Solar System

Modern Astronomy:
Voyage to the Planets
dividing_line

Presented by Helen Johnston.

"Voyage to the Planets" begins on 31 August 2011: check listings in the Continuing Education web-site or brochure for enrolment information.

This course looks at what we have learned about the solar system in the era of space exploration. We look at what space missions from Pioneer and Voyager to Galileo and Cassini have taught us about the planets and their moons. We discuss the basics of space flight, including how interplanetary probes use gravitational slingshots to reach the high speeds needed to reach the outer planets. We discuss the the prospects for journeys to Mars, and investigate what we know about planets around other stars. An evening of star- and planet-viewing in the Blue Mountains is included.

Course outline

    LectureLinksPDF versionAnimationsPodcast

    1. Introduction to the Solar System; The Earth as a planet


    We set the scene, showing where we are in the universe, and discuss the Earth as a planet.    		 Lecture 1 links planets1.pdf (15 Mb) Tsunami generation (7.7 Mb)
    Original from http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/visualization/collections/tsunami.html
    Earth topography (8.2 Mb)
    Original from http://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/Land/etopo2.html
    Continental drift (17 Mb)
    Original from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html    		 no podcast of this lecture

    2. The Moon, our nearest neighbour; Spaceflight


    We look at the Moon as the only other solar system body humans have set foot on. Then we discuss the basics of space flight, looking at how we get to other planets.    		 Lecture 2 links planets2.pdf (9.4 Mb) Earth and Moon from Deep Impact (1.1 Mb)
    Original from http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/epoxi_transit.html
    Libration of the moon (484 kb)
    Original from http://www.astrosurf.com/cidadao/animations.htm
    Lunar rotation (15.5 Mb)
    Original from http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/EPO/Educator/educatorsvideos.php
    Moon-forming impact (2.8 Mb)
    Original from http://www.swri.edu/press/impact.htm
    Lagrange-point impactor (308 kb)
    Original from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_theory
    LRO Apollo site movie (35 Mb)
    Original from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/apollo-sites.html
    Orbit animations all together on one page.
    Aerobraking (5.2 Mb)
    Original from http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/gallery/video/2001-2004.html    		 podcast (151 Mb)
    high-res podcast (243 Mb)

    3. The inner planets: Mercury and Venus


    		 Lecture 3 links planets3.pdf (8.5 Mb) Mercury rotation (1.3 Mb)
    Venus rotation (1.7 Mb)
    South polar vortex (314 kb)
    Original from http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=39671    		 podcast (160 Mb)
    high-res podcast (227 Mb)

    4. Mars, the Red Planet


    We look at what we've learned about Mars, and discuss the prospects and problems of possible manned missions to Mars.    		 Lecture 4 links planets4.pdf (16 Mb)
    Labelled map: mola-names.pdf (11 Mb)     		Spirit view of Phobos and Deimos (762 kb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06340
    Dust devils (6 Mb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09260
    Valles Marineris movie (35.8 Mb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02892
    Mars impact animation (805 kb)
    Original from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11387
    		 podcast (154 Mb)
    high-res podcast (251 Mb)

    5. Rocks in space: asteroids, comets and meteorites


    We look at the various smaller bodies in the Solar System, and discuss their effects on the planets.    		 Lecture 5 links planets5.pdf (6 Mb)
    		Eros rotation: movie 1 (1.1 Mb), movie 2 (3.9 Mb), movie 3 (1.3 Mb)
    Originals from http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/mission/near/near_eros_anim.html
    Mathilde encounter (500 kb)
    Original from http://near.jhuapl.edu/Images/Anim.html     		podcast (163 Mb)
    seems to have lost sound halfway through
    high-res podcast (230 Mb)

    5. Jupiter


    We look at Jupiter and its satellite systems, revealed in all their glory by the Voyager missions and Galileo.    		 Lecture 6 links planets6.pdf (11 Mb) Jupiter rotation movie (3.4 Mb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02863
    Europa Tide Movie (4.1 Mb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10149
    Cycloid formation (140 kb)
    Original from http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~hoppa/science.html
    Io rotation (125 kb)
    Original from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/jovian_moons/io.html    		 podcast (151 Mb)
    high-res podcast (242 Mb)

    7. Saturn


    We look at the latest results from Cassini-Huygens and what they tell us about the ringed planet.    		 Lecture 7 links planets7.pdf (11 Mb) Cassini orbit (10.7 Mb)
    Original from http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/video-details.cfm?videoID=85
    Saturn rotation (5.7 Mb)
    Original from http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/solar-system/2007/13/
    Cassini ring-plane crossing (38.4 Mb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08356
    Huygens landing (6.3 Mb)
    Original from http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/video-details.cfm?videoID=79
    Hyperion fly-by (67.8 Mb)
    Original from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07742    		 podcast (153 Mb)
    high-res podcast (213 Mb)

    8. The outer solar system: Uranus, Neptune and (minor) planets beyond


    		 Lecture 8 links planets8.pdf
    (5.7 Mb)     		Rotating Uranus (18 Mb)
    Original from http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/1999/11/
    Uranus magnetic field (5.2 Mb)
    Original from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/uranus/surface.html
    Rotating Neptune (484 kb)
    Original from http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/1996/33/
    Rotating Pluto (616 kb)
    Original from http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/1996/09/
    New Horizons trajectory (8.7 Mb)
    Original from http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.htm    		 podcast (149 Mb)
    high-res podcast (204 Mb)

    9. Formation of the solar system


    We look at how the solar system formed from the original cloud of interstellar gas and dust.    		 Lecture 9 links planets9.pdf
    (8.2 Mb)     		Moon-forming impact (2.8 Mb)
    Original from http://www.swri.edu/press/impact.htm
    Scattering of Uranus and Neptune (90.4 Mb)
    Original from http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~hal/talks.html
    WARNING! this file is HUGE.    		 podcast (155 Mb)
    high-res podcast (215 Mb)

    10. Extrasolar planets


    We discuss the large number of planets now being discovered in other star systems, and discuss how these discoveries affect what we know about our own Solar System.    		 Lecture 10 links planets10.pdf
    (5.2 Mb)     		Transit animation (1 Mb)
    Original from http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/animations/?ImageID=38
    HAT-P-7 lightcurve (26 Mb)
    Original from http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/animations/?ImageID=84
    Kepler-16b (2.2 Mb)
    Original from http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=111428821
    Kepler-11 animation (36 Mb)
    Original from http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/animations/artistsconcepts/?ImageID=119
    Migration simulation (8.5 Mb)
    Original from http://www.astro.su.se/~pawel/planets/movies.html
    Planet-planet scattering (29.3 Mb)
    Original from http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/rasio/movies.html
    Transit of HD 209458 b (8.4 Mb)
    Original from http://www2.iap.fr/exoplanetes/images_hd209458_en.html
    SWEEPS-10 transiting planet (7 Mb)
    Original from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/exoplanet_transit.html
    		 podcast (155 Mb)
    high-res podcast (198 Mb)

Astro humour:

dividing_line

Last updated 15 November 2011

Please let me know of any problems with these pages: H.Johnston@physics.usyd.edu.au