Earth and the solar system

Unit 6.1

●​ Suck a dick all year

●​ The daylight hours then decrease to their lowest around 21st December
○​ This is known the Winter Solstice and is where the Sun is at its lowest
point in the sky all year

The Earth's Orbit

●​ The Earth orbits the Sun once in approximately 365 days
○​ This is 1 year
●​ The combination of the orbiting of the Earth around the Sun and the Earth's tilt
creates the seasons

Seasons in the Northern hemisphere caused by the tilt of the Earth

●​ Over parts B, C and D of the orbit, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the
Sun​

○​ This means daylight hours are more than hours of darkness

○​ This is spring and summer
●​ The southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun
○​ This means there are shorter days than night
○​ This is autumn and winter
 ●​ Over parts F, G and H of the orbit, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from
the Sun
○​ The situations in both the northern and southern hemisphere are reversed
○​ It is autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere, but at the same time it
is spring and summer in the southern hemisphere
●​ At C:​

○​ This is the summer solstice

○​ The northern hemisphere has the longest day, whilst the southern
hemisphere has its shortest day
●​ At G:
○​ This is the winter solstice
○​ The northern hemisphere has its shortest day, whilst the southern
hemisphere has its longest day
●​ At A and D:
○​ Night and day are equal in both hemispheres
○​ These are the equinoxes

Moon & Earth

●​ The Moon is a satellite around the Earth
●​ It travels around the Earth in roughly a circular orbit once a month
○​ This takes 27-28 days
●​ The Moon revolves around its own axis in a month so always has the same side
facing the Earth
○​ We never see the hemisphere that is always facing away from Earth,
although astronauts have orbited the Moon and satellite have
photographed it
●​ The Moon shines with reflected light from the Sun, it does not produce its own
light

Phases of the Moon

●​ The way the Moon's appearance changes across a month, as seen from Earth, is
called its periodic cycle of phases
 Phases of the Moon as it orbits around Earth

●​ In the image above, the inner circle shows that exactly half of the Moon is
illuminated by the Sun at all times
●​ The outer circle shows how the Moon looks like from the Earth at its various
positions
●​ In the New Moon phase:
○​ The Moon is between the Earth and the Sun
○​ Therefore, the sunlight is only on the opposite face of the Moon to the
Earth
○​ This means the Moon is unlit as seen from Earth, so it is not visible
●​ At the Full Moon phase:
○​ The Earth is between the Moon and the Sun
○​ The side of the Moon that is facing the Earth is completely lit by the
sunlight
○​ This means the Moon is fully lit as seen from Earth
●​ In between, a crescent can be seen where the Moon is partially illuminated from
sunlight

Orbital Speed
EXTENDED

●​ When planets move around the Sun, or a moon moves around a planet, they
orbit in circular motion
○​ This means that in one orbit, a planet travels a distance equal to the
circumference of a circle (the shape of the orbit)
○​ This is equal to 2πr where r is the radius a circle
●​ The relationship between speed, distance and time is:
 ●​ the average orbital speed of an object can be defined by the equation:

●​ Where:
○​ v = orbital speed in metres per second (m/s)
○​ r = average radius of the orbit in metres (m)
○​ T = orbital period in seconds (s)
●​ This orbital period (or time period) is defined as:

The time taken for an object to complete one orbit

●​ The orbital radius r is always taken from the centre of the object being orbited to
the object orbiting

Orbital radius and orbital speed of a planet moving around a Sun

Worked example
The Hubble Space Telescope moves in a circular orbit. Its distance above the Earth’s
surface is 560 km and the radius of the Earth is 6400 km. It completes one orbit in 96
minutes.
Calculate its orbital speed in m/s.
Step 1: List the known quantities

○​ Radius of the Earth, R = 6400 km

○​ Distance of the telescope above the Earth's surface, h = 560 km
○​ Time period, T = 96 minutes

Step 2: Write the relevant equation

Step 3: Calculate the orbital radius, r

○​ The orbital radius is the distance from the centre of the Earth to the
telescope
Step 4: Convert any units

○​ The time period needs to be in seconds

○​ The radius needs to be in metres

Step 5: Substitute values into the orbital speed equation

Exam Tip
Remember to check that the orbital radius r given is the distance from the centre
of the Sun (if a planet is orbiting a Sun) or the planet (if a moon is orbiting a
planet) and not just from the surface. If the distance is a height above the surface
you must add the radius of the body, to get the height above the centre of mass
of the body.

This is because orbits are caused by the mass, which can be assumed to act at
the centre, rather than the surface.

Don't forget to check your units and convert any if required!

The Solar System

●​ The Solar System consists of:
1.​ The Sun
2.​ Eight planets
3.​ Natural and artificial satellites
4.​ Dwarf planets
5.​ Asteroids and comets

The Sun & the Planets

●​ The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System
○​ The Sun is a star that makes up over 99% of the mass of the solar system
●​ There are eight planets and an unknown number of dwarf planets which orbit the
Sun
○​ The gravitational field around planets is strong enough to have pulled in all
nearby objects with the exception of natural satellites
○​ The gravitational field around a dwarf planet is not strong enough to have
pulled in nearby objects
●​ The 8 planets in our Solar System in ascending order of the distance from the
Sun are:
○​ Mercury
○​ Venus
○​ Earth
○​ Mars
○​ Jupiter
○​ Saturn
○​ Uranus
○​ Neptune

Satellites
●​ There are two types of satellite:
○​ Natural
○​ Artificial
●​ Some planets have moons which orbit them
 ○​ Moons are an example of natural satellites
●​ Artificial satellites are man-made and can orbit any object in space
○​ The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth and is an example
of an artificial satellite

Asteroids & Comets

●​ Asteroids and comets also orbit the sun
●​ An asteroid is a small rocky object which orbits the Sun
○​ The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter
●​ Comets are made of dust and ice and orbit the Sun in a different orbit to those of
planets
○​ The ice melts when the comet approaches the Sun and forms the comet’s
tail

Accretion Model of the Solar System

●​ There are 4 rocky and small planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
○​ These are the nearest to the Sun
●​ There are 4 gaseous and large planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
○​ There are the furthest from the sun

The eight planets of our Solar System

●​ The differences in the types of planets are defined by the accretion model for
Solar System formation
●​ The Sun was thought to have formed when gravitational attraction pulled
together clouds of hydrogen dust and gas (called nebulae)
●​ The Solar System then formed around 4.5 billion years ago
 ○​ The planets were formed from the remnants of the disc cloud of matter left
over from the nebula that formed the Sun
○​ These interstellar clouds of gas and dust included many elements that
were created during the final stages of a star's lifecycle (a previous
supernova)
●​ Gravity collapsed the matter from the nebula in on itself causing it to spin around
the Sun
○​ The gravitational attraction between all the small particles caused them to
join together and grow in an accretion process
●​ A rotating accretion disc is formed when the planets emerged
The accretion model of the creation of the Solar System
 ●​ As the Sun grew in size it became hotter
●​ Where the inner planets were forming near the Sun, the temperature was too
high for molecules such as Hydrogen, Helium, water and Methane to exist in a
solid state
○​ Therefore, the inner planets are made of materials with high melting
temperatures such as metals (e.g. iron)
○​ Only 1% of the original nebula is composed of heavy elements, so the
inner, rocky planets could not grow much and stayed as a small size, solid
and rocky
●​ The cooler regions were further away from the Sun, and temperature was low
enough for the light molecules to exist in a solid state
○​ The outer planets therefore could grow to a large size up and include even
the lightest element, Hydrogen
○​ These planets are large, gaseous and cold

Exam Tip
When referring to the accretion model for the formation of the Solar System, make sure
your answer has the following:

(a) the model’s dependence on gravity

(b) the presence of many elements in interstellar clouds of gas and dust

(c) the rotation of material in the cloud and the formation of an accretion disc

The objects in our solar system

Exam Tip
You need to know the order of the 8 planets in the solar system. The following
mnemonic gives the first letter of each of the planets to help you recall them:

My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Light Speed
●​ The planets and moons of the Solar System are visible from Earth when they reflect light
from the Sun
○​ The outer regions of the Solar System are around 5 × 1012 m from the Sun,
which means even light takes some time to travel these distances
●​ The light we receive on Earth from the Sun takes 8 minutes to reach us
○​ The nearest star to us after the Sun is so far away that light from it takes 4 years
to reach us
○​ The Milky Way galaxy contains billions of stars, huge distances away, with the
light taking even longer to be seen from Earth
●​ The speed of light is a constant 3 × 108 m/s
○​ Therefore, using the equation:

○​ The time taken to travel a certain distance can be calculated by rearranging to:

Worked example
The radius of Mercury's orbit around the Sun is 5.8 × 109 m.

Calculate the time taken for light from the Sun to reach Mercury.
Step 1: State the equation for the time taken for light to travel a certain distance

Step 2: Substitute in the values

○​ The distance travelled is the radius of the orbit

 ■​ Distance, d = 5.8 × 109 m.
○​ Speed = the speed of light, v = 3.0 × 108 m/s

Step 3: Round up the answer and include units

Elliptical Orbits
EXTENDED

●​ Orbits of planets, minor planets and comets are elliptical

○​ An ellipse is just a 'squashed' circle
●​ Planets, minor planets and comets have elliptical orbits
○​ However, the Sun is not at the centre of an elliptical orbit
○​ This is only the case when the orbit is approximately circular

Planets and comets travel in elliptical orbits, but the Sun is not at the centre of these orbits
Analysing Orbits
EXTENDED

●​ Over many years, data about all the planets, moons and the Sun have been
collected
●​ This is not just for general interest, but to indicate:
○​ Factors that affect conditions on the surface of the planets
○​ Environmental problems that a visit (using manned spaceships or robots)
would encounter

Table of Data for Planets in our Solar System

 Planet Orbital Orbital duration Density / Surface Uniform
distance / / days or years kg/m3 Temperature/ Surface
million km °C Gravitational
Field
Strength/
N/kg

Mercury 57.9 88 days 5427 350 3.7

Venus 108.2 225 days 5243 460 8.9

Earth 149.6 365 days 5514 20 9.8

Mars 227.9 687 days 3933 –23 3.7

Jupiter 778.6 11.9 years 1326 –120 23.1

Saturn 1433.5 29.5 years 687 –180 9.0

Uranus 2872.5 75 years 1271 –210 8.7

Neptune 4495.1 165 years 1638 –220 11.0

Exam Tip
Although you don't need to memorise any of this data, you must be able to
confidently analyse and interpret it. Look out for trends such as one variable
increasing whilst the the other decreases (or also increases). This carefully about
why that may be with what you have already learnt about the planets from this
topic. For example, what is the planet made of? What is its distance from the Sun
and how does this affect it?

Gravitational Field Strength

●​ The strength of gravity on different planets affects an object's weight on that planet
●​ Weight is defined as:

The force acting on an object due to gravitational attraction

●​ Planets have strong gravitational fields

○​ Hence, they attract nearby masses with a strong gravitational force
●​ Because of weight:
○​ Objects stay firmly on the ground
○​ Objects will always fall to the ground
 ○​ Satellites are kept in orbit

Objects are attracted towards the centre of the Earth due to its gravitational field strength

●​ Both the weight of any body and the value of the gravitational field strength g differs
between the surface of the Earth and the surface of other bodies in space, including the
Moon because of the planet or moon's mass
○​ The greater the mass of the planet then the greater its gravitational field strength
○​ A higher gravitational field strength means a larger attractive force towards the
centre of that planet or moon
●​ g varies with the distance from a planet, but on the surface of the planet, it is roughly the
same
○​ The strength of the field around the planet decreases as the distance from the
planet increases
●​ However, the value of g on the surface varies dramatically for different planets and
moons
●​ The gravitational field strength (g) on the Earth is approximately 10 N/kg
●​ The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Moon is less than on the Earth
○​ This means it would be easier to lift a mass on the surface of the Moon than on
the Earth
●​ The gravitational field strength on the surface of the gas giants (eg. Jupiter and Saturn)
is more than on the Earth
○​ This means it would be harder to lift a mass on the gas giants than on the Earth
 Value for g on the different objects in the Solar System

●​ On such planets such as Jupiter, an object’s mass remains the same at all points in
space
●​ However, their weight will be a lot greater meaning for example, a human will be unable
to fully stand up

A person’s weight on Jupiter would be so large a human would be unable to fully stand up

Gravitational Attraction of the Sun

●​ There are many orbiting objects in our solar system and they each orbit a different type
of planetary body

Orbiting Objects or Bodies in Our Solar System Table

●​ A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body
○​ For example, a planet orbiting the Sun
●​ In order to orbit a body such as a star or a planet, there has to be a force pulling the
object towards that body
○​ Gravity provides this force
●​ Therefore, it is said that the force that keeps a planet in orbit around the Sun is the
gravitational attraction of the Sun
●​ The gravitational force exerted by the larger body on the orbiting object is always
attractive
○​ Therefore, the gravitational force always acts towards the centre of the larger
body
●​ Therefore, the force that keeps an object in orbit around the Sun is the gravitational
attraction of the Sun and is always directed from the orbiting object to the centre of the
Sun
●​ The gravitational force will cause the body to move and maintain in a circular path
 Gravitational attraction causes the Moon to orbit around the Earth

Sun's Gravitational Field & Distance

EXTENDED

●​ As the distance from the Sun increases:​

○​ The strength of the Sun's gravitational field on the planet decreases

○​ Their orbital speed of the planet decreases
●​ To keep an object in a circular path, it must have a centripetal force
○​ For planets orbiting the Sun, this force is gravity
●​ Therefore, the strength of the Sun's gravitational field in the planet affects how much
centripetal force is on the planet
○​ This strength decreases the further away the planet is from the Sun, and the
weaker the centripetal force
●​ The centripetal force is proportional to the orbital speed
○​ Therefore, the planets further away from the Sun have a smaller orbital speed
○​ This also equates to a longer orbital duration
 How the speed of a planet is affected by its distance from the Sun

●​ This can be seen from data collected for a planet's orbital distance against their orbital
speed
○​ E.g. Neptune travels much slower than Mercury

Table of Orbital Distance, Speed and Duration

Planet Orbital distance / Orbital Speed / km/s Orbital duration / days

million km or years

Mercury 57.9 47.9 88 days

Venus 108.2 35.0 225 days

Earth 149.6 29.8 365 days

Mars 227.9 24.1 687 days

Jupiter 778.6 13.1 11.9 years

 Saturn 1433.5 9.7 29.5 years

Uranus 2872.5 6.8 75 years

Neptune 4495.1 5.4 165 years

Orbits & Conservation of Energy

EXTENDED

●​ An object in an elliptical orbit around the Sun travels at a different speed

depending on its distance from the Sun
●​ Although these orbits are not circular, they are still stable
○​ For a stable orbit, the radius must change if the comet's orbital speed
changes
●​ As the comet approaches the Sun:
○​ The radius of the orbit decreases
○​ The orbital speed increases due to the Sun's strong gravitational pull
●​ As the comet travels further away from the Sun:
○​ The radius of the orbit increases
○​ The orbital speed decreases due to a weaker gravitational pull from the
Sun

Comets travel in highly elliptical orbits, speeding up as they approach the Sun

Conservation of Energy
●​ Although an object in an elliptical orbit, such as a comet, continually changes its
speed its energy must still be conserved
○​ Throughout the orbit, the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy
of the comet changes
 ●​ As the comet approaches the Sun:
○​ It loses gravitational potential energy and gains kinetic energy
○​ This causes the comet to speed up
○​ This increase in speed causes a slingshot effect, and the body will be
flung back out into space again, having passed around the Sun
●​ As the comet moves away from the Sun:
○​ It gains gravitational potential energy and loses kinetic energy
○​ This causes it to slow down
○​ Eventually, it falls back towards the Sun once more
●​ In this way, a stable orbit is formed

Exam Tip

Remember that an object's kinetic energy is defined by: where m is the mass of
the object and v is its speed. Therefore, if the speed of an object increases, so does its
kinetic energy. Its gravitational potential energy therefore must decrease for energy to
be conserved.