Astronomy 1030 - Chapter 6 Vagabonds of the Solar System

Speculated that intelligent systems lived on Mars. Study of Uranus' and Neptune's orbits helped to predict Pluto.

No up close spacecrafts, only Earth-based observations.

Density: too high for jovian planet, too low for terrestrial planetorbit & tilt: 118° tilt. orbit very inclined and eccentricclassification: dwarf planet. hasn't cleared it's path of debris. orbits through the Kuiper belt

"10th Planet" named to cause trouble and make people think about the innumerable "planets" orbiting in the Kuiper belt, and cause IAU to redefine planets. Now named Eris ("dischord")

1) orbits the Sun and no other planet.2) large enough that its own gravity makes it round3) cleared the neighborhood of smaller objects

1) in orbit around the Sun2) nearly round shape due to self-gravity3) has NOT cleared the neighborhood of its orbit4) is NOT a satellite of another planet

-not planets, not dwarf planets. but orbit the sun.-includes: asteroids, TNOs, comets, Centaurs and Neptunian Trojans.

Rocky, no ice. Largest are size of TX, smallest the size of a grain of sand. Usually too small to be spherical.

Apollos: cross Mars' and Earth's orbitsAphelion: within the asteroid belt, within Mars' orbit.

Icy! Tail points away from Sun. Glow caused by fluorescence. *tail actually precedes the body of comet. tails are one AU long.

Ceres is in asteroid beltEris, Makemake and Haumea are in Kuiper Belt

Solar System's two reservoirs of comets. Kuiper belt is closer, near jupiter's orbit, includes short period comets. Oort cloud is outside that, includes long period comets. KBO: kuiper belt object

Smaller than asteroids. atmospheric phenomenon. mostly rocky and smaller than a pea. faster than the speed of sound

Meteor: in earth's atmospheremeteoroid: above earth's atmospheremeteorite: reaches earth's surface

Iron, stony, stony-iron. most are associated with comets, but a few with asteroids.