Astronomy 161 - Introduction to Solar System Astronomy episodes:

• November 15, 2006Lecture 37: Jupiter and Saturn

  Jupiter and Saturn are the largest planets in the Solar System,

  and the prototype of the Jovian Gas Giant planets. This lecture

  focusses on the planets themselves, looking at their composition,

  atmospheres, and internal structures. We will leave discussion

  of their fascinating systems of rings and moons for next week.

  Recorded 2006 Nov 15 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus

  of The Ohio State University.

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• November 14, 2006Lecture 36: Worlds in Comparison - The Terrestrial Planets

  Having completed our tour of the terrestrial planets, we want to step

  back and compare their properties. In particular, we want to look at

  the processes that drive the evolution of their surfaces, their

  interiors, and their atmospheres. Recorded 2006 Nov 14 in 100 Stillman

  Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

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• November 13, 2006Lecture 35: The Deserts of Mars

  Mars, fourth planet from the Sun, is a cold desert planet with a thin,

  dry carbon-dioxide atmosphere. The geology of Mars, however, shows

  signs of an active past, with hot-spot volcanism, and tantalizing signs

  of ancient water flows. While a cold, dead desert planet today, Mars'

  past may have been warmer and wetter, with liquid water during the first

  third of its history. This lecture will review the properties of Mars,

  and discuss the evidences of its active past. Recorded 2006 Nov 13 in

  100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

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• November 09, 2006Lecture 34: Venus Unveiled

  Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is perpetually veiled behind

  opaque clouds of sulfuric acid droplets atop a hot, heavy, mostly carbon

  dioxide atmosphere. In size and apparent composition, however, it is a

  near twin-sister of the Earth. Why is it do different? This lecture

  reviews the basic properties of Venus, and examines the similarties and

  differences with the Earth. Recorded 2006 Nov 9 in 100 Stillman Hall on

  the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

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• November 08, 2006Lecture 33: Battered Mercury

  Mercury is the innermost of the planets, a hot, dead world that has been

  heavily battered by impacts. This lecture reviews the basic properties

  of Mercury, particularly its surface and interior. Recorded 2006 Nov 8

  in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State

  University.

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• November 07, 2006Lecture 32: The Origin of the Solar System

  How did the Solar System form? This lecture examines the clues in the

  present-day dynamics (orbital and rotation motions) of the planets and

  planetary composition to the formation of the solar system. We will

  then describe the accretion model, where grains condense out of the

  primordial solar nebula, grains aggregate by collisions into

  planetesimals, then gravity begins to work and planetesimals grow into

  protoplanets. What kind of planet grows depends on where the

  protoplanets are in the primordial solar nebula: close to the Sun only

  rocky planets form, beyond the Frost Line ices and volatiles can

  condense out, allowing the growth of the gas giants. The whole process

  took about 100 million years, and we as we explore the solar system we

  will look for traces of this process on the various worlds we visit.

  Recorded 2006 Nov 7 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The

  Ohio State University.

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• November 06, 2006Lecture 31: The Family of the Sun

  We start our exploration of the Solar System with a quick overview of

  its constituent parts. I will take as my starting point that Pluto,

  Eris, and Ceres are Dwarf Planets according to the 2006 IAU decision.

  This decision, which is not without controversy, will be one of the

  questions we will revisit during these lectures. Recorded 2006 Nov 6 in

  100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

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• November 02, 2006Lecture 30: The Moon

  What is the structure of the Moon, and what physical processes have

  shaped its surface? In this lecture we turn to our nearest celestial

  neighbor, the Moon, to see a world quite different than the dynamic

  Earth. We will discuss the surface features of the Moon (the Maria

  and cratered highlands), see how crater density tells us the relative

  ages of terrain, and look at the composition of Moon rocks returned

  by astronauts and robotic probes. We also discuss the interior

  of the Moon, and review what we know about lunar history and formation.

  Recorded 2006 Nov 2 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus

  of The Ohio State University.

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• November 01, 2006Lecture 29: The Earth's Atmosphere

  What is the composition and structure of the Earth's atmosphere? Why is

  it as warm as it is, and how did it form? These are the questions for

  today's lecture. The Earth's atmosphere is a complex, dynamic, and

  evolving system. We will discuss the composition and structure of the

  atomsphere, the nature of the different thermal layers, the Greenhouse

  Effect, and the Primordial Atmosphere and atmospheric evolution. This

  will give us a basis for comparison when we begin to examine other

  planetary atmospheres in future lectures. Recorded 2006 Nov 1 in 100

  Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

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• October 31, 2006Lecture 28: Inside the Earth

  What is the structure of the Earth? What better place to begin our

  exploration of the Solar System then with the best-studied planet, the

  Earth. This lecture discusses the interior structure of the Earth,

  introducing the idea of differentiation, how geologists map the interior

  of the Earth using seismic waves, and the origin of the Earth's magnetic

  field. We then discuss the crust of the Earth, which is divided into 16

  tectonic plates, and explore how plate motions driven by convection in

  the upper mantle have shaped the visible surface of our planet over its

  dynamic history. Recorded 2006 Oct 31 in 100 Stillman Hall on the

  Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

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