THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Solar means dealing with the sun, so our sun is just a star that is closer to the planet earth .the
solar system is everything that centers around the sun.

Definition;

The solar system is a system of objects that orbits the sun, either directly or indirectly, under the
influence of the suns gravitational pull.

Our solar system is elliptical in shape. Planets revolve around the sun along fixed elliptical path
called orbits

Planets have different speeds in their orbits around the sun.in otherwords.the speed of each
planet in its orbit is perfectly uniform .the gravitational pull of the sun keeps all planets and other
objects revolving around it in its orbits.

Compared to millions of other stars ,the sun is a star of medium size and average brightness it
appears to be larger and brighter because it is much more nearer to the earth than any other star.

The sun is the source of all energy in the solar system by nuclear fusion.

PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

A planet is a solid heavenly [celestrial] body revolving in the same direction around the sun in an
elliptical path [orbit].

Planets move around the sun from west to east, so the relative positions of planets keeps
changing day by day.

The solar system consists of one star [sun] and eight planets. The eight planets in the order from
the are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars Jupiter, Saturn Uranus, Neptune [MVEM JSUN]

Planets are visible if their location and time are known, for example Venus is visible a few hours
before sun rise and sunset in the eastern and western sky respectively.

All planets can be seen using a small telescope or binoculars,

In 2006 the international astronomical union [IAU] changed the definition of a planet which
disqualified PLUTO from being a planet to a dwarf planet.

A DWARF PLANET is defined by the IAU is a celestial body in direct orbit of the sun that is
massive enough that its shape is controlled by gravitational rather than mechanical forces [and
thus ellipsoid in shape] but has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.

The dwarf planets identified by IAU are ceres, Pluto, haumea, makemake and Eris.

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 DIAGRAM OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

NB; using our naked eyes [unaided] the following planets can be seen early;

Mercury, Venus, mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

TYPE OF PLANETS
Planets are categorized into;

1. Inner [terrestrial] planets

2. Outer [Jovian] planets

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 TERRESTRIAL PLANETS
They are also called rocky or terruric or inner planets.

Definition; A terrestrial planet is one of the four planets in the solar system closest to the sun.

Examples of terrestrial planets;

Mercuy, Venus earth and mars

Of the four, the earth is known to have an active hydrosphere. These planets have their
structure similar to that of the Earth hence the name terrestrial derived from the Latin words terra
and tellus meaning earth.

MAJOR FEATURES OF INNER PLANETS.

1) They have few natural satellites or moons or no satellites.
2) They have craters, mountains and volcanoes i.e.; they have solid planetary surfaces.
3) They have almost similar size and density but relatively smaller than outer planets.
4) They have a core of molten materials [metals] mostly iron surrounded with silicate mantle.
5) They have a thin atmosphere.
JOVIAN PLANETS [GAS GIANTS].
They are also called outer planets .they are planets which occupy orbits in the outer solar
system at distances ranging from 5[Jupiter] to 30[Neptune] times the earth distance from
the sun.
They are; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

COMMON FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF

JOVIAN PLANETS.
1 They are made of gases primarily hydrogen and helium with traces of ammonia methane and
water.
2 They have characteristic ring systems around them, Saturn’s rings are the brightest and
most visible and well known.
3 Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus have fainter and darker rings around them.
4 They have many moons and natural satellites
5 They have strong magnetic rapid rotation and deep atmosphere.
6 They are the furthest from the sun.

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For example;

 Jupiter has more than 60 moons.

 Saturn has more than 50 moons
 Uranus has more than 20 moons
 Neptune has more than 10 moons.
 Jupiter is 11 times in diameter than earth, the largest in our system
Saturn 9 times greater than the earth.
 Uranus and Neptune are both roughly 4 times greater than the earth.

NB;

Despite of their sizes, the Jovian planets have low densities because of their gaseous composition.
Example Saturn is made of lighter materials than water, if you place them in a giant swimming pool; the
entire planet would float.

What we see when observing the Jovian planets is actually the top of clouds.

Their attitudes are the lower clouds are blue, followed by brown and white then by the end at the
blighter’s level.

Uranus and Neptune are blue green because they have a small amount of methane in their upper
atmosphere.

PLANETARY DISTANCES.
The people who study the universe, including our solar system are called Astronauts. They
discovered that our solar system is extremely large in size. As a result they introduced a new unit
to measure distance between planets and from the sun called An Astronomical Unit.[AU].

Definition: An Astronomical Unit [AU] is the average [mean] distance between the earth and the
sun and it’s about 150 million km;

 I.e. 1AU=1.5 x 108 km.

The following table shows the distances of the planets from the sun and appearance [color] of
planets.

Planet Distance from the Distance from the Color.

sun[AU] sun[km]

Mercury 0.39 5.8 x 107 Solid red

Venus 0.72 1.08 x 108 Cream
Earth 1.00 1.50 x 108 Clear blue

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Mars 1.52 2.28 x 108 Clear red
Asteroid belt 2.8 Black
8
Jupiter 5.2 7.80 x 10 Orange
9
Saturn 9.6 1.43 x 10 Clear gold
9
Uranus 19.2 2.88 x 10 Dark blue
9
Neptune 30.07 4.51 x 10 Light blue
9
Pluto 39.5 5.92 x 10 Brown
QN; fill the above table with distance of the planets from the earth to the sun in km.

ACTIVITY.

1. Name the inner and outer planets in our solar system.

2. Write down the characteristic of each of the eight planets in the solar systems.
3. Why is it that it’s only the earth that supports life among all the planets?
4. What elements is the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn primary comprised of.

Other objects in the solar system.

1. Asteroids; these are thousands [millions] of small pieces of rocks similar to those found
in the planets that orbit the sun mostly between the orbits of the mars and Jupiter.
This orbit is called the asteroid belt.
The largest asteroid is called cera.

Asteroid belt; is a region between the inner planets and the outer planets where thousands of
asteroid are found orbiting around the sun.

2: Comets; A comet is an icy celestial body moving around the sun in an elliptical orbit
releasing gas/dust having drawn out tail.

 The solid nucleus or core of a comet consists mainly of dust of frozen water [ice] as well
as frozen gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia.
 Comets lose ice and dust each time they set closer to the sun leaving behind tails or
debris. Eventually they can move all their ice with some turning into fragile inactive
objects called meteroids.

3: meteoroids – smaller asteroids that burn up in the atmosphere and fall to the earth as dust.

4: Meteors: these are commonly known as the falling stars or shooting stars. They can be seen
on most dark nights and move clear after midnight.

They are formed when meteroids enter the earth’s atmosphere friction between them and
the earth’s atmospheric gases heat it to the point that it glows and visible to our eyes; the streak
of light in the sky is called meteor.

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5: Meteorites; this is a portion of a meteor/asteroid that survives its passage through the earth’s
atmosphere and hits the ground without being destroyed. They are small to cause damage.

Relative sizes, position and motions of the earth, moon and

the sun.
Life on earth is greatly influenced by two bodies in the universe namely the moon and the sun.

These two bodies are very big, but you can see them appearing small because they are very far
away from the earth.

 The moon, the earth and the sun are all spherical with the following diameters.

Body Approximate diameter [km]

Sun 1400,000
Earth 12,800
Moon 3500
1. Use the data provided above to compare the sizes of the earth and the sun.
a. Calculate the volume in km3 of the;
i. Moon
ii. The earth
iii. The sun.
b. How many moon can fit in the earth
c. How many times is the sun bigger than the earth
THE EARTHS ROTATION.
The earths is not stationary, it is constantly rotating/spinning in an anticlockwise
direction about an axis that passes from the North Pole to the South Pole.

DIAGRAM.

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 Day and Night.
The change from day to night is due to the rotation of the earth on its own axis. The earth turns
on its own axis once in 24hours and during that time the sun only shines on the half of the earth
that it is facing.

The part of the earth which receives sunlight is day while the other part which does not receive
sunlight is called night. This explain why the day is always bright while the night is always dark
indicting the absence of light.

Revolution of the earth around the sun.

As the earth spins about its axis of the rotation, it revolves around the sun in a circular path
called an orbit.

The earth takes 365.25 days to revolve in its orbit around the sun. Thus, during ordinary years
it’s assumed that the Earth takes 365 days to revolve around the sun. However after 4 years, the

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fractional days [0.25 x 4] = 1 day add one more day to the revolution of the earth. Such years are
called leap years hence a leap year the earth takes 366 days to revolve around the sun.

N.B: The orbital motion is facilitated by the gravitation force between the earth and the sun.

SEASONS ON EARTH.
The earth is tilted. During its yearly orbit, different parts of the planet are exposed to move
daylight [sunlight energy] than others.

This results into changes in weather and climatic conditions of various regions on earth.

 On earth we experience four seasons that is winter simmer autumn and spring.
However, Equatorial countries e.g. Uganda only experiences only two seasons [dry and
wet] which represents summer and winter.
 When the northern hemisphere faces the sun .it experiences summer while the southern
hemisphere experiences summer while the southern hemisphere experiences winter.
 In the northern and southern hemisphere spring start on the day of the vernal equinox. A
vernal equinox has a balance of hours between daylight and night.

Equinoxes are days in which days and nights are of equal duration. The two yearly
equinoxes occur when the sun crosses the equator.

ROTATION OF THE MOON AROUND THE EARTH.

The moon is the only natural satellite in the solar system visible mainly at night by
reflecting light from the sun.
As the earth orbits the sun, the moon also revolves around the earth. The time the moon
takes to make one complete revolution around the Earth is approximately 27 days and 7
hours.
During this rotation, we can only see the part of the moon which receives and reflects
sunlight to us on earth. This explains why we see different shape if its moon every day.
The different shape are called the phases of the moon, they repeat themselves after
every 29 days in 12 hours.

QN: what is lunar month?

This is time that the moon takes to pass through the complete cycle of its phases and is
measured from the new moon to the new moon.
Lunar month is about 29.5 days [29 days and 12hours]
Qn: Explain why on Earth we see the same half lunar face?.

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 QN: why are we able to see the moon?
The moon is not a light source, it doesn’t make light on its own but rather reflects light
from the sun. Therefore, if the sun was not there, we would not be able to see the moon.
The sun always lights up [illuminate] one side of the moon. The moon appears to change
shape but what we actually see is the moon light up from the sun between different ways
on different days.

Phases of the moon.

1. New moon.
 The moon is positioned between the Earth and the sun.
 The side facing Earth is in shadow, making it appear
completely dark.
2. Waxing Crescent:
 A small illuminated crescent becomes visible.
 The moon is waxing, meaning it is transitioning from the new
moon to first quarter.
3. First quarter (Half-moon):
 Half of the moon is illuminated and visible from the Earth.
 The phase occurs when the moon is at 90-degree angle with the
earth and the sun.
4. Waxing Gibbous:
 More than half of the moon is illuminated but less than full.

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  The illuminated portion continues to grow as the moon moves
towards full moon.
5. Full moon:
 The entire face of the moon is illuminated and visible from the
Earth.
 The moon is positioned opposite the sun and its fully
illuminated side faces us.
6. Waning Gibbous:
 Similar to waxing gibbous but the illuminated portion
decreases from full moon to last quarter
7. Last quarter:
 This is at opposite side of the first quarter.
8. Waning Crescent:
 A small, illuminated crescent is visible, decreasing in size. The
moon is transiting back to the new moon.

ACTIVITY:
i. Explain why you cannot see the new moon?
ii. Why are the waxing or waning crescents less light compared to the full moon?
iii. Why don’t the eclipses occur every month?

OCEAN TIDES.
Tides are periodic rise and fall in the level of water in large bodies like oceans and seas.
Tides are caused due to gravitational pull [force] of the moon on the earth this generates
a tidal force which causes the earth and its water bulge out on the side of the moon.
Another bulge occurs on the opposite side since the earth is also pulled towards the
moon [away from the water body on the far side]. These bulges are high tides.

The side of the earth that are not facing the moon experiences low tides
Note: since the earth is not rotating while this happen two tides occur each day. The suns
gravitational pulls raises the tide on earth however, the pull of the moon is the strongest
since its closer to the earth compared to the sun.
DIAGRAM

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 Qn: what is the economic importance of ocean tides to people leaving along the
coastal line?

 The alternate rise and fall of the tides help fisher men sail out and return to the coast.
 Tidal energy is fast becoming an important source, used in the production of electricity
along the coast.
 The low-lying areas of the sea coast during high tides trap water which is used in the
production of salt at the coast.
 In cold countries tides bring in salt water to the shore and their continuous movements
prevents the harbour from becoming ice bound.
 Because other debril is swept away by the tide, they help keep harbors clean.
 Strong tides help in building lower food plains which are very fertile.
 Tides help in the formational creeks and inlets.

QN: what are the dangerous impacts of ocean tides?

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 THE ORIGIN AND STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE

THE ORIGIN

There are several scientific theories about the origin of universe.

9. Big Bang Theory.

It suggests that the universe began as a singularity, in the form of a hot and dense fire ball,
having a high temperature approximately 13.8 billion years ago and has been expanding ever
since.

10. Inflation Theory

This suggests that there was a rapid exponential expansion of the universe in the moments
following the Big Bang.

11. Steady state Theory

This theory proposed that the universe has no beginning or end and is constantly expanding
while maintaining a constant density.

12. The Pulsating Theory

In this theory it is assumed that there is alternate expansion and contraction of universe.

STRUCTURE

The universe’s structure is hierarchical and consists of various components:

1. Galaxies: these are massive collections of stars, gas, dust and dark matter. Our Milky
Way is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe.
2. Stars: within galaxies, stars form and emit light and energy.
3. Planets: planets orbit stars.
4. Galaxy clusters: these are groups of galaxies bound by gravity.
5. Cosmic Web: this is a network of galaxy filaments.
6. Dark matter and Dark Energy: Dark matter provides a gravitational pull, while dark
energy accelerates the universe’s expansion.

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 Activity.

After consulting your religious leaders, write briefly about the origin of the universe according
to your religion (include name of your religion and evidences (facts) to support your Theory in
details).

STARS AND GALAXIES

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