Draft 2: Solar System Weather

This topic submitted by Nichole Franz, Lauren Smith ( nicholefranz@hotmail.com ) on 2/6/02 .

Our STUDY is to examine the weather on the other eight planets and compare it to that on our own planet. We have also decided to include the sun in our exploration of weather patterns. We PREDICT that the relationship of the size of the planet and its location in the solar system has an impact on its individual weather patterns. Another prediction that has recently been added is correlation between the sunspots and weather phenomena. Including the sun in our research will allow us to take a closer look at any patterns. Our RESEARCH DESIGN includes creating individual weather reports for the planets. We will also include pictures depicting weather phenomena and “normal” conditions both long term and short tern. Hopefully, we will find animations to include in our report with QuickTime. We will thoroughly examine each planet’s atmosphere and its chemical composition and examine those planets that lack an atmosphere. We will include information of the why’s and why not’s involved in whether a planet was able to retain an atmosphere. Our METHOD FOR THIS DESIGN is to examine any patterns involved and any other phenomena that may occur. Each planet’s atmosphere will be compared and contrasted in regards to the patterns associated with the weather. We will tabulate our results to provide a clearer representation for our report when we present to the class. Our EXPECTATIONS are to confirm our hypothesis and to provide the class with an easy way to examine the planets' weather.

Sources for further examination:

Websites:

Hubble Weather: Weather Forecast for the Solar System: http://www.imsa.edu/edu/astro/astrostudents/97_98_1/t06p1/ Each day, this site shows a new picture of the planets from the Hubble Telescope.

NASA: Solar System: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/solar_system_index.html This site tells fast facts about each planet and the different explorations that have taken place.

Today From Space: The Sun and the Solar System: http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/pad/sun_today.htm This site shows images and graphs depicting the conditions of each planet for the day, provided by NASA. This site gives more detail than the Hubble Weather site listed above.

Solar System News Zone: http://explorezone.com/news/sun.htm This site lists articles about recent news, findings, discoveries or phenomena that have been reported about the solar system.

Planets and the Solar System: http://www.seds.org/galaxy/galaxy-planets.html This site has numerous images of the planets and links to other sites and discussions.

Space/Astronomy: http://space.about.com/library/solarsys/blsolarsysinfo.htm This site has an easy format listing general information, a more detailed information link, images and a link to other sources that provide facts for the planets.

Astronomy Links and Interesting Sites Beyond Planet Earth: http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/Astronomy.html This site, collected by our professor, has an enormous amount of wonderful links ranging in pictures, information and QuickTime videos.

Space Watch: URL: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_weather.html This site provides information that would help decipher solar connections for planetary weather. It also provides news updates on space exploration discoveries.

The Nine Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System: http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ This site provides multiple pictures on each planet and its moons. It also provides detailed data collected during exploration.

Journals:

Record 1 -This article describes the first four planets with information on the similarities and differences.
Author Owen, T.
Title Inner planet atmospheres; the case for commentary contributions
Journal Name Meteorites & Planetary Science
Appears In Vol. 36, no. 9 Suppl.
Pages p. 156
Host Item Author
Consolmagno, Guy J. , chairperson
Host Item Imprint
Fayetteville, AR : Meteoritical Society, Sep. 2001

Record 2- This article looks specifically at atmospheres and how they were created. Information is provided on chemical compositions with comparisons between the three planets.
Author McElroy, Michael Haselton, Aaron, editor Matthews, Clifford, editor
Alternate Author
Haselton, Aaron, editor Matthews, Clifford, editor
Title Comparison of planetary atmospheres; Mars, Venus, and Earth
Journal Name Environmental evolution; effects of the origin and evolution of life on planet Earth
Pages p. 29-44
Host Item Author
Margulis, Lynn , editor
Host Item Imprint
Cambridge, MA : MIT Press, 2000

Record 3 –This article provides information of Mercury’s atmosphere in great detail. It provides a supplement to the previous article.
Author Killen, Rosemary M. Potter, A. E.
Alternate Author Potter, A. E.
Title Dynamic changes in Mercury's atmosphere over a one-week period
Journal Name Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Appears In Vol. 30
Pages abstr. no. 1923
Host Item Imprint
Houston, TX : Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 1999
Abstract
Images of Mercury's atmosphere obtained during Nov. 13-20, 1997, have been reduced to absolute abundance at 0.5" resolution. The abundance increased by roughly a factor of 2.5 during this week, beginning as a strong polar enhancement and spreading equator ward.

Record 4 –This article describes data collected from the Titan exploration with images provided.
Author Flasar, F. Michael
Title Titan weather report
Journal Name Nature (London)
Appears In Vol. 395, no. 6702
Pages p. 541-543
Host Item Imprint
London : Macmillan Journals, Oct. , 08 1998

Record 5 –This article describes information specifically collected from explorations of a couple different planets.
Author Banfield, Donald J.
Title A dynamical history of the inner Neptunian satellites, and Martian weather; Viking observations and M.O. data assimilation techniques
Book Pub. Year 1994
Pages 149 p.
Note
Thesis (Ph. D.)--California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

Record 6 –This article goes into detail on Jupiter and describes its special characteristics.
Author Eberhart, Jonathan
Title Jupiter: The Planetless Planet?
Journal Name Science News (Washington)
Appears In Vol. 106, no. 12
Pages p. 186-187
Host Item Imprint
Washington, DC : Science Service, 1974

Next Article
Previous Article
Return to the Topic Menu