Astronomy

Chapter Three

By:
Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Seed
2024-2025

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 3. The Solar System

• The solar system consists of a central star, called the Sun,

planets orbiting the Sun and several smaller objects.

• It is believed from studies of meteorites – remnants of the early

Solar System – that our Sun and planets formed some 4.6 billion
years ago from what is called a giant molecular cloud.

• The gas and dust making up this cloud had been created over
billions of years by the processing of primeval hydrogen and
helium in stars to create heavier elements that are then ejected
into space at the end of their lives.

• In the solar system astronomical units (au), the mean distance of

the Sun and Earth is used. One au is = 1.495 978 70×1011 m

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Accretion* in the Solar
System Over time,
dust, gas, and the larger
debris** in t Solar
System is swept h up and
accreted by the e
planets.
This accretion is still
ongoing today in
constant rain of meteorites
the
that land on the Earth, as
well as the occasional big
impact from larger objects.
*a gradual increase or growth bythe
addition of new layers or parts.
**broken or torn pieces of something
larger.
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 3.1 Classification of Objects
In addition to the Sun and Moon five objects moving relative to the
stars were already known in the antiquity /ænˈtɪk.wə.ti/: Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. They were called planets from the
Greek word meaning a wanderer.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) in its General

Assembly in 2006 defined planets.

All other objects orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as

Small Solar System Bodies. These include most of the asteroids,
Trans-Neptunian Objects, comets, and other small bodies. If the
central body is not the Sun the object is a moon or a satellite
independently of its properties.

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 A satellite is a body which orbits the primary
body so that the center of mass (barycenter) is
inside the primary. If this is not the case, then
the system is called a binary system.

For example, in the case of the Earth and Moon

the barycenter of the system is inside the Earth,
and the Moon is Earth’s satellite. In
Pluto-Charon system the center of the
outside Pluto, and therefore they are mass
called a
binary system. is
Also the definition of a satellite is slightly problematic, since the
largest planets are surrounded by ring systems consisting of small
particles.
What is the distinction between the largest ring particles and smallest
satellites?
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 The solar system contains a vast number of different small bodies.
Traditionally, they have been divided into three categories: asteroids,
comets and meteoroids.

The planets from Mercury to Saturn are bright and well visible with
a naked eye. Records of them are found even in the most ancient
written documents. Uranus and Neptune can be seen with a pair of
binoculars. In addition to the bright planets, only the brightest
comets are visible with a naked eye.

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Gravitation controls the motion of the solar system bodies. The planetary
orbits around the Sun are almost coplanar ellipses which deviate only
slightly from circles. Mercury, the innermost planet, has the most eccentric
orbit.
‫(ﺔﯾرﺧﺻﻟا بﻛاوﻛﻟا) ﺦﯾرﻣﻟاو ضرﻷاو‬ ‫نوﺗﺑﻧو سوﻧاروأو لﺣزو يرﺗﺷﻣﻟاو‬
‫ةرھزﻟاو درﺎطﻋ‬

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 • The orbital planes of asteroids, minor bodies that circle the Sun
mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, are often more
tilted than the planes of the planetary orbits.

• Asteroids and distant Trans-Neptunian Objects revolve in

the same direction as the major planets; comets, however, may
move in the opposite direction. Cometary orbits can be very
elongated, even hyperbolic.

• Most of the satellites circle their parent planets in the same

direction as the planet moves around the Sun.

• Only the motions of the smallest particles, gas and dust are
affected by the solar wind, radiation pressure and magnetic fields.

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 The planets can be divided into inferior /ɪnˈfɪə.ri.ər/ and superior
planets depending on their orbits. Mercury and Venus are inferior
planets as seen from the Earth, and planets from Mars to Neptune
are superior planets.

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 Depending on their physical properties the planets can be divided
into different groups . Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are called
terrestrial (Earth-like) planets; they have a solid surface, are of
almost equal size (diameters from 5000 to 12,000 km), and have
quite a high mean density (4000–5000 kgm−3; the density of water is
1000 kgm−3).

The planets from Jupiter to Neptune are called Jovian (Jupiter-like)

or giant planets. The densities of the giant planets are about
1000–2000 kgm−3, and most of their volume is liquid. Diameters are
several times greater than those of the terrestrial planets.
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 3.2 Planetary Configurations
To the naked eye planets look starlike dots. However, their slow
motion with respect to the stars reveals that they are bodies of
our solar system.
The apparent motions of the planets look quite complicated,
partly because they reflect the motion of the Earth around the Sun.

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 • Normally the planets move eastward (direct motion,
counterclockwise as seen from the Northern hemisphere) when
compared with the stars.

• When the Earth passes a superior planet, the motion of the

planet reverses to the opposite or retrograde direction. After a few
weeks of retrograde motion, the direction is changed again,
and the planet continues in the original direction.

• It is quite understandable that

the
ancient astronomers had great
difficulties in explaining and
modelling such complicated
turns and loops.

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 • A superior planet (planet outside the orbit of the Earth) is said to
be in opposition when it is exactly opposite the Sun, i.e. when the
Earth is between the planet and the Sun. When the planet is
behind the Sun, it is in conjunction.

• Those points where the apparent motion of a planet changes

its direction are called stationary points. Opposition occurs in
the middle of the retrograde loop.

• Inferior planets (Mercury and Venus) are never in opposition.

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• The maximum (eastern or western)
elongation, i.e. the angular distance
of the planet from the Sun is 28◦ for
Mercury and 47◦ for Venus.
Elongations are called eastern or
western, depending on which side of
the Sun the planet is seen.

• The planet is an “evening star” and

sets after the Sun when it is in
eastern elongation; in western
elongation the planet is seen in the
morning sky as a “morning star”.

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 3.3 Orbit of the Earth and Visibility of the
Sun
• In the Northern hemisphere the Sun will not set if the latitude is
greater than 90◦ − δ, where δ is the declination of the Sun. The
southernmost latitude where the midnight Sun can be seen is thus
90◦ − ε = 66.6◦. This is called the Arctic Circle. (The same holds
true in the Southern hemisphere.)

• The Arctic Circle is the southernmost place where the Sun is (in
theory) below the horizon during the whole day at the winter
solstice.

• The sunless time lasts longer and longer when one goes north
(south in the Southern hemisphere). At the poles, day and night
last half a year each.

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 • The eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit is about 0.0167. The distance
from the Sun varies between 147–152 million km. The flux
density of solar radiation varies somewhat at different parts of the
Earth’s orbit, but this has practically no effect on the seasons. In
fact the Earth is at perihelion in the beginning of January, in the
middle of the northern hemisphere’s winter.

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 • The seasons are due to the obliquity of the ecliptic which affects
the energy received from the Sun depends in three different ways:

• 1- First the flux per unit area is proportional to sin a, where a

is the altitude of the Sun. In summer the altitude can have
greater values than in winter, giving more energy per unit area.

• 2- Another effect is due to the atmosphere: when the Sun is

near the horizon, the radiation must penetrate thick
atmospheric layers. This means large extinction and less
radiation at thesurface.

• 3-The third factor is the length of the time the Sun is above
the horizon.

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 3.4 The Orbit of the Moon
• The Earth’s satellite, the Moon, circles the Earth
counterclockwise.

• One revolution, the sidereal month, takes about 27.322 days.

• In practise, a more important period is the synodic month, the

duration of the Lunar phases (e.g. from full moon to full
moon).

• In the course of one sidereal month the Earth has travelled

almost 1/12 of its orbit around the Sun. The Moon still has about
1/12 of its orbit to go before the Earth–Moon– Sun configuration
is again the same.

• This takes about 2 days, so the phases of the Moon are

repeated every 29 days. More exactly, the length of the synodic
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month is
 • The new moon is that instant when the Moon is in conjunction
with the Sun.

• Almanacs define the phases of the Moon in terms of ecliptic

longitudes; the longitudes of the new moon and the Sun are equal.
Usually the new moon is slightly north or south of the Sun
because the lunar orbit is tilted 5◦ with respect to the ecliptic.

• About 2 days after the new moon, the waxing crescent moon can
be seen in the western evening sky. About 1 week after the new
moon, the first quarter follows, when the longitudes of the Moon
and the Sun differ by 90◦. The right half of the Moon is seen lit
(left half when seen from the Southern hemisphere). The full moon
appears a fortnight after the new moon, and 1 week after this the
last quarter. Finally the waning crescent moon disappears in the
glory of the morning sky.

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 • The orbit of the Moon is approximately elliptic.

• The length of the semimajor axis is 384,400 km and the

eccentricity 0.055.

• The rotation time of the Moon is equal to the sidereal month, so

the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth.

• Such synchronous rotation is common among the satellites of

the solar system: almost all large moons rotate synchronously.

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 • Gravitational differences caused by the Moon and the Sun
on different parts of the Earth’s surface give rise to the tides.

• Gravitation is greatest at the sub-lunar point and smallest at the

opposite side of the Earth. At these points, the surface of the seas
is highest (high tide, flood). About 6 h after flood, the surface is
lowest (low tide, ebb).

• The tide generated by the Sun is less than half of the lunar tide.
When the Sun and the Moon are in the same direction with
respect to the Earth (new moon) or opposite each other (full
moon), the tidal effect reaches its maximum; this is called spring
tide.

• The sea level typically varies 1 m, but in some narrow straits, the
difference can be as great as 15 m. Due to the irregular shape of
the oceans, the true pattern of the oceanic tide is very complicated.
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 • Tides generate friction, which dissipates the rotational and
orbital kinetic energy of the Earth– Moon system.

• This energy loss induces some changes in the system.

• First, the rotation of the Earth slows down until the Earth also
rotates synchronously, i.e. the same side of Earth will always face
the Moon.

• Secondly, the semimajor axis of the orbit of the Moon increases,

and the Moon drifts away about 3 cm per year.

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 3.5 Eclipses and Occultations

• An eclipse is an event in which a body goes through the shadow

of another body.
• The most frequently observed eclipses are the lunar eclipses and
the eclipses of the large satellites of Jupiter.

• An occultation takes place when an occulting body goes in front

of another object; typical examples are stellar occultations caused
by the Moon. Generally, occultations can be seen only in a narrow
strip; an eclipse is visible wherever the body is above the horizon.

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• Solar and lunar eclipses are
the most spectacular events
in the sky.

• A solar eclipse occurs when

the Moon is between the
Earth and the Sun (Fig.).
(According to the definition,
a solar eclipse is not an
eclipse but an occultation!) If
the whole disk of the Sun is
behind the Moon, the eclipse
is total; otherwise, it is partial.

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 • If the Moon is close to its apogee, the apparent diameter of the
Moon is smaller than that of the Sun, and the eclipse is
annular.

• If the orbital plane of the Moon coincided with the plane of the
ecliptic, one solar and one lunar eclipse would occur every
synodic month.

• The orbital plane of the Moon is tilted about 5◦; therefore, at full
moon, the Moon must be close to the nodes for an eclipse to occur.
The angular distance of the Moon from the node must be smaller
than 4.6◦ for a total lunar eclipse, and 10.3◦ for a total solar
eclipse.

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 • Two to seven eclipses occur annually. Usually eclipses take place
in a set of 1–3 eclipses, separated by an interval of 173 days. In one
set there can be just one solar eclipse or a succession of solar, lunar
and another solar eclipse. In one year, eclipses belonging to 2 or 3
such sets can take place.

• The Sun and the (ascending or descending) node of the lunar

orbit are in the same direction once every 346.62 days. Nineteen
such periods (= 6585.78 days = 18 years 11 days) are very close
to the length of 223 synodic months. This means that the Sun–
Moon configuration and the eclipses are repeated in the same
order after this period, called for historical reasons the Saros
period; it was already known to the ancient Babylonians.

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