The Inquiring Mind; The Solar System, Part 1: The Planets

from the center for telecommunication services the university of texas at austin this is inquiring mind produced by public station in association with a news and information service at ut austin these discussions examining ideas and activities of a major university community as for how the sun form what are the characteristics of the other planets these are some of the questions answered by a book on the solar system than to roman small child ski professor of physics and astronomy at the university of texas at austin is the author of the solar system the sun planets and life the book was published in nineteen eighty three by the scientific american library the book is non mathematical and filled with illustrations and color photographs dr small task he comes to ut austin from princeton university among his credits he serves on the space science board organized by the

national academy of sciences dr small task i understand that in part at least you were prompted to write this book because of some of the classes that you teach here that therefore non science majors as character the lawsuits against your duty here i was teaching besides physics astronomy for non sciences through his one is sick course or us army and another of course is just the ease with the solar system her awesome results in and i got interested in the morning and i used to be and the most talked about this storm to visit jiang career in physics modern comic from princeton and then he said we're going to let the possible cause a civil right to publish it so the one thing i wasn't a victim of a

calamity that's how it happened when he won the instigator of it why do you think those courses are so popular i think southwest is a match for a the case unleashed to get interested in geology and in astronomy geology for obvious reasons that denied climate and the link is invisible not to speak of the canyon about the other things that are not covered to have deep forests and they also and this guy's so dark suit can see things so we have to part of the united states to become hope that your book begins with a section on the sun and why did you start to start there because it's on the topic is solar system so you have to start of the dome of the origin of that which means said unless to talk about the song first it doesn't have much

sense to cobalt producer norman i'm going to all the planets so the us government it seemed imaginable from dave did his son was the sun formed first ordered the planet vulcan about the same time though some definitely form first met at and m icelandic twentieth definition office thought is that this thought it is fueled by its own fewer an hour with the brightness the heat that is he is ms alt off intense heat why planets simply shining when the effect that might all live to be that they are wedded to minor so in some form to assist are from a big cloud of dust which collapsed and he kind of the center and there was some material left which

orbit that the energy star and now supporting slow record then from that disc golf muise matter which was gaseous articles story it didn't we get drunks which for which you have a nice name of commuters in malls you what we don't know what it is to give it your assistance in a storm that was funny doesn't rouse can be anywhere from few feet stewart to maybe a couple of miles diameter and they go from smaller by a commission from smaller bits and pieces anything just collect together as good at our region eclipse simply by collusion i mean they'd come together those pieces of dust and a mistake or they don't stick once they get big enough to have have their own gravity leach starts all

maybe when they have that maybe a few hundred navy hover mind damage them then the gravity strong enough the attack what is left over on them and they grow faster so was his big mouthed idiot three she's lost and eventually formed bonds you can you not the sun being a star that is the harvard start that that accompanies star in fact i've covered five and ten store variety staff and eight is a year near there in our own galaxy there absolutely are hundreds and millions of sites like that oh the same category which has a fancy ass and mama coach named gordon gee tool from which this astronomer there how big it is swept and drew pearson seoul one of the things that i found rather interesting there are several factors in your book on the passage on the son was the fact that in the sun's

rotation the center part moves faster for that it has any quieter you'd say that that section is faster than the rest of it is doing that and has an acquittal and then this is says something frank i don't want to wonder about that there is that people who are experts in the school or fluid dynamics that members of fluids i conclude that the offer up off planets and stars in some include have a foster a quote oreo jet it recorded as i'm the best they're called that isis actually i don't know but i doubt the middleton and understand i sent a rather interesting we're talking about this a creation process of the planet's forming magic point in which they stop growing mustard to good use of the stuff around i mean the amount of stuff available or something go around them and say one guess is that the

bailout did you officially quorum needed on a disc set on than does some wells sit comfortably in the mass of the sun itself analysts doubt is now a tiny little bit of a faction of the solace is being gone most of the parade that end into space and so where we address suit that it's more literal fraction of original mass which could have been actually that the gases say he'd you're high that you know athletes into sollers point is then trucked or so they are attracted by the planet's gravitational it even find his big enough so the very early up most fierce of the planets were primarily vedder lead gases which never a condensed into a proper liquid and sell before then the question how the our atmosphere

that's a different story given that initially all the big bodies had a pension and they are hit you around them and all the big planets in our solar system studio you have to divide your book in courting to that i suppose some somewhat similar characteristics and you began with those plants closest to the sun mercury and venus tell some of the characteristics about mercury all doesn't know how shall i say a completely cooked the source republican from a dose of articles of the somme we don't expect any gases on it except what may have come from there he comes from this on a lazy sunday and that's why that is in all the time and yet that's what we go this summer when it comes to the same way out and part of that is of course that by gravitation so it mickey may have

very many sane amount of hazardous an individual they otherwise he's saying very hot them choose between the barth which is facing the somme and away from hassan the difference is enormous so it is fourteen date does anyone side is always a way no no you do to serve more complicated for every day two revolutions surround this song eternal date city council on its axis so and the obit is not secure so one box or the planet is gets an awful lot of heat and it either get less about to eat is not although not know his archrival morgan which always points to the city doesn't rotate bugs him moses is a connection between pollution out on the

song and the location of the taxes so that is that event in halting some spots i suppose i just never thought about the names of the planet that it makes quiet a sense that mercury is a messenger of god doesn't know so far yes the messenger merrimack river the fastest of course being a nudist louis somma has the fastest as rusty on anti the pictures in the book for what i could tell it reminded me a little bit the pictures of mercury reminded me some of the new moon our new to the moon or it marie curie and have rough last year there for all the vivid your eyes and what i need my class called on junk at which rules left over after the planets were made as the floating around when bombardment yet and dame says it was not was feared to protect from the small arms of a

single mom left a mark but you know when you made when you walk on a beach and the muffled principal and then lots of people walk this a much a mark of footprints you can have bigger than the footprints going to order once saw the yeah earth's surface of mars and affirmed it at home one can say is almost saturated with fifth graders not quite so i'm of oversimplifying the situation but to be serious about it with mark among them out in the history of bombardment of the planet's concerning the next tuesday it appears to be the brightest and as an entity with a clown to the new scene contest though mr sam animals outlaws here i am at what we see are only because of gaza's we never easy smooth because examples of a dollar and the

yen and so the deflection is strong what we see on a form of primetime on a solid went to court and i sort of carbon dioxide and them in its happens to be vetted write us a song has a solid to know the gases were too easy and that affects some very much and that i am that's right so so but also to the reading here so and on top of that the news is not us news through the sinus medicare and therefore is easy to observe because in this guy is far from an area sunsets and then you would see this the nose with his son since then america is so corrosive that some of the documents in a pot of skype just about right so ross off or did the us company goes he said never saw her medically was it your bedtime story i don't know i heard two sounds good

why when venus if it's again still closer to the sound in the earth i'm curious as to why mercury has no atmosphere and yet venus has such a great one and the south was fierce was the planet has supported a surprise announcement today the most supermarkets in a quiet and i'm not feeling to what was your little ones with last week they simply couldn't get pandas couldn't keep all that wanted to mature and he's out those fears were created we think for all my word panic adoptions and m the news being made the song with identical in size that the us and it undoubtedly have that were authentic activity in fact the very early eighties and russian spacecraft and about fifteen about two months ago from direct evidence of activity

on on the news and that's created a source of the atmosphere is on the news and on earth a good bit of mars you're listening to the inquiring mind my guest is dr roman small task a professor of astronomy and physics at ut austin speaking on his book on the solar system next in your progression to the book you talk about birth and we're going to do with that later and then also mars and you you deal with them as the water plants i was surprised to find that there is some evidence that at least at one time we believe that there was water out on it well let's go back in the news we think also had a water but do when the news guards of that and because although it had escaped so i don't think there's any hope of the news heading to gain an order and on the other hand in mobs never announce never got that cost deen for the way from the some and then on mars

all the water flows of these now omar says went to the core ice age quiet on the us with a lot of cars in the oceans it's his most of his liquid so i am you can say that the newsies knew to say it's all the water was vapour then comes so the water was vape or isis emerged and that liquid and then thomas mars which is probably about this iran toward tibet or frozen in the ground black bottom of frost in that moment that had dollars in alaska and montana the same but do we think that there is plenty of water that was all frozen deeply and will always stay away off the tension of the new housewives to do you believe them that's involved in the obits of planets don't stay the same that we are continuously put toured

financed by jupiter of his enormous private and that is skewed he comes into being because off indeed long range climatic changes on us and ice ages races and then there is a horde mobile theories and which concluded that same thing would happen on that happened to assume would happen again on mars that was the ice ages all are and the position in orbit of modest is that toured myself in it would begin again and the water would have meant to entice we meant and that cases of events which ups in the dna nobody would not looking to have them that they're spending an investment banker the mom was an honor so these are the must have been planned to hold them and probably is that is that what is that we are going to melt but midlife to foreigners because they're going to move on to jupiter and saturn which you call the giants and i was rather surprised

to find that jupiter has rings and everyone you know is seen the pictures and depictions of saturn and its rings but i didn't realize the jupiter had them also but to be getting is so close to those smaller company to as supplements and he's in the most non with lesser god from the from the planet the first thing he'll find other things and then begin getting on consensus as going sounded so a veil on sentencing is much larger scale ian jordan that ingels fiscal at more risk by accident and then it's ready ten years now that and that we know it exists it can be observed from the gold medal either rings made out of the same kind of bringing more of jupiter's rings different kind of the iceberg that is too close to the planet's is too hot so it probably is still rocky and that probably bits

and pieces say it they're on their way and bombarded away from guinness otherwise what would keep us that whatever it is it's making up the ring that rocky substance from just falling into the plan leave him alone on the orbits you know as you would slow down they were just like our moon does that for us yet is their relationship to the size of these planets and where they're located in the solar system i mean could we just as easily have had large planets closer and was insignificant to jupiter jupiter and saturn are located where they are as a very ready and that the key question how to people who are hurt listening who believe that the size of the prize is essentially essential to do you get away five in a way that ease and being very simply if a planet is fond way out then its orbit so the older a little bit below what the

planets formed is much stronger over the planet which is universal and forty accountant on its way more mercurial and could go also runs the town and the big enough then it's gravity was moore see this competition to some of gravity so the event the self service more money doesn't work have a choice whether to go thirty feet where they needed to the somber look at the summit and emphasis from our sort of widely viewed his way out of the distance of jupiter's south and then this absence of interviews reviewed is big enough to catch it so they had reasons why they should be bigger and why you mean isn't that in the next two hours of smaller why it's a bit of a difficult problem it sounds as though you have this wonderful syrian then we have more planets to deal with that don't quite following a sense of calm and i also discover that your nest has ranked as well

yes that was a complete the accidental discovery and they're using mrs fu is funny because it's ok it's on the taxes at which lies in the pain of its orbit and you know i mean it's turned on inside that's on his side we'd share in all that again some explanations why does so i'm editing sound of cars a perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the counter that on his actors so when they were looking for but we usually court authorization you want to measure the size of their body by seeing how of them events start from a day like from a spider reaching cuts when they think it's in between and am wanted to measure the size of your name is and somebody like disappeared and then popped up again before the planet itself but went intercepted like saw and they didn't seem to get beaten on the side so the computer the misbehaving

and that i was killed or accidental your religious altar was simply or even a mistake in the instrument or something do we know what the ring is i'm probably it's it could be isolated of activity is not a lot about it and i don't believe some people claimed they could see from the earth about thirty eight is not through maybe too so the city's now gaza but i guess it would be a huge wet ice saul one thinks this is sue optical properties december those of us that are easy on this morning crew drunk which fields an on between mars and jupiter and briefly mentioned pluto and the controversy that maybe pluto really shouldn't be considered a plan after all that savanna much sugar the case gm said put those moves of the market which is crazy computer

different from their orbits of other planets and then it's tiny it's semi routh sitting four thousand kilometers that either which is the boss of the profits as if you know this saves some money have called it a planet if it seems so different from all of the the reason is that good because it is that i guess there is the us and other black magic formula which is some people claim can be derived from cod and april perhaps they knew it but it's a sunday another information is the promoter used in beer souther let the victim which then may drop off a rope and click the domestic peace and became independent my guest has been done to roman smaller koski professor of astronomy and physics at ut austin speaking on his book the solar system the sun the planets and life i'm kathy glover for an inquiring mind

you've been listening to the inquiry line a series of programs about the members of a major university community their ideas and opinions expressed in this programme do not necessarily reflect the views of the university of texas at austin inquiring mind is produced by public station in association with the news and information service and distributed by the center for telecommunication services all at the university of texas at austin lab you want to see is the longhorn radio network