essay 3

How The Moon Effects The Earth And The People On It

The most famous theory of the moons creation was thought out to be called the giant impact hypothesis. This proposes that the Moon was created out of the debris left over from a collision between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body. Due to the creation of the moon, the Earth and the people on it are affected in many ways, because of the moon the earth has changes in its ocean tides, a nice stable axial tilt, and total solar eclipses.

Ocean Tides are the result of the gravitational pull of the moon and the Sun. Although the moon is much smaller than the Sun, it is also much closer to the Earth so its effect is about twice that of the Sun (Spence 54-75).  Spring tides are when the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth are lined up. At this point the Sun and Moon reinforce each others gravity causing the tides to be more drastic, water levels are very high when the tide is in and very low when the tide is out (Garlick 74-114). Neap tides, by contrast, occur when the Moon, Sun and Earth form a triangle in space. At this time the gravities of the Sun and Moon cancel each other out by some degree, and the water levels are then at their least extreme (Cooley).

It is considered likely by many scientist that the current 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation is a relic of the oblique collision which produced the Moon we see today (Henney). Furthermore it is argued that the presence of the orbiting Moon has, help to keep this axial tilt of the Earth’s axis (Spudis). One of the significant consequences of the axial tilt is the creation of a variety of seasons (Whyte). The seasons are caused as the Earth, tilted on its axis, travels in a loop around the Sun each year. Summer happens in the hemisphere tilted towards the Sun, and winter happens in the hemisphere tilted away from the Sun (Metcalfe). If Earth had no tilt it is likely that the conditions would be a lot less stable, it could go from one extreme to the other. Thanks to the moon we have our steady tilt on Earths axis which produces seasons for the northern and southern hemispheres.

A total solar eclipse is another effect the moon has on the Earth. This happens up to twice a year, but you need to be in the path of totality to witness a total eclipse, and it is only about 100 miles wide and can be up to 10,000 miles long (Espenak ). A total solar eclipse happens when the moon comes directly in between the Earth and the Sun, and when the geometry is just right and you are in the path of totality, the moon blocks out the whole Sun, only leaving only the corona (Garlick 74-114). This is when scientist realized the importance of the total solar eclipse. When the Sun is blocked out scientist can observe the outer atmosphere of the Sun and this is when they discovered the dangers of Coronal mass ejections. Coronal mass ejections (CME’s) are explosions in the Sun's corona that spew out solar particles (Hathaway). CME's can seriously disrupt the Earths atmosphere and environment (Russell). Intense radiation from the Sun, which arrives only 8 minutes after being released, can alter the Earth's outer atmosphere, which can destroy long-distance radio communications. Energetic particles pushed along by the shock wave of the CME can put astronauts in danger, and fry satellite electronics (Hathaway). The actual coronal mass ejection arrives at the Earth one to four days after the initial eruption, resulting in strong geomagnetic storms, auroras and electrical power blackouts. Thanks to the moon and the total solar eclipses we now know about the dangers of CME’s and we can prepare for them. NASA now has satellites that mimic solar eclipses so the space administration can monitor the Sun at all hours and warn people of these storms so we can hopefully dodge a deadly blackout.

We may not know exactly how we got the moon we have today, weather it was a collision between Earth and a Mars sized body, or just the gravity luring in satellites closer to our planet, or maybe we just always had it. Either way, we know that we take the moon for granted and don’t realize how it effects the Earth and the day to day life we live on it. In the long run the moon gives us ocean tides, a stable tilt on Earths axis and a beautiful solar eclipse, which helped us realize the dangers that hide in the Suns corona.

outline for essay 3

Intro-   The most famous theory of the moons creation was thought out to be called the giant impact hypothesis; this proposes that the Moon was created out of the debris left over from a collision between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body. Due to the creation of the moon, the earth and the people on it are effected in many ways something’s are less obvious than others; because of the moon the earth has changes in its ocean tides, a nice stable axial tilt which promotes a nice even seasonal change, and because of the total solar eclipse's scientist now know the dangers that hide in the suns corona

Paragraph 1- Ocean tides
what causes them
what that did for us
how is it important and why does it happen

Paragraph 2- The stable Axel tilt
What is it
why this is so important to us
how it causes a nice flow of seasons instead of a drastic leap from cold to hot all the time.

Paragraph 3- total solar eclipses
what is a total solar eclipse when do they occur and how is the moon involved
how does this affect us? (We now know about the deadly magnetic storms the sun throws at us also known as coronal mass ejections) now we can monitor the sun and be prepared for a deadly magnetic storm.

*conclusion*

Thesis statement for essay 3

  Due to the creation of the moon, the earth and the people on it are affected in many ways somethings are less obvious than others; because of the moon the earth has changes in its ocean tides, a nice stable axial tilt which promotes a  good seasonal change, and because of the total solar eclipse's scientist now know the dangers that hide in the suns corona

Questions on topic 3

how was the moon created?
How old is the moon that we see?
Did the earth always have a moon?
Which ways does the moon effect the earth?
Are tides caused by the moon?
How is a total solar eclipse important to us?
Did the moon help create a calender?
Would we live the same without the moon?

essay 2 revised

The Two Different Kinds Of Planets In Our Solar System

            On Aug 24, 2006, Pluto was officially stripped of its planetary status, thus confirming it as a dwarf planet. The reason is because it did not meet the new qualifications to be a planet in our solar system. This now only leaves us with eight planets that orbit our star we call the sun. Even though all these heavenly bodies in our solar system are classified as the same thing, planets, they differ in many ways. The two types of planets in the solar system, terrestrial and Jovian planets are located in different areas in relation to the sun, have a unique composition, and have different satellites in their orbits due to the planets unique mass and gravitational pull.

One of the big differences between Jovian and terrestrial planets is the distance from the sun. All terrestrial planets are relatively much closer to the sun as opposed to Jovian planets. The outer most terrestrial planet is Mars, and it is, at the most, 154.8 million miles away from the sun, and it can be as close it is 128.4 million miles away. The closest Jovian planet is Jupiter, and that is, at the most, 506.9 million miles away and it can be as close as 460.4 million miles away (Garlick 74-114), which is still a very big difference from mars. This is just an idea of how much the distance differs. The reason is the formation of the solar system, if there is two clouds of gas and dust from the sun (one is far away and cold while the other is close and hot), the gases from the inner cloud will be lost before it collapses, but the outer cloud on the other hand will expand and collapse, in the end the terrestrial planets end up being mainly composed of metals and rock while the Jovian planets end up being mainly composed of gases and liquid (Howe). Also because the outer planets are outside the frost line, temperatures are cooler and hydrogen compounds are able to condense into ices (Wolf). This is how distance can play the difference between the two types of planets.

The atmosphere and composition also make these planets different. Venus and Mars have an atmosphere that is compose of mainly carbon dioxide which is 95% on Venus and 96% on Mars, Venus and Mars also have nitrogen which is 3.2 percent on Venus and 2.7% on Mars (Garlick 74-114), Earth is the only planet with oxygen in the atmosphere which makes up 21% of the atmosphere and 78% is nitrogen, and Mercury virtually has no atmosphere (Hamilton). Besides Mercury, carbon dioxide and nitrogen make up the atmosphere for most of the terrestrial planets. Hydrogen and helium make up most of the atmosphere for the Jovian planets, for Jupiter and Saturn it makes up 90% or more of the atmosphere, and the remaining 10% or less is helium, Uranus and Neptune have about 80% hydrogen, 15 to 18% helium and the remaining 2 to 3 % is methane (Spence 54-75). Just the composition of the atmosphere for Jovian and Terrestrial planets differs greatly. As for the rest of the composition, the main difference between these two types of planets is; Jovian planets have relatively no solid parts in the composition, it is mainly gas and liquid, and terrestrial planets are mainly rocks and other solid material (Strobel). This is how the composition and atmosphere of the Jovian and Terrestrial planets differ.

The terrestrial planets have very few satellites, otherwise known as moons. This is because the terrestrial planets lack in size compared to the gas giants, therefore, they have less of a gravitational pull on the objects around them. There are only three moons that the terrestrial planets have; Mars has two of them, Phobos and Deimos ("Astronomy 161"), while the other moon on the terrestrial side orbits Earth. The greater masses of the Jovian planets give them a much stronger gravitational pull so they tend to pick up more satellites. Jupiter has the most known satellites, it has an incredible 61 moons (Curtis), Saturn itself has 31 moons like Jupiter some of them haven’t even been named yet. Neptune has 13 moons, and Uranus has 27 moons (Robbins). All together the Jovian planets have an amazing 132 known moons, while the terrestrial planets only have 3 moons. That is a big difference and it is all because of how massive the Jovian planets are compared to the smaller terrestrial planets.

So even though all eight of these heavenly bodies in our solar system are categorized as virtually the same thing “planets,” that does not mean they are. The distance, composition, and gravitational pull on objects around them are just some of the main differences, and this is perhaps why scientist gave our eight planets two different categories Jovian and terrestrial.

Work cited

Work Cited

Garlick, Mark. Astronomy. Buffalo New York: Firefly Books Ltd., 2004. 74-114. Print.

Howe, Lauren . "Our Solar System." scienceclass.ning.com. James Linzel, 26 may 2008. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://scienceclass.ning.com/profiles/blogs/1677792:BlogPost:3598>.

Wolf, Portia. "The Outer Planets." lasp.colorado.edu. LASP, may 2008. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://lasp.colorado.edu/education/outerplanets/solsys_planets.php>.

Hamilton, Calvin . "Views of the Solar System ." solarviews. Calvin J. Hamilton, 2010. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/mercury.htm>.

Spence, Pam. The Universe Revealed. New york NY: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 54-75. Print.

Strobel, Nick . "Determining Planet Properties." Planetary Science. Planetary Science, 01 jun 2007. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s2.htm>.

"The Moons Of Mars." Astronomy 161. Astronomy 161, 2003. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/index.html>.

Curtis, Anthony. "EXPLORING THE JUPITER SYSTEM." Space Today Online. Space Today Online, 2004. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Jupiter/JupiterLinks.

Robbins, Stuart. "Uranus' Moons." Journey Through The Galaxy. Stuart Robbins, 13 sep 2006. Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/uranus_moons.html>.

Rough Draft

The Two Different Kinds Of Planets In Our Solar System

            On Aug 24 2006 Pluto was officially stripped of its planetary status, thus confirming it as a dwarf planet. The reason being, is it did not meet the new qualifications to be confirmed a planet in our solar system. This now only leaves us with eight planets that orbit are star that we call the sun. Even though all these heavenly bodies in our solar system are classified as the same thing “planets” they differ in many ways. The two types of planets in the solar system, Terrestrial and Jovian planets, are located in different areas in relation to the sun, have a unique composition, and have different satellites in their orbits due to the planets unique mass and gravitational pull.

One of the big difference’s between Jovian and terrestrial planets is the distance from the sun. All terrestrial planets are relatively a lot closer to the sun vs. Jovian planets. The outer most terrestrial planet is mars and it is at the most 154.8 million miles away from the sun, and it can be as close it is 128.4 million miles away, while the closest Jovian planet is Jupiter, and that is at the most 506.9 million miles away and it can be as close as 460.4 million miles away (Garlick 74-114), which is still a very big difference from mars. This is just an idea of how much the distance differs, The reason being is the formation of the solar system, If you have two clouds of gas and dust from the sun (one is far away and cold while the other is close and hot), the gases from the inner cloud will be lost before it collapses, but the outer cloud on the other hand will expand and collapse, in the end the terrestrial planets end up being mainly composed of metals and rock while the Jovian planets end up being mainly composed of gases and liquid (Howe). Also because the outer planets are outside the frost line, temperatures are cooler and hydrogen compounds are able to condense into ices (Wolf). This is how distance can play the difference between the two types of planets.

The atmosphere and composition also make these planets different. Venus and mars have an atmosphere that is compose of mainly carbon dioxide which is 95% on Venus and 96% on mars, Venus and mars also have nitrogen which is 3.2 percent on Venus and 2.7% on mars (Garlick 74-114), Earth is the only planet with oxygen in the atmosphere which makes up 21% of the atmosphere and 78% is nitrogen, and mercury virtually has no atmosphere (Hamilton). Besides Mercury, you can say carbon dioxide and nitrogen make up the atmosphere for most of the terrestrial planets. Hydrogen and helium make up most of the atmosphere for the Jovian planets, for Jupiter and Saturn it makes up 90% or more of the atmosphere, and the remaining 10% or less is helium, Uranus and Neptune have about 80% hydrogen, 15 to 18% helium and the remaining 2 to 3 % is methane (Spence 54-75). Just the composition of the atmosphere for Jovian and Terrestrial planets differs greatly. As for the rest of the composition, the main difference between these two types of planets is; Jovian planets have relatively no solid parts in the composition, it is mainly gas and liquid, and terrestrial planets are mainly rocks and other solid material (Strobel). This is how the composition and atmosphere of the Jovian and Terrestrial planets differ.

The terrestrial planets have very few satellites, other wise know as moons. This is because the terrestrial planets lack in size compared to the gas giants, therefore they have less of a gravitational pull on the objects around them. There is only three moons that the terrestrial planets have, Mars has two of them, Phobos and Deimos ("Astronomy 161")

while earth haves the other one. The greater masses of the Jovian planets give them a much stronger gravitational pull so they tend to pick up more satellites. Jupiter has the most known satellites, it has an incredible 61 moons (Curtis), Saturn itself has 31 moons like Jupiter some of them haven’t even been named yet. Neptune has 13 moons, and Uranus has 27 moons (Robbins). All together the Jovian planets have an amazing 132 known moons, while the terrestrial planets only have 3 moons. That is a big difference and it is all because of how massive the Jovian planets are compared to the smaller terrestrial planets.

So even though all eight of these beautiful heavenly bodies are categorized as virtually the same thing “planets”, that does not mean they are. The distance, composition, and gravitational pull on objects around them are just some of the main differences but as you look deeper you are guaranteed to find more, and this is perhaps why scientist gave our eight planets two different categories Jovian and terrestrial.

Outline

I know this is much bigger than an outline should be but I went through and got all the info I needed and organized it with a intro so basically everything I need is in this outline, I just need to shorten it a good bit and make it look neat and flow better

*Intro On Aug 24 2006 Pluto was officially stripped of its planetary status, thus confirming it as a dwarf planet. The reason being, is it did not meet the new qualifications to be confirmed a planet in our solar system. This now only leaves us with 8 planets that orbit are star that we call the sun. Even though all these heavenly bodies in our solar system are classified as the same thing (planets) They differ in many way, There is two categories for the planets in our solar system, one is a terrestrial planet, and the other is a Jovian planet, their distance from the sun, composition and the satellites that orbit these planets are some good examples of how they differ and just why they are split in two categories.

*Paragraph one Distance/ and reason why terrestrial planets are always close to sun and Jovian planets are always far away

       One of the big difference’s from gas giants and terrestrial planets is the distance from the sun. All terrestrial planets are relatively a lot closer to the sun vs Jovian planets. The outer most terrestrial planet is mars and it is at the most 154.8 million miles away from the sun and at the nearest it is 128.4 million miles away, while the closest Jovian planet is Jupiter and that is at the most 506.9 million miles away and it can be as close as 460.4 million miles (citation) away which is still a very big difference from mars. This is just an idea of how much the distance differs, The reason being is the formation of the solar system, If you have two clouds of gas and dust from the sun (one is far away and cold while the other is close and hot), the gases from the inner cloud will be lost before it collapses but the outer cloud on the other hand will expand and collapse. In the end the inner planets end up being mainly composed of metals and rock while the outer planets end up being mainly composed of gases and water. (Citation) also because the outer planets are Outside the frost line, temperatures are cooler and hydrogen compounds are able to condense into ices.(citation) Rock and metal are still present in the outer solar system, but both are outnumbered and outweighed by the hydrogen compounds, this is why Jovian planets are composed primarily of hydrogen compounds with traces of rock and metal.( citation)

Paragraph 2 Composer of planets and atmosphere

            Venus and mars have a atmosphere that is compose of mainly carbon dioxide which is 95% on Venus and 96% on mars, Venus and mars also have nitrogen which is 3.2 percent on Venus and 2.7% on mars.(Citation) There is even small traces of argon on mars which equal out to about 1.6%, earth is the only planet whit oxygen in the atmosphere which makes up 21% of the atmosphere and mercury actually has no atmosphere(citation). Hydrogen and helium make up most of the atmosphere for the Jovian planets, for Jupiter and Saturn it makes up 90% or more of the atmosphere, and the remaining 10% or less is helium, Uranus and Neptune have about 80% hydrogen, 15 to 18% helium and the remaining 2 to 3 % is methane(citation). Just the composer of the atmosphere for Jovian and terrestrial planets differ greatly, but the actual composer of the planets do to. Lets compare mars to Saturn since  they are good examples of each category, Mars contain a iron rich core about 1700 km, the core Is surrounded by a molten rocky mantle rich in iron oxide as that of the earth, overlain by a thin crust (citation) While Saturn contains a hot rocky core of heavy elements that is overlain with a liquid metallic hydrogen layer and a molecular hydrogen layer followed by the atmosphere. The main difference in these two types of planets is Jovian planets have relatively no solid parts in the planet it is mainly gas and liquid and terrestrial planets are mainly rocks and other solid material.

Paragraph 3 satellites

     The terrestrial planets have very few satellites other wise know as moons. There is only 3 moons mars has 2 Phobos and Deimos while earth haves one(citation). This is because all terrestrial planets are relatively small earth is the largest of them and even the smallest Jovian planet Neptune is about 4 times larger than earth (citation). The greater masses of the Jovian planets give them a much stronger gravitational pull so they tend to pick up more satellites. Jupiter has the most known satellites it has an incredible 61 moons, Saturn itself has 31 moons like Jupiter some of them haven’t even been named(citation). Neptune has 13 moons and Uranus has 27 moons(citation) all in all The Jovian planets have an amazing 132 known moons while the terrestrial planets only have 3 moons, that is a big difference and it is all because of how massive the Jovian planets are compared to the smaller terrestrial planets.

*Conclusion

Thesis stament

I'M thinking something along this line for my thesis statement, but I'm not yet sure that it is a good one, or a correct one for my category so please comment or make suggestions if you can

Thesis

The two types of planets in the solar system, Terrestrial and Jovian planets, are located in different areas in relation to the sun, have a unique composition, and have different satellites in their orbits due to the planets mass and gravitational pull.

Writing process

Topic- Our solar system and the 2 different kinds of planets that make it up

Purpose- My purpose is to inform the reader that the planets in our solar system are split in 2 categories, and how much the differ and why

Audience- My audience would be my teacher or anyone interested in astronomy or our solar system

Context- My main audience will read this on Oct 6 2010, in the form of an essay in class on the computer (via email or blog)

Strategies- My strategy is to wright a compare and anaylisis essay  in order to show the auidence how these planets differ.