The Solar System

The Sun is our nearest star. It is a relatively small star when compared to
other stars in the universe. Our Solar System contains the Sun and
everything that orbits it.
Structure of the Solar System
The Milky Way is a galaxy containing billions of stars. The Sun is one
of these stars.
The Sun
The Sun is the largest object in the Solar System. The Sun’s huge
gravitational field keeps many other objects - planets, dwarf planets,
asteroids and comets - in orbit around it.
Planets
The Earth is one of eight planets in the Solar System. The planets orbit
the Sun at different distances.

The Sun
and its planets
- Mercury,
Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune
The different planets have different properties and conditions. In
general, as the distance from the Sun increases:
 the temperature decreases, for example, Mercury is 430 °C whereas
Neptune is -200 °C
 the time taken to orbit the Sun increases, for example, Mercury orbits
once every 88 Earth days, but Neptune orbits once every 165 Earth
years
For a planet to form, its own gravity must be strong enough to make it
round or spherical in shape. Its gravitational field must also be strong
enough to ‘clear the neighbourhood’, pulling smaller nearby objects into
its orbit.
Moons
Moons are natural satellites that orbit a planet. Many planets have
moons, and some planets have many moons - Saturn has more than 50.
The Earth has just one moon - the Moon.
Dwarf planets
Pluto is a dwarf planet. The gravitational field of a dwarf planet is not
strong enough to clear the neighbourhood, so there may be other objects
in its orbit around the Sun. The Solar System contains hundreds of dwarf
planets, including Ceres (the only dwarf planet in the asteroid belt).
Asteroids
The Solar System contains smaller objects called asteroids - these orbit
the Sun in highly elliptical orbits, which are oval or egg-shaped and may
take millions of years to complete. Asteroids are made of metals and
rocky material. There are large numbers of asteroids orbiting the Sun in
the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There are also many in a
region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt.
Comets
The Solar System also contains small objects called comets. Comets are
similar to asteroids, but are made of rocky material, dust and ice. As a
 comet approaches the Sun, it begins to vaporise, which means that it
turns into a gas. It then produces a distinctive tail.
The Sun is our nearest star. It is a relatively small star when
compared to other stars in the universe. Our Solar System
contains the Sun and everything that orbits it.
The Sun
The Solar System was formed around 4.6 billion years ago from a large
cloud of dust and gas, called a nebula. This collapsed under its own
gravity, transferring gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy in its
particles. As the nebula collapsed it became denser, and rotated more
rapidly. Collisions between particles caused kinetic energy to be
transferred as internal energy and thermal energy. The core of the nebula
began to form a hot, dense protostar.
When the Sun’s core became hot enough and dense
enough, nuclear fusion reactions began. In these reactions:

 hydrogen nuclei join together to form helium nuclei

 energy is transferred by radiation
A star like the Sun is at equilibrium - gravity tends to pull it
inwards, and radiation pressure from the nuclear reactions tends
to expand it outwards. In other words, the gravitational collapse is
balanced by the expansion due to fusion energy.
The Sun is our nearest star. It is a relatively small star when
compared to other stars in the universe. Our Solar System
contains the Sun and everything that orbits it.
Orbital motion
Gravity provides the force needed to maintain stable orbit of both
planets around a star and also of moons and artificial satellites around a
planet.
 Explaining orbits
For an object to remain in a steady, circular orbit it must be travelling at
the right speed. The diagram shows a satellite orbiting the Earth.

There are three possible outcomes:

 If the satellite is moving too quickly then the gravitational

attraction between the Earth and the satellite is too weak to
keep it in orbit. If this is the case, the satellite will move off into
space. This occurs at speeds around or above 11,200 metres
per second (m/s).
 If the satellite is moving too slowly then the gravitational
attraction will be too strong, and the satellite will fall towards the
Earth. This occurs at speeds below 7600 m/s.
 A stable orbit is one in which the satellite’s speed is just right - it
will not move off into space or spiral into the Earth, but will travel
around a fixed path.
The Sun is our nearest star. It is a relatively small star when
compared to other stars in the universe. Our Solar System
contains the Sun and everything that orbits it.
Orbits and speed - Higher
Orbits and constant speed
When an object moves in a circle at a constant speed, its direction
constantly changes. A change in direction causes a change in velocity.
This is because velocity is a vector quantity - it has an associated
direction as well as a magnitude. A change in velocity results
in acceleration, so an object moving in a circle is accelerating even
though its speed may be constant.
An object will only accelerate if a resultant force acts on it. For an object
moving in a circle, this resultant force is the centripetal force that acts
towards the middle of the circle. Gravitational attraction provides the
centripetal force needed to keep planets and all types of satellite in orbit.
Orbits and changing speed
The gravitational attraction between two objects decreases with distance.
This means that the closer the two objects are to each other, the stronger
the force of gravity between them. If the force between them is greater, a
greater acceleration will occur.
The greater the acceleration, the greater the change in velocity - this
causes the object to move faster. This means that objects in small orbits
travel faster than objects in large orbits.
 The graph shows how the orbital speed of a planet changes with its
distance from the Sun.

Planets further from the sun orbit more slowly

Artificial satellites travel in one of two different orbits:

 polar orbits
 geostationary orbits
Polar orbits take the satellites over the Earth’s poles. The
satellites travel very close to the Earth (as low as 200 km above
sea level), so they must travel at very high speeds (nearly 8,000
m/s).
Geostationary satellites take 24 hours to orbit the Earth, so the
satellite appears to remain in the same part of the sky when
viewed from the ground. These orbits are much higher than polar
orbits (typically 36,000 km) so the satellites travel more slowly
(around 3 km/s).
 The life cycle of a star
Gravity and nuclear fusion reactions drive the formation and
development of stars. Stars with different masses grow and change
throughout the different stages of their lives.
The formation and life cycle of stars
The life cycle for a particular star depends on its size. The diagram
shows the life cycles of stars that are:

 about the same size as the Sun

 far greater than the Sun in size
Life cycles of stars
All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also
known as a nebula, becomes a protostar, which goes on to
become a main sequence star. Following this, stars develop in
different ways depending on their size.
Stars that are a similar size to the Sun follow the left hand path:
red giant star → white dwarf → black dwarf
Stars that are far greater in mass than the Sun follow the right
hand path:
red super giant star → supernova → neutron star, or a black hole
(depending on size)
A nebula
A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also
known as a nebula. Nebulae are mostly composed of hydrogen.

Gravity begins to pull the dust and gas together.

Protostar
As the mass falls together it gets hot. A star is formed when it is
hot enough for the hydrogen nuclei to fuse together to make
helium. The fusion process releases energy, which keeps the
core of the star hot.
Main sequence star
During this stable phase in the life of a star, the force of gravity
holding the star together is balanced by higher pressure due to
the high temperatures. The Sun is at this stable phase in its life.

Red giant star

When all the hydrogen has been used up in the fusion process,
larger nuclei begin to form and the star may expand to become a
red giant.
White dwarf
When all the nuclear reactions are over, a small star like the Sun
may begin to contract under the pull of gravity. In this instance,
the star becomes a white dwarf which fades and changes colour
as it cools.

Supernova
A larger star with more mass will go on making nuclear reactions,
getting hotter and expanding until it explodes as a supernova.
An exploding supernova throws hot gas into space.

Neutron star or black hole

Depending on the mass at the start of its life, a supernova will
leave behind either a neutron star or a black hole.
 Gravity and nuclear fusion reactions drive the formation and
development of stars. Stars with different masses grow and
change throughout the different stages of their lives.
Main sequence stars
For most of its lifetime, a star is a main sequence star. It is stable, with
balanced forces keeping it the same size all the time. During this period:

 gravitational attraction tends to collapse the star

 radiation pressure from the fusion reactions tends to expand the star
 forces caused by gravitational attraction and fusion energy are
balanced
The Sun is expected to be a main sequence star for billions of years.
Fusion reactions
In a main sequence star, hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form
helium nuclei. This happens in several steps, but one way to simplify the
overall change is:
12H+ 13H→24He+ 01n
Two hydrogen nuclei fuse to produce a helium nucleus and a neutron.

Supernovae
All the naturally occurring elements in the Universe are produced
by nuclear fusion reactions in stars. For example, beryllium and
carbon nuclei can be produced from helium nuclei:
24He+24He→48Be
(two helium nuclei join to form a beryllium nucleus)
24He+48Be→612C
(a helium nucleus and a beryllium nucleus join to form a carbon
nucleus)
During the majority of a star’s lifetime, hydrogen nuclei fuse
together to form helium nuclei. As the star runs out of hydrogen,
other fusion reactions take place forming the nuclei of other
elements.
Elements that are heavier than hydrogen and helium are formed.
Elements heavier than iron are formed in
the supernova explosions of high mass stars. When the
supernova explodes, all the elements produced are thrown out
into the Universe. The heavy elements found on Earth, such as
gold, came from material thrown out in previous supernova
explosions.
The expanding Universe
Theories about the development of the Universe, such as the Big Bang
theory, are based on astronomical observations and ideas such as red-
shift and dark energy.

Red-shift
Emission spectra
Light from a star does not contain all the wavelengths of
the electromagnetic spectrum. Elements in the star absorb some of the
emitted wavelengths, so dark lines are present when the spectrum is
analysed. Different elements produce different patterns of dark lines.
The diagram shows part of the emission spectrum of light from the Sun.
Spectra from distant galaxies
Astronomers can observe light from distant galaxies. When they
do this, they see it is different to the light from the Sun. The dark
lines in the spectra from distant galaxies show an increase in
wavelength. The lines are moved or shifted towards the red end
of the spectrum. This effect is called red-shift. The diagram shows
part of the emission spectrum of light from a distant galaxy.

Red-shift and speed

Astronomers see red-shift in virtually all galaxies. It is a result of
the space between the Earth and the galaxies expanding. This
expansion stretches out the light waves during their journey to us,
shifting them towards the red end of the spectrum. The more red-
shifted the light from a galaxy is, the faster the galaxy is moving
away from Earth.
Big Bang Theory
According to the Big Bang theory, about 13.8 billion years ago the
whole Universe was a very small, extremely hot and dense region. From
this tiny point, the whole Universe expanded outwards to what exists
today.
Evidence from red-shift
Astronomers have discovered that, in general, the further away a galaxy
is, the more red-shifted its light is. This means that the further away the
galaxies are, the faster they are moving. This is similar to an explosion,
where the bits moving fastest travel furthest from the explosion. Red-
shift data provides evidence that the Universe, including space itself, is
expanding.
Evidence from CMBR
Astronomers have also discovered a cosmic microwave background
radiation (CMBR). This comes from all directions in space and has a
temperature of about -270 °C. The CMBR is the remains of the thermal
energy from the Big Bang, spread thinly across the whole Universe.

Does evidence
Prediction from Big Bang
Evidence observed support the Big
theory
Bang theory?

More distant galaxies should More distant galaxies

Yes
move away faster have greater red-shift

Initial Big Bang heat should CMBR is everywhere

now be thinly spread across at a temperature of Yes
the whole Universe about -270°C

The discovery of red-shift in light from distant galaxies led to the

development of the Big Bang theory. The discovery of the CMBR, after
it had been predicted by the theory, provided very strong support for the
Big Bang theory.
The future of the Universe
For many years, scientists have tried to work out the density of the
Universe. The answer to this would give them an idea of whether the
Universe is going to expand forever, or if the gravitational attraction
between all objects will eventually slow to a stop, attracting everything
back together in a 'Big Crunch'.
Dark energy
Since 1998, astronomical observations of supernova have suggested that
distant galaxies are moving away increasingly faster. The expansion of
the Universe appears to be accelerating. Scientists do not entirely
understand how this could happen, but they have come up with an idea
called dark energy.
The nature of dark energy is still a complete mystery, but it is thought to
cause the Universe to expand faster all the time. Astronomers have
calculated that to make the Universe accelerate as observed, dark energy
must account for 68 per cent of the Universe.
Dark matter
Another recently discovered anomaly is that galaxies seem to rotate too
quickly for the mass of their stars. This suggests that there is mass in the
Universe that is invisible to the instruments used by scientists. Scientists
only know it is there because it has gravity that affects objects nearby.
This unknown material has been called dark matter. Astronomers have
calculated that 27 per cent of the Universe must be made of this dark
matter.