Activity+3+Orbits+Effects

=**Activity 3 Changes in the Earth's Orbit and tilt Pg E28**= -Christian King

__Goals__
- Sam Sanneman __Think About It__
 * Messure the major axis and distance between the foci of an ellipse.
 * Understand the relationship between the distance between the foci and eccentricity of an ellipse.
 * Calculate the eccentricity of the earth's orbit.
 * Draw the earths changing in orbit in relation to the sun.
 * Explain how the earths changing orbit and its rotation rate could affect its climate.
 * Draw the orbits of a comet and an asteriod in relation to the earth and the sun.
 * What is the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun?
 * The shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun is called an ellipse. One of Kepler's laws actually states that the orbit of each planet around the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. The shape of an ellipse can vary from a circle to an oval, and even to a straight line. The more flattened the ellipse is, the greater its eccentricity is. Eccentricity is the ratio of the distance between the length of the major axis and the foci of an ellipse. Specifically Earth has a very low eccentricity which means Earth's elliptical orbit is nearly circular. -Barbara V
 * ellipse is the plane around which the orbit of the planets travel around the sun. Amanda Manning

__Think About It 2__ How might a change in the shape of the Earths orbit or its axis of rotation affect weather and climate. If the Earths orbit moved away from the sun, then the earths climate would be much coolers since the further away we get, the less intensity of the sun we get. If the axis of rotation is slightly changed, we would expect different night and day times so weather would be affected. If the Earths change in orbit would move closer to the Sun then, the heat would be so hot that we might even die! The heat would vaporize liquids and turn living life hard to sustain. -Diana Kangaroooooooo-

Activity Three Digging Deeper Outline

Eccentricity
__Precession__
 * The orbit of each planet around the sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus
 * As the planet moves around the sun in its orbit, it covers equal areas in equal times
 * The time it takes a planet to go around the sun, that's it's difference from the Sun
 * Eccentricity: Range of Zero a circle- one a straight line
 * the flatter the ellipse the greater its eccentricity
 * The two planets with most eccentricity are mercury and Pluto
 * The two planets(Stated above) have an eccentricity of 0.09
 * The Earth's eccentricity is 0.0017-> Esmeralda O
 * Eccentricity of Earth's orbit changes over time.RainaJ
 * precession is a slow wobble of a spinning top on the Earth's axis.
 * caused by differences in the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the earth.
 * as the axis wobbles, the timing of the seasons changes.
 * nowadays, the earth is slightly closer to the sun during winter.
 * the precession of the earth's axis is one part of the precession cycle.
 * another part is the precession of the earth's orbit.- Kelsey Lester
 * It takes about 25,725 years for this wobble to complete.-RainaJ
 * As the Earth moves around the sun in its elliptical orbit the major axis of the Earth's orbital ellipse is rotating about the Sun. The orbit itself, rotates around the sun! - DanielNguon

__Kepler's Laws__ An astronomer by the name of Johannes Kepler came up with three laws of planetary motion that governs the orbits. The three laws are..... 1) the orbit of each planet around the sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus 2) a planet moves around the Sun in its orbit and it covers equal areas in equal times 3) the time a planet takes to complete one orbit is related to its average distance from the Sun--> Destini Jones

__Axial Tilt (Obliquity)__ The greater the angle of tilt, the greater the difference in solar energy, and therefore temperature, between summer and winter.Diamond Bouyer

Axial tilt is the angle between an object's rotational axis, and a line perpendicular to its orbital plane. In our solar system, the angle between the orbital plane of the solar system and the actual orbit of an object around the sun. Earth's axial tilt is officially called the "obliquity of the ecliptic" and currently has an axial tilt of about 23.4 degrees. This is the direct cause of our seasons. (the rotation of the earth on its axis.) - Amanda Medina

__Inclination__
 * Pluto's path around the sun is inclined 17.1 from the plane described by the Earth's motion around the sun. This 17.1 tilt is called its orbital Inclination.
 * Comets are "loners" that periodically visit the inner solar system. Comets have very high inclination.-Diamond Bouyer

__Elliptcal Orbits__ around the nucleus. -Alex Huston
 * Planetary scientists have found that some solar system objects have highly elliptical orbits.
 * An example of this are comets.
 * As comets move closer to the sun, the icy mix that makes up comets nucleus begins to turn into gas and stream away. This stream is called a coma and forms

Eccentricity- Johares Leepler developed three planetary motion laws. First, planets orbit is ellipsed. An the planets cover equal distances. It will also make a perfect circle if drawn to scale. The circle will either get larger or smaller. - Mary Kate Ponder __ Digging Deeper Notes __ > some solar system objects have highly elliptical orbits. -->Kayla Rosa __More digging deeper notes Page E 31-34:__ Kepler's Law
 * Eccentricity- the ratio of the distance between the foci and the length of the major axis of an ellipse.
 * The planets in the solar system with the most elliptical orbits are Mercury and Pluto.
 * comets have highly elliptical orbits.
 * coma- a spherical cloud of material surrounding the head of a comet. This material mostly gas that the sun has caused to boil. -Lauren Cowart
 * [[image:http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/06/mars_orbiter/img/mars_orbiter_inf416.gif]]
 * Axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the tilt of the earth's axis. (Earth is at a 23.5 degree tilt)
 * Precession is the wobble in the earths tilt; this is caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon.
 * Inclination is the angle between the orbital plane of the solar system and the objects around the sun.
 * An asteriods orbit is more eccentric then other planets and often crossesd paths with them.
 * A comet has no set orbit. they are refered to as the "loners" of the solar system.-- Hannah Johnson
 * it is the law of planetary motion that governs orbits
 * Kepler was an astronomer (1571-1630)
 * that the orbit of each planet around the sun is an ellipse with the sun at one focus.
 * as a planet moves around the sun in its orbit it covers equal areas in equal times.
 * the time a planet takes to complete one orbit is related to its average distance from the sun
 * -emily soupal

__Asteriod/Comet Orbits__
 * Asteroid orbits are more eccentric than the planet orbits and are usually slightly inclined from the orbital plane.
 * The Earth's orbital path often crosses the orbital paths of asteroids, which brings up concern about a collision.
 * Comets usually originate in the outer solar system and have high inclination orbits.
 * When a comet is discovered, its orbit is calculated and observed.--Dalton Goss
 * 100,000 asteroids exists.
 * Asteroids are left overs of the solar system.
 * Comets like asteroids are left overs from the solar system.
 * The orbits of many comets are very large with distances from the sun of greater than 20,000 AU.Raina J

__Geo Words__
 * Eccentricity- a measure of how much the shape of the orbit differs from a perfect circle. A planet with a perfectly circular orbit would have an eccentricity of 0, while a planet with a highly elliptical orbit would have a greater eccentricity.
 * Coma- a cloud of material that surrounds the head of a comet made of mostly gas.
 * Orbital plane- a plane formed by the path of the Earth around the Sun.
 * Inclination- the angle between the orbital plane and the orbit of an object around the Sun. -Trudy Morse

__Vocabulary Questions__ -Elizabeth Moreno
 * What is the difference between eccentricity and elliptical?
 * Eccentricity is the actual scientific measure of how elliptical a circle is. It is the distance of the foci and the length of the major axis of an ellipse. Describing something as elliptical is relative to that person.
 * Compare and Contrast comets and asteroids?
 * Comets are icy cold and asteroids are rocky. They have a very high inclinations. Orbits are also very eccentric
 * Differentiate between orbital plane and inclination
 * Orbital plane is the actual plane of the solar system. Inclination is the angle at which a planet is relative to the orbital plane.

__Check Your Understanding__ 1.In your own words, explain what is meant by the eccentricity of an ellipse. 2. For an ellipse with a major axis of 25 cm, which one is more eccentric; the one with a distance between the foci of 15 cm or with a distance between the foci of 20 cm? explain. 3. How does the precession fo the earth's axis of rotation affect the season? Justify your answer. 4. Why is there a danger that a large asteroid might strike the Earth at some time in the future?
 * The eccentricity of an ellipse is basically the number value of the shape of an ellipse. These numbers range from zero (a cicle) and to 1 (a straight line). The more flattened the ellipse is, the greater its eccentricity. The eccentricty of the Earth is 0.017. The two planets with the most elliptical orbits are Mercury and Pluto. >Tanner A.
 * The distance between the foci of 20 cm is more eccentric than the distance between the foci of 15cm. The reason is the eccentricity of the foci of 15 cm is .6 and for the foci of 20 cm it is .8. This shows that the larger the distance between the foci the more eccentric the ellipse is. You would simply take the distance between the foci and divide that by the major axis and you know how eccentric the ellipse is. -Charles Putnam Rivera.
 * The earth has a slight wobble, the same as the slow wobble of a spinning top. this wobble is called the precession of the earth's axis. It is caused by differences in the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the earth. It takes about 25,725 years for this wobble to complete a cycle. As the axis wobbles, the timing of the seasons changes. Winter occurs when a hemisphere, northern or southern, is tilted away from the sun.- Charles Putnam Rivera
 * The orbits of asteroids have more eccentric than the planet's orbits. Asteroids can cross the orbital paths of other objects. This differates the astroids into two groups, Earth-approaching or Earth-crossing asteroids. Astronomers try to figure out quickly wich will be Earth-approaching or Earth-crossing because an asteroid a few miles wide could be devastating, through it's volocity's impact on Earth. -Sherry Guyer

__Preparing for the Chapter Challenge #1__ A: Variations in the Earth's eccentricity comprises with the three dominant cycles in the Milankovitch Cycle as well. Variaitons in these three cycles creates alterations in the seasonity of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface. These times of increased and decreased solar radiation directly influence the Earth's climate system, thus impacting the advance and retreat of Earth's Glaciars. -Emily Harvey __Inquiring Further__ Question 2: Comets are usually the scatter bunch of the two comets travel mainly towards the sun which causes their demise. With asteriods they mainly extist with the asteriod belt which is between the planets Mars and Jupiter. Comets are of main concern for astronomers because they could easily come in contact with the Earth. - Jennifer Tipton

__ Inquiring Further __ 2) Asclepius is a comet that was discovered in 1989 by astronomer Henry E. Holt, and Norman G. Thomas. Asclepius is named after the Greek god of medicine and healing. When passing earth Asclepius was a distance of 680,000 km away from us. Astronomers studied the comet and found that a whole class of subject objects exist.

--> Meghan Miller(:

//__What is eccentricity and what are the orbital eccentricities of all the planets? (Additional information, not in the book)__// Eccentricity are values that express how an orbit deviates from circular, a perfect circular orbit has an eccentricity of zero, and numbers that are higher show elliptical orbits. Neptune, Earth, and Venus have the least eccentric orbits, compared to Mercury and Pluto with the highest eccentric orbits.

Mercury- ﻿0.2056 Venus- ﻿0.0068 Earth- ﻿0.017 Mars- ﻿0.0934 Jupiter- ﻿0.0483 Saturn- ﻿0.0560 Uranus- ﻿0.0461 Neptune- ﻿0.0097 Pluto- ﻿ 0.2482 By Justine Gomez, p.3a
 * Orbital Eccentricity of the Planets**

__ Comets: __ Comets have highly elliptical orbits. As they move closer to the sun, the frozen icy mixture that makes up the nucleus of the comet begins to turn into a gas. A coma is a spherical cloud of material surronding the head of a comet. This material is mostly made up of gas. A cometary coma can extend up to a million miles from the nucleus. Once a comet is discovered its orbit is calculated and the comet is observes as it moves closer to the sun and changes. Comets are loners that periodically visit the inner solar system. They have very high inclination orbits and are very eccentric. - Amanda Balzano __Coma__ The coma is a spherical cloud of material surrounding the head of a comet. This material is mostly gas that the sun has caused to boil off the comets icy nucleus. Normally an average coma may extend up to a million miles off the end of the nucleus of the comet.-Austin Adams
 * __ Digging Deeper Notes __**

Digging Deeper Inclination continued -Courtney M.
 * Pluto is the only planet that does not stay on a narrow range which is calledthe orbital plane
 * the orbital planes of comets and astroids are found mainly in the part of the solar sysyem beyond Earth
 * It is not true that astroids are remains of a planet that exploded
 * The astroids in the astrois belt take up very little space
 * the orbits of astroids re more ecentric than the orbits of the plants.

orbital plane- (also called the ecliptic or plane of the ecliptic). a plane formed by the path of the earth around the sun. -- kevin boe

eccentricity- the ratio of the distance between the foci and the length of the major axis of an ellipse.-- kevin boe

Inquiring Further The slingshot effect also called the gravity assist maneuver, or gravitational slingshot, or swing-by. is used by space craft to use the planet own gravity in order to propel the space craft forward. This type of maneuver is mostly used in order to accelerate, decelerate or to re-direct the path of a space craft.
 * 1) 1 The gravitational "slingshot" effect on spacecraft

-__//**BLAKE WEIL**//__