate
Earth has a suitable climate. This is caused by the
moderate amount of carbon dioxide in the planet's
atmosphere, which is constantly refreshed
whenever there is a volcanic eruption. The
temperature on Earth does not go from one
extreme to the other either. Mercury can be
anything from 200°c below freezing to 375°c above.
At 375°c, water would only exist as a gas, and the
planet would be completely dry. Venus has a
surface temperature of 480°c, which would be
much too hot for anybody to live in. Mars, although
it can reach 25°c, is usually freezing and can be as
cold as -140°c, a temperature which would freeze
blood and water. Other planets are colder still.
Reason Three: Water
Earth has water! Water is considered to be the most
important chemical necessary for life. It contains the oxygen
needed for life. Other liquids can contain poisonous elements.
Water doesn't burn skin (like liquids containing acids do), it is
drinkable, and it allows life-providing molecules to move
around easily. Other moons in the Solar System, such as
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, are believed to have oceans of
water under its icy surface. Scientists believe that the
presence of water on other objects in the solar system greatly
increases the chances of life existing on them. Water on Earth
is abundant and can be found in its three states of matter. It
can be frozen, taking the form of ice. It can be liquid, seen in
seas and oceans and lakes. It can also be a gas, seen as clouds.
In the picture below, we can see water in its three states; a
solid, a liquid and a gas. The blue glow at the top of the Earth
is the planet's thin atmosphere.
Reason Four: Light
All planets receive light from the Sun, but no planet uses it as usefully as
Earth. Trees and plants on the planet produce oxygen through a process
called photosynthesis. Plants need the Sun to grow. Look at plants in
windows and notice how they usually seem to grow towards the Sun. Try
growing a plant in a dark room and in a light room. Notice which one
grows quicker. The one which has grown quickest is the one which also
produces more oxygen. It is believed that if we were able to get plants to
grow on another planet, such as Mars, they would begin putting oxygen
into the planet's atmosphere and increase the possibility of life. This
process is sometimes referred to as terraforming and is a requirement for
the possible existence of human beings on other planets. Something else
which helps the plants to photosynthesise on Earth is the length of time
the planet takes to spin once on its axis. Taking just under 24 hours means
that each side of the planet receives sunlight regularly. If we look at a
planet like Venus, which takes 243 days to spin on its axis, it means that
for a large period of time certain parts of the planet are in complete
darkness. So even if the planet could support life, it would struggle to do
so. But Mars, with a day length similar to that of Earth, and quite a bit of
light, it could be a possibility.
Reason Five: The Sun
All of the reasons given above for life existing on Earth
are only possible because of one main reason. The Sun!
Put simply, if there was no Sun, there would be no life
on Earth. Technically, Earth probably wouldn't exist
either! Because of Earth's ideal distance from the Sun, it
receives the perfect amount of heat and light to allow
life to be created and to support it. Imagine what would
happen if the Sun suddenly vanished. How would you
keep warm? How would you see? How would you get
food and drink? How would plants and trees grow? How
would they photosynthesise? Where would Earth go?
The Sun's gravity keeps Earth in its orbit, but if the Sun
vanished, Earth would simply float away.
Reason Six: The Ozone Layer
The Sun is good, but it isn't completely good. In fact, too much Sun can be very bad. The Sun continually pumps
out radiation. Heat and light are two examples of this radiation and, as we have seen, are essential to life
existing on Earth. But there is a another type of radiation that the Sun produces which we can't see or feel. This
is ultraviolet radiation or UV rays. Only about 1% of the ultraviolet radiation that the Sun sends to Earth actually
reaches the surface. Small amounts of exposure to UV rays are beneficial. They cause the body to produce
Vitamin D, which has several health benefits, and it has been suggested that even a few minutes of exposure to
sunlight will cause the body to produce enough natural Vitamin D for the whole day*. UV rays are also what
causes skin to tan. But even so, too much exposure to it can cause sunburn or have even more serious long-
term effects. What prevents most of these dangerous UV rays from reaching the surface is the ozone layer. The
ozone layer is a part of Earth's atmosphere situated in an area known as the stratosphere. The ozone layer
starts at between 10 to 17 kilometres (6 to 10 miles) from Earth's surface and extends up to 50 kilometres (30
miles) high. Ozone is able to absorb most ultraviolet radiation so prevents it from reaching the surface.
However, some manmade products use chemicals which can damage the ozone layer if allowed out. These
chemicals are known as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and are often used in refrigeration. They were also used in
spray cans. It is the presence of chlorine in these CFCs which is particularly harmful. If chlorine is able to get
into the stratosphere, it is able to break down ozone. And breaking down ozone reduces the amount of
protection that the ozone layer can provide. So it is important that you look after the ozone layer because, after
all, it looks after you.
Reason Seven: Earth's Magnetic
Field
As we've just mentioned, the Sun sends out lots of radiation. It spreads this
radiation across the entire solar system carried through what is known as the
solar wind. Some radiation is good but a lot of it is bad. Protecting Earth from
the bad radiation is its atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere also contains the
oxygen which is needed for a large number of living spieces to breathe. But
what protects the atmosphere? Why, Earth's magnetic field, of course! At the
core of Earth is a load of molten iron. Iron is a very magnetic element, and it
causes Earth to act as one giant magnet. It's basically why Earth is said to have
a north pole and a south pole. The radiation that the Sun sends out is
electromagnetic radiation. As Earth's iron core produces a magnetic field, it is
able to repel most of the electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. By doing so,
it prevents the solar wind from stripping Earth of its protective atmosphere.
The Effect of the Earth’s
Rotation
Johannes Kepler
The laws of planetary movement
as formulated by Johannes
Kepler
In the early 1600s, Johannes Kepler proposed
three laws of planetary motion. Kepler was able
to summarize the carefully collected data of his
mentor - Tycho Brahe - with three statements
that described the motion of planets in a sun-
centered solar system. Kepler's efforts to explain
the underlying reasons for such motions are no
longer accepted; nonetheless, the actual laws
themselves are still considered an accurate
description of the motion of any planet and any
satellite.
Kepler's three laws of planetary
motion can be described as
follows:
• The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the
center of the sun being located at one focus. (The Law of Ellipses)
• An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of
the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. (The
Law of Equal Areas)
• The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to
the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. (The
Law of Harmonies)
Kepler's three laws of planetary
motion can be described as
follows:
Kepler's Three Laws - Simply
Explained with Animation
Historical development of
astronomy
Questions ???
To do list
• Quiz on eFundi

• Assignment 1
Assignment 1 Old Assignment NOT 2023. DO NOT DO
1. Describe the three laws of planetary movement formulated by Johannes Kepler.
(Draw a captioned sketch explaining the second law.) (12)/ Beskryf die drie wette
van planetêre beweging soos deur Johannes Kepler geformuleer. (Maak ʼn skets
met byskrifte om die tweede wet te verduidelik.) (12)
2. The earth has a fixed orbit in the heavens.” How is this possible? (4)/“Die aarde
het ʼn vaste wentelbaan in die hemele.” Hoe is dit moontlik? (4)
3. Draw a captioned sketch to illustrate the shape and size of the earth. (4)/ Teken ʼn
skets met byskrifte om die vorm en grootte van die aarde te illustreer. (4)
4. Give a complete explanation of how you, as teacher, would explain the
simultaneous orbit of the moon and the earth around the sun to school learners.
(10)/Gee ʼn volledige verduideliking van hoe jy as onderwyser die gelyktydige
omwenteling van die maan en die aarde om die son aan skoolleerders sou
verduidelik. (10)