EARTH SCIENCE

ORIGIN AND STRUCTURE OF THE

EARTH
1: Universe and Solar System
Introduction
 The Universe is at least 13.8 billion of years old
 The Earth/Solar System at least 4.5-4. 6 billions of years old.

The Origin of the Universe Other Non-scientific Thought

• Atum
• Mbombo/Bumba
• Purusha

Steady State Theory

The now discredited theory was proposed in 1948 by British scientists Sir
Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Sir Fred Hoyle.
Explains that the universe is always expanding but maintaining a constant average
density

The BIG BANG Theory

First suggested by Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic
priest, mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics at the Catholic
University of Louvain.
  The currently accepted theory of the origin and evolution of the universe.
 Postulates that 13.8 billion years ago, the universe expanded from a tiny,
dense and hot mass to its present size and much cooler state.

2: THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The Universe and the Solar System

MILKY WAY
-A huge disc and spiral-shaped aggregation of about at least 100 billion stars and
other bodies
-This galaxy is about 100 million light years across (1 light year = 9.4607 x 1012
km)
-The Milky Way is part of the so-called Local Group of galaxies or Virgo Cluster
-The Solar system revolves around the galactic center once in about 240 million
years

THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS
- Introduced by Emanuel Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre-Simon Laplace.
- Spinning gaseous cloud that cools and contracts in the middle to form the sun
and the rest into a disc that become the planets.

ENCOUNTER HYPOTHESES
- A rogue star passes close to the Sun about 4.6 billion years ago.
- Material, in the form of hot gas, is tidally stripped from the Sun and the rogue
star.

PROTOPLANET HYPOTHESIS
Swirling gas and dust
Most gas and dust accumulates in the middle, forming a star.
Remaining gas and dust forms planets.

The SOLAR SYSTEM

Our Solar System consists of:
• Sun (our star)
• Planets
• Moons
• Asteroids
• Comets
• Meteoroids

2 TYPES OF PLANETS
TERRESTRIAL PLANETS (EARTHLIKE)
- Four inner planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)
- Relatively small in size and mass
- Rocky surface
JOVIAN PLANETS (JUPITER-LIKE)
-Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn
- Much larger in mass and size than terrestrial planets
- Much lower average density
- Mostly gas; no solid surface

SPACE DEBRIS
- Asteroids - Asteroids are rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too
small to be called planets
- Comets - Icy nucleus, which evaporates and gets blown into space by solar wind
pressure
- Meteoroids - Small dust grains throughout the solar system
- If they collide with Earth, they evaporate in the atmosphere.
-Visible as streaks of light: meteors

3: The SOLAR SYSTEM

The SUN (Our Star)
“HELIOS/SOL”
- The biggest star in the universe
- Yellow Dwarf
- 4.5 billion years
- Surface temp. is 5800 K and core temp. is 15.6 million K

MERCURY (The Swiftest Planet)

“ERMIS or HERMES”
- The smallest planet
- 0 moon
- 88 Earth days
- Roman God of Speed

VENUS (Planetary Hot Spot)

“APHRODITE”
- The hottest planet
- 0 moon
- 225 Earth days
- Roman Goddess of beauty and Love

EARTH (Our Home Planet)

THE GROUND / GAIA / TELLUS
- 4.5 billion years
- 1 moon (24 Human Visitors, 12 Moonwalkers & 100+ Robotics)
- 365 Earth days
- the only planet in our solar system with liquid water on the surface

MARS (The Red Planet)

“ARES”
- the second smallest planet
- Very thin atmosphere
- 1.88 Earth years (687 Earth days)
- 2 moons (Deimos and Phobos)
- Has the tallest volcano/mountain (Olympus Mons)
- Biggest canyon (Valles Marineris)
- Roman God of War
MARS MOON – PHOBOS & DEIMOS

JUPITER (Gas Giant)

“DIAS”
- The largest planet
- The oldest planet of the Solar System
- 11.86 Earth years
- 79 moons
- King of the Roman Gods

SATURN (Father of Jupiter)

“KRONOS”
- the second largest planet of the Solar System in terms of diameter
- Jewel of Our Solar System
- 29.45 Earth years
- 82 moons
- Roman God of agriculture

URANUS (The Sideways Planet)

“OURANOS”
- Ice Giant planet
- The coldest planet
- 27 moons
- 84 Earth years
- Greek God of Sky
NEPTUNE (The Windiest Planet)
“POSEIDON”
- The fourth largest planet
- The farthest planet
- Ice Giant planet
- 164.81 Earth years
- 14 moons
- Roman God of the Sea

DWARFS PLANETS
-PLUTO (Dwarf Planet)
“PLOUTON/HADES”
- Largest known dwarf planet
- The fist Kuiper Belt object to be discovered
- It has 248.89 Earth years
- 5 moons
- Roman God of Underworld

-CERES – Roman Goddess of Harvests

-MAKEMAKE – Polynesian Creator God
-HAUMEA – Hawaiian Fertility Goddess
-ERIS – Greek Goddess of Discord and Strife
The Hypothetical Planet X
“PLANET NINE”
- Neptune-sized planet
- Mass of 10 times that of Earth
- 10,000-20,000 Earth years to make one full orbit around the sun

4: The EARTH SYSTEMS

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE - The study of the interaction of Earth as a system
WHAT IS SYSTEM - The set of interconnected components that are interacting to
form a unified whole.

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To
the rest of the universe atomically.”
― Neil DeGrasse Tyson

AIR, WATER, LAND & LIFE

THE EARTH’S SUBSYSTEM

GEOSPHERE - The solid Earth consisting of the entire planet from the center of the
core to the outer crust

The Major Layers of Geosphere

• Core
• Mantle
• Crust
HYDROSPHERE - All the waters of the earth - oceans, rivers, and lakes, aquifers,
and the moisture in the atmosphere
PROPORTION OF WATER
Ocean 97.5%, Glaciers 1.8%, Ground Water 0.63% & Streams and lakes 0.01%

BIOSPHERE - The zone of life on Earth, also known as the Ecosphere

ATMOSPHERE
- It contains all the air in the Earth’s systems
- 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon and 0.1% other gases
- extends from less than 1 m below the planet's surface to more than 10,000 km
above the planet's surface

LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE

AURORA BOREALIS
AURORA AUSTRALIS