Thomas Aaron

AST M01
M 7:00pm

Solar System Facts

Asteroid: Pallas
Pallas is the second largest asteroid in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and the second
asteroid discovered by the astronomer, Wilhelm Olbers. This asteroid along with several others in the
asteroid belt gave support to the no longer believed hypothesis that the asteroid belt was actually a
planet that resided between Mars and Jupiter but broke up. Pallas is approximately 2.77AU from the
sun and has an orbital period of 4.62 years. It also has an unusually large orbital inclination at 34.8
degrees.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pallas

Comet: Hyakutake
Hyakutake was first seen from Earth using binoculars as it was very clearly visible to the naked
eye. It appeared over Earth about 2 months after it was discovered, and just happened to appear exactly
one year before the comet Hale-Bopp would appear over Earth. The comet was discovered by an
amateur comet hunter named Yuji Hyakutake 2 months after christmas in 1995. Comet Hyakutake is
most easily viewable from outside urban environments according to a study done by Harvard
University.
Source: http://www.space.com/20016-comet-hyakutake.html

Zodiacal Light;
Zodiacal light is caused by dust particles scattered throughout the solar system. This light is cast
mostly in infrared wavelengths and thus is not normally seen. However, in 1983 the IRAS satellite, or
Infrared Astronomical Satellite, picked up the light around the solar system for the first time. The dust
can also sometimes give off a faint light that is known as a false dusk. Most of the dust comes from
comets or asteroid collisions and then settles around planets due to the effects of gravity.
Source: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/zodydust.html

Moon: Europa
Europa is the smallest of Jupiter's moons discovered by famous astronomer Galileo. It is also
the sixth closest moon to Jupiter. Europa is covered by a giant ice layer that spans the entire moon, this
layer also displays many cracks and craters from impacts. Scientists also believe that there is an ocean
that lies beneath the outer ice layer that would have a chance of containing life. It was also the
discovery of Europa and the other Galilean moons that led to the discovery of the heliocentric theory of
the solar system that said the sun was at the center of the system instead of the Earth.
Source: http://theplanets.org/europa/

The Sun:
The sun, or Sol, resides at the center of our solar system and has a strong enough gravitational
pull to keep all of the planets in an orbit around it. The sun generates heat and light on an astonishing
level thanks to a process known as fusion, and it is because it is so bright that it is extremely harmful to
look at with the naked eye. The sun was first discovered to be at the center of the solar system by
Galileo while he was viewing some of Jupiter's moons. Our sun is approximately 4.6 billion years old
and is towards the middle of its life.
Source: http://theplanets.org/the-sun/

Works Cited

Tedesco, E.F. (No Date Given), Pallas Asteroid. Retrieved from URL.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pallas

Howell, E (2013, February 28th), Hyakutake: Comet With a Long, Long Tail. Retrieved from
URL. http://www.space.com/20016-comet-hyakutake.html

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/zodydust.html
No publishing information given.

http://theplanets.org/europa/
No publishing information given.
http://theplanets.org/the-sun/
No publishing information given.