How did the Solar System form? In this lecture I review the clues for
the formation of the solar system in the present-day dynamics (orbital
and rotation motions) and compositions of the planets and small bodies.
I then describe the standard accretion model for solar system formation,
whereby grains condense out of the primordial solar nebula, grains
aggreg ... Show More
Nov 2007
Lecture 33: Battered Mercury
Mercury, innermost of the planets, is a hot, dead world that has been heavily battered by impacts. In this lecture I review the properties of Mercury, its orbit, rotation, surface, and interior structure. Recorded 2007 Nov 7 in 1000 McPherson Lab on the Columbus campus of The Ohi ... Show More
40m 38s
Nov 2007
Lecture 34: Venus Unveiled
Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is perpetually veiled behind opaque clouds of sulfuric acid droplets atop a hot, heavy, carbon dioxide atmosphere. In size and apparent composition, however, it is a near twin-sister of the Earth. Why is it do different? In this lecture I re ... Show More
41m 46s
Nov 2007
Lecture 35: The Deserts of Mars
Mars is a cold desert planet with a thin, dry carbon-dioxide atmosphere. The geology of Mars, however, shows signs of an active past, with hot-spot volcanism, and tantalizing signs of ancient water flows. While a cold, dead desert planet today, Mars' past may have been warmer and ... Show More
43m 45s
Mar 2006
Lecture 44: Life, the Universe, and Everything (Life Part II)
How can we search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and what are we looking for? This second part of a 2-part lecture picks up where we left off yesterday by examining SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, and reviews what we might look for and how. We will use thi ... Show More
45m 56s
Sep 2006
Lecture 2: Astronomical Numbers
Before we can begin our exploration of astronomy, we need to develop a
common language for notating large numbers, and introduce the basic
units of length, mass, and time that we will use throughout the quarter.
We will first re-introduce the basic metric system, explaining how t ... Show More
43m 29s