Project – Physical Characteristics of Planets

The planets of the Solar System can be divided into two major
classes, terrestrial and Jovian planets, but each planet has their own
interesting characteristics. With the Stellarium planetarium software,
you can get a close up view of the planets and see their features for
yourself.

In this part of the project, use a computer simulation to examine
the physical characteristics of planets of the Solar System. Please read
through the assignment background information and follow the steps
listed in the lab assignment instructions. You will be asked to form a
hypothesis, state the lab objective, record your measurements and
calculations, and answer each of the lab questions.

Click here to download the instruction document for this piece of the project. Follow the instructions contained within and submit your results as this project deliverable.

Submit your paper with a title page and in APA format.

Here are the Instructions: dont need to click in the link.

Module 03 – Physical Characteristics of Planets

The
planets of the Solar System can be divided into two major classes,
terrestrial and Jovian planets, but each planet has their own
interesting characteristics. With the Stellarium planetarium software,
you can get a close up view of the planets and see their features for
yourself.

Background Question – Describe three characteristics of a planet that you think you could measure from visual observations.

Object:
Explain the purpose of this laboratory assignment in your own words.
What do you think you will accomplish or learn from this exercise?

Hypothesis:
Write a simple hypothesis connected to planetary features that you will
be able to test using the Stellarium software (for example, Jovian
planets have faster rotation period than terrestrial planets)

Procedure:

• Open
  the Stellarium software. Open the location window (F6) and change the
  planet to the Sun. This will change our observing location to the center
  of our Solar System.
• Open the Sky and Viewing options window
  (F4). Under the “Sky” tab, uncheck the Atmosphere, Stars, and Dynamic
  eye adaption. Check “Show planet markers” and “Show planet orbits”.
• Select the Landscape tab and uncheck “Show ground”.
• Open
  the Search window (F3) and enter in Mercury. The view should shift such
  that the Mercury is in the center of the screen. As long as Mercury is
  actively select, it will remain in your field of view as you advance
  time.
• In the table below, make note of the visible features of
  Mercury. This can include over color, surface features such as craters
  or ice caps, presence of an atmosphere and cloud structure, and any
  visible moons orbiting the planet. You can also advance time and try to
  observe in the planet has a faster or slow rotation.
• Repeat your observer with each of the eight planets. You can use the Search window (F3) to shift your view to each planet.
• We can use the small angle formula to find the physical diameter of a
  planet. Select one planet and record its angular size in arcseconds and
  distance from the observer (Distance displayed in units of millions of
  km). The physical size of an astronomical object is equal to the angular
  size times the object’s distance divided by 206, 265 ( similar formula
  can be found in the textbook on page 29).
• Continue using Stellarium to test your individual hypothesis. If you need further direction, please ask your instructor.

|Planet|	|Color|	|Atmosphere (yes/no)|	|Surface Features|	|Rotation Speed|	|Any Moons|

Q1 In your opinion, which planet had the most distinct appearance?

Q2: Which group of planets (terrestrial or Jovian) appear to have the most moons?

Q3: Which group of planets (terrestrial or Jovian) appear to have the fastest rotation?

Q4: Did you have any problem observing the rotation of any planet? If so, why do you think this was the case?

Q5:
Compare your calculation with the planet radius information in the
textbook (Chapter 6 or Appendix E). Is your calculated radius close to
the known value?

Conclusion: In 1-2 paragraphs, explain if
your observations and data support or conflict with your hypothesis and
if you have met your assignment objective. Was there any portion of the
assignment that was particularly interesting or difficult?