3 The Solar System

The Sun íorined from a cloud oi gas and dust par- lides, as did ail other stars in the
Milky Way (¡alaxy and elsewhere in the universe. Sometimes llie process leads to
the íormalion of lwo com- panion stars. However, in the case of ihe Sun a small
íraction of the original cloud accreted lo l'orm a sel of nine planels. including the
Earlh. ('ompared lo stars, lítese planels are insignificanl objecls, bul to us Ihey are
ihe very basis of exis- lence. The human race appeared on ihe Earlh un|y lwo or
three million years ago and, alter a slow siarl, learned to fly and to explore the solar
syslem within a span of a mere century.
Geochemistry today nol only encompasses the siudy of the composilion and
Chemical processes occurring on the Earth, but is also concerned wilh all of the
planels and their satellites. Information for geochemical siudics of the solar syslem
is derived by analysis of meteoritos and rock samples from the Moon and by
rentóle sensing of planetary surfaces.The exploralion oí the solar system has
expanded our hori/on and has provided the basis for comparativo planetary
geochemistry. The satellites of the large gaseous planels are of special interest in
this new field of siudy because some of them are larger than our Moon and have
very different Chemical compo- sitions and surface features litan the Earth.
We therefore need to become acquainted wilh the new worlds we musí explore
befóte we concéntrate our attention on the convenlional geochemistry of the Earth.
3.1 Origin oí the Solar System
The origin of the planels of the solar system is intimately linked to the formation of
the Sun. In the beginning there was a diffuse mass oí inter-
22
stellar gas and dust known as the solar nébula, lt liad formed about six billion years
ago as a result of the terminal explosions oí ancestral stars, whiclt added the
elemenls they had synthesized lo the primordial hydrogen and helium that orig-
inaled from the Big Bang.The Chemical composi- tion of the solar nébula was
given in Chapler 2 (dable 2.1). The dust cloud was rotating in the same sense of
the Milky Way Galaxy and was acted upon by gravilalional, magnetic, and elec-
trical forces.
As soon as the main mass of the solar nébula began lo conlract, order began lo be
imposed on it by the physical and Chemical conditions that existed during this
phase of star íormalion.These included the development of pressure and tern-
perature gradients and an increase in the rale oí rotation. Certain kinds of solid
particles that had formed in the nébula evaporaled as the tempera- ture increased
in order to maintain equilibrium between solids and gases. As a result, only the
mosl refraclory particles (Fe-Ni alloys, A1 20;(, CaO,etc.) survived in the hottest parí
of the con- tracting nébula, whereas in the cooler outer regions a larger variety of
compounds remained in the solid State.The increase in the rale oí rota- lion caused
parí of lite nébula outside oí the pro- tosun to íorm a central disk. The solid
particles congregated in this disk and made it sufficiently opaque to absorb infrared
radiation.The temper- ature in the central disk therefore increased until it ranged
from about 2000 K at the center to about 40 K at approximately 7.5 X 1 () v km from
the prolosun.The pressure ranged from less than
0.1 atm to about 10 7 atm near the edge of the disk (Cameron, 1978; Cameron and
Fine, 1973).
The dévelopmenl of pressure and tempera- ture gradients within the disk caused
the íirst
major Chemical differentialion of the solar nébula. Compounds with )ow vapor
pressures persisted throughouí the nébula and formed “dust” parli- cles, whereas
compounds wilh high vapor pressures could exisl only in the cooler outer regions.
Tlie condensation temperaturas of various compounds that existed in the solar
nébula are listed in Table 3.1. The condénsales accreted to form larger bodies as a
result of selective adhesión caused by electrostatic and magnetic forces. The
resulting solid bodies, called planetesimals, had diameters ranging from about 10
m lo more than 1000 km, and their Chemical compositions varied with distance
from the center of the planetary disk. The planetesimals cióse to the prolosun were
composed of refractory compounds dominated by oxides and metallic iron and
nickel: farther out were Mg and Fe silicales and farthest out, ices composed of
water, ammonia, mcthane, and other volátiles.
The initial rale of evolulion of (he solar system was remarkably fast. Tlie time
required for the Sun to reach the ignition temperalure for
hydrogen fusión was less than 100.000 years. The Sun's initial luminosity was two
to three times greater than is consisteni wilh the main sequence because the Sun
contained excess thermal encrgy generaled during the initial contraction. This
“superluminous” phase of the Sun lasted about 10 million years and resulled in the
expulsión of about 2.5% of its original mass in the form of “solar wind composed of
a proton/electron plasma. This is called the “T-T’auri stage" of slellar evolulion after
the star that is the profotype for this process. All gaseous matler in the vicinity of
the Sun was blown away during this period, and only the solid planetesimals
having diameters larger than about 10 m remained.
The planetesimals in the inner región of (lie planetary disk subsequently accreted
to form the so-called earthlike planels—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—and the
parent bodies of the meteorites now represented by asteroids. Instabilities in the
outer parí of the disk resulled in the formation of the gaseous outer planets: Júpiter,
Satura, Uranus, Neptune. and Piulo.

TABLA 3.1

The origin and Chemical composilion oí Piulo are still not well known because lilis
planei is difficult lo observe from Earih. Piulo also does nol conform lo ihe so-called
Ti lias-Bode law, which appears lo govern ihe dislances oí ihe planets from ihe Sun
when diese are expressed in asironomical units (A, U.), defined as Ihe average
dlsiance beivveen the Earih and Sun. The Titius-Bode law was published in 1772
by J. E. Bode, direclor oí ihe Astronómica! Observaiory in Berlín, and is based on a
series of numbers dis- covered by J. D.Titius oí Wiuenberg in 1766. The series is
composed oí ihe numbers 0.4, 0.7, 1.0,
1.6.2.8.. .., which are obiained by wriiing 0,3,6,
12.24.. .., adding 4 lo each number, and dividing by 10. The resulting
numbers match the dislances of the planets from the Sun remarkably well up to
and including Uranus (Mehlin, 1968). However, the radius of the orbit oí Neptune is
only 30.1 A.U., whereas Ihe Titius-Bode valué is 38.8 and the discrepancy in the
case of Piulo is even greater (Table 3.2). The Titius-Bode law predicts a valué of
77.2, bul the actual orbital radius oí Piulo is only 39.4 A.U. The discrepancy may
suggest lliat Piulo did not forni in the orbit it now occupies.
The descriptive physical properlies of the solar System listed in 'Pable 3.2 indícale
that 99.87% of the total mass of the solar system (2.052 x K) 33 g) is concenlrated in
the Sun. The remaining 0.13% is distributed among the nine major planets, among
which Júpiter is by lar the largesl wilh about 71% of the planetary masses. The
densities and sizes of the planets, shown in Figure 3.1, vary widely and imply the
existence of large differences in their Chemical compositions, The inner planets
(Mercury, Venus, Earih, and Mars), as well as the Moon and the asteroids, are
solid objects composed primarily of elemenls and compounds having low vapor
pressures. The outer planets (Júpiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) have low
densities and are essenlially gaseous, allhough all of them probably have
condensed cores. The inner planets resemble the Earih in Chemical composilion
and are iherefore relerred to as the terrestrial or earihlike planets. The outer
planets consist primarily oí hydrogen and helium wilh small amounls of the other
elemenls and resemble the Sun in Chemical composilion.
The earihlike planets (plus the Moon and asteroids), taken logether, rnake up only
0.0006% of the total mass of the solar system and only

TABLA 3.2

0.44% of the planetary masses. AH of (hese objects are so cióse to the Sun thaf
the orbital radius of the outermosl asteroid is only about 7% of the total radius of
the solar system. Evidently, (he terrestrial planets are not typical of the solar
system and owe their existence to the special condilions in the planetary disk cióse
to the Sun. Earih is the largest of the inner planets wilh about 50.3% of the mass.
followed by Venus (40.9%), Mars (5.4%), and Mercury (2.8%).
The earthlike planets, viewed in Figure 3.1 in the perspective of the entire solar
system, are a physical and Chemical anomaly. Tlie Earih is unique among ils
earihlike neighbors in having about 71 % of its surface covered by liquid water
wilhin which life developed early in its history and evolved inlo the multitude of
species of the plañí and animal kingdoms. Insofar as we know, life forms do not
exist at the presen! time any- where else in the solar system.
3.2 Origin of the Earthlike Planets
Our curren! understanding of the origin of the solar system indícales that (he
earthlike planets were hol when they formed and that their internal geochemical
differentiation may have begun with the sequential accretion of planetesimals of
differing compositions (Murray et. al., 1981). Planetesimals composed of melalüc
iron and oxides accretcd first to form a core that was sub- sequently buried by the
planetesimals composed of silicates. The earihlike planets were initially molten
because of the heal generated by the rapicl capture of the planetesimals and
because of radioactive heating.
The last phase of formalion of Earih, Venus, and Mars involved the capture of
planetesimals composed of volalile compounds that liad formed in the outer
reaches of the planetary disk.perhaps -
Figure 3.1 A: Variation of densitv of the planets
wilh mean dislance from the Sun. Note that the
Earih has the highesl density among the
earihlike planets, which, as a group, are more
dense than the outer gaseous planets. H: The
planets of the solar system magnified 2000
times rclative lo the distance scale.The
earthlike planets are very small in rclalion to
the Sun and the gaseous planets of the solar system.

-beyond Ihe orbil of Júpiter. These volaiile-rich planetesimals, also known as

comeiesimah, deposiied sülids composed of water, ammonia, methane, and other
volátiles on the surfaces of the planeis.The water and other volátiles deposiied on
Ihe Earth promptly evaporated to form a dense almosphere Irom which water
ultimately con- densed as the surface of the Earth cooled. Mercury and the Moon
do not have atmospheres partly because they are too small lo retain gaseous ele-
ments oflow atomic number and their compounds.
According 10 ibis scenario, the earthlike planets have been cooling since the time
of their formalion. Mercury and the Moon have cooled sufficiently to become
geologically “inactive” in the sense that their interiors no longer interact wilh their
surfaces. Venus and Earth, being the largest of the earthlike planets, have retained
more of the initial heal than their neighbors in the solar system and are still active.
Mars is intermedíate in size and has had volcanic eruptions in the nol-loo-dislance
geologic past. JTowever, the age of the lasl martian volcanism is not known.
In spile of the similarity in size and overall composition of Venus and Earth, their
surfaces have evolved very differently. Venus has a dense almosphere composed
of CO, that has caused its surface to become extremely hol and dry. The surface of
Earth cooled rapidly, allowing oceans
to form more than 4 x ]ü'J years ago by condensaron of water vapor in the
atmosphere. The presence of a large volurne of water on the sur- face of Earth
permitted geological processes to opérate and created conditions conducive to the
developmenl and evoluüon of life. Neither the Earth ñor any of the earthlike planets
ever had atmospheres composed of the hydrogen and heli- um of the solar nébula
because these gases were expelled from the inner región of the solar system
during the T-Tauri stage of the Sun.
3.3 Satellites of the Outer Planets
All of the outer planets have satellites, some of which are larger than the Moon and
the planet Mercury. Iri addition, these satellites have a wide range of Chemical
composilions and have responded in very difieren! ways lo the l'orces acting on
them. The large satellites of Júpiter were seen by Galileo Galilei on January
7,1610, with his newly built lelescope. Actually, they may have bcen observed even
earlier by Simón Marius. However, detailed images of their sur- faces were
obtained only recently during “flybys” of the American Pioneer and Voyager space
probes. A chronology of these events in Table 3.3 reveáis the sudden burst of
activity in the explo- ralion of the solar system between 1973 and 1989.
The planet Júpiter has 16 satellites and a ring guarded by two small satellites. The
so-called Galilean satellites lo, Europa. Ganymede, and Callisto were actually
named by Marius aftcr mylhological lovers of the Greek god Zeus whose Latin
ñame was Júpiter. A fifth satellitc was dis- covered 282 years later by Barnard who
named it Amalthea a Eter a nympli who once nursed Júpiter. These satellites.
together with three small ones found in 1979, move in nearly circular orbits cióse to
the equatorial plañe of Júpiter. Four small satellites (Leda. Mimaba, Lvsithea. and
Elara) are located about 11 million km from Júpiter and have eccentric orbits that
are inclined nearly 30° to its equatorial plañe. A third group (Ananke, Carme,
Pasiphaé, and Sinope) at a dis- tance of about 22 million km from Júpiter have
retrograde orbits whose inclination is between 150° and 160°. The Galilean
satellites form in effect a small-scale planetary system of their own with Júpiter as
their central “star.” Their densities, listcd in Table 3.4 and displayed in Figure 3.2.
decrease with incrcasing orbital radius from 3.53 (lo) lo 1.79 (Callisto) g/cm 3;
¡thcrefore they are believed to have significantly difieren! Chemical composilions.
lo is composed primarily of silicate material and may have an iron sulfide core.
Before (lie encounters with the Voyager spacecraft, Peale ct al. (1979) calculated
the amount of heat generated within lo by tidal friction causee! by the gravita- tional
pulí of Júpiter and Europa and predicted that active volcanoes may be present.
This pre- diction was supported by images sent back bv Voyager 1 on March
9,1979, which indicated that Ihe surface of this planet was not cratered as had
been expected. Subscqucntly, Morabito el. al. (1979) discovered a huge volcanic
eruplion on lo that was obliterating impact craters and all other fopographic
features in a large area surrounding the volcano. Eventually. nine active volcanoes
were identified and named after mylhological deities associalcd with fire (Amirani,
Loki, Marduk, Masubi, Maui, Pele, Prometheus. Surt, and Voland). The volcanic
plumes contain sulfur dioxide and the lava flows may be composed of liquid sulfur,
consisten! with the facllhat the surface of lo is yellow to red in color. The surface
heat flow of lo is about 48 microcalories/cnr/sec and is thcrefore about 30 times
grealer than that of the Earth. lo is clcarly the mos( volcanically active object in the
solar system.
The other Galilean satellites of Júpiter (Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) have
lower densities than lo and are composed of silicato material with crusts of water
ice and manilos ol liquid water. They are not volcanically activo al the presen! lime,
and their surfaces are cratered. Europa appears to be completely covered by a
frozen ocean 75-100 km deep. The icy crusl may be underlain by liquid water that
docs not froo/o because of heat generated by tidal friction. The surface of Europa
is crisscrossed by a multitudc of curving bands, some of which have been traced
for more than 1000 km. The bands appear lo be fractures in Ihe crusl causee! by
internal lectonic activity and by meleorite impaets. The fractures were subsequently
filled with sub- crustal water that íroze to form ice dikes.
Ganymede is larger than the planet Mercury and appears to be composed of water
and silicate material in about equal proportions. lis surface is composed of water
ice mixed with impurities that cause it lo darken in color. The dark terrains are
fragmented and more heavily cratered than the light-colored terrain in which they
are cmbedded. The ice crusl is about 100 km thick and is underlain by a mande of
liquid water between 400 and 800 km deep. The water may have intruded the crusl
locally in the form of ice slush to produce intrusivo bodies of water ice.
Callisto is the outermost of the Galilean satellites. It is darker in color than the
others and has a heavily cratered icy crusl about 200 km thick. A prominent fealure
on its surface is a very large multiringed basin called Valhalla whose diameler is
nearly 2000 km. ¡A second ringed basin ncar the north pole is called Asgan! The
icy crusl may be underlain by a liquid mande about 1000 km thick composed of
water. Callisto apparentlv became inactive very early in its history partly because
the amount of heat generated by tidal friction is less than that of the other Galilean
satellites. In addition, less heat is generated by radioaclivity because its rocky core
is relatively small.
The satellites of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are identified in Table 3.4. All ot
them were “seen” during flybys of Voyager 2. We will men- tion only Titán, the
largest of the satellites of Saturn. ll has a dense atmosphere composed prin- cipally
of methane, nitrogen, and smaller amounts
of other gases including ethane, acetylene, elhyl- ene, and hydrogen cyanide. Like
the Gallilean satellites of Júpiter, each of the satellites of Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune is a unique body in the solar system that has recorded on its surface a
history of events caused by internal and externa! processes. lmages and remote-
sensing data of these satellites were received only
recently during

Distance from fhe Center of Júpiter, 105 km

Figure 3.2 A: Variation of the dcnsitv of the

Galilean satellites of Júpiter wilh increasing
dislance from the planet. The decrease in density is
caused by increases in the proportion of water
relativo to silicate material. I?: Ihe Galilean
satellites magnified 50 times relative to the distance
scale. Amallhea is much smaller than lo bul appears to be a silicate object.

3.4 Pictures of Our Solar System

Tire exploraron of the solar system relies primar- ily on unmanned space probes
that have the capa- bility of taking pictures of planetary surfaces and of returning
the images to Earth.Tlie two Viking landers and the Pathfinder mission on Mars, as
well as the two Voyager spacecraft and the space- crafl Galileo in the Júpiter
svstem are spectacular examples of this technique, whereas the Moon has been
explored primarily by American astro- nauts who actually walked on its surface.
Tlie exploration of the new worlds, whicli are suddenly within our reach. will
become an impor- tant task of the community of Earth Scientists. Although an
understanding of these new worlds musí ultimately be based on studies of the
Chemical composilions of matter and of reacíions and processes that take place on
them. iirtages of the surfaces of planets help to identify the problems that nced to
be solved.
For this reason. we now examine some of the images of our solar system to
confront the challenge that lies ahead. Excellent photographs of landforms on
planetary surfaces appcar in text- books by Hamblin and
Christiansen (1990) and by Greeley (1985).

The Moon is a familiar image in the sky. lis surface is

pockmarked with cralers íormed by impacts oí meteoroids,
which continué lo fall, though al a greatly reduced rale. The
lunar landscape consisls of dark plains, called mare
(singular) and maria or mares (plural), and brighl niountainous highlands.The mare
basins, formed by impacts ol large objecis during the early hislory ol the Moon, are
filled with sheetlike basall flows.The highlands are older litan ihe mare basins and
are composed of anorthosilic gabbro.The surlace of ihc Moon is covered by a layer
of regolilh (colloquially called “soil”) thal consists of rock and mineral parlicles,
beads of impacl glass, and chunks of regolilh breccia.
This view of the Moon was laken from spacc by the astronauts of Apollo 17 in
December 1972. lt shows ihe roughly circular, black Mare Crisiurn in the lefi upper
quadrant. Southwest of Mare Crisium is ihe Mare Fccunditatis, and directly wesl of
Crisium is the Mare Tranquiliiatis.The Mare Sereniialis is
located norlhwesl ol Tranquilitatis and extends northwesierly
beyond lite horizon. (Photo by NASA.)

In (lie late eveninp of Julv 20.1969 (EDT on Ear(h). Neil A.

Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin descended from llieir
spacecraft and sel íoot on (he surface of the Moon.They had
landed near (he soulhwesl nrarpin of (he Sea of Tranquilily
(Mare Tranquililalis). The piclure shows Edwin Aldrin on his way dovvn just before
he ste'ppcd onlo Ihe lunar surface. The dusly plain in (he background conlains
scattered boulders ejecled from cratcrs exca- vated by
impael of meteoroids. (Photo by NASA.)

the surface of the planet Mars comes closest among all ihe
planels in Ihe solar System lo llie landscapes oí Earth.
Mars has an atmosphere composed oí N 2 and C02 with a
smal! amount oí water. It also has roughly circular plains
called planilla and highly cratered highlands resembling those oí the Moon. Mars
has been an active planet, as indicaied by large shield volcanoes and rift valleys. In
some places on Mars the suríace is dissected by valleys in dendritic patierns
similar lo stream valleys on Earth.Tliereíore, diere is reason to believe dial liquid
water has existed on the suríace oí Mars and that ice. in the íorm oí permaírost,
may still occur on Mars at the present time.
The picture shows the summit oí the volcano Olympus Mons protruding through
clouds on a frosty morning on Mars much like Mauna Loa on the island oí
Hawaii.The summit contains several overlapping calderas whose presence
 suggests a long history oí volcanic aclivity. The volcano is 550
km in diameler at its base, and it rises 25 km above the
surroundin¿ plain—lar higher than any mountain on Earth.
(Photo
The Valles Marineris on Mars, which are probably rift valleys.
cxlcnd more Iban 2400 km in an casl-wcsl direcíion near (lie
mariian equalor. Sonie oí ihe valleys are up lo 200 km wide and
7 km deep. Flie walls of the valleys have been exlensively modified bv slides and
by crosional channels.The rocks inio which (he valleys are cul
are layered and may be sheellike flows of basall. (Photo by
NASA.)

TIK1 íirst Viking lander louched down on Mars in Chryse

Planilla on July 20,1976. As shown, ihis area is a stony dcscri
conlaining small sand dunes and angular boulders. The view
at ihc landing sile ol Viking 2 ¡n ihe Utopia Pliinilia is cjniic
similar, indicaling the importance oí wind in shaping ihc suríace ol Mars. Some ol
the boulders au pille ti or vesicular, perhaps because ihey
originalcd írom underlying lava ílows. (Pholo by NASA.)

Júpiter is by far the largcsl and most massive of (he planets in

the solar syslem. Il has a turbulent atmospherc llial confains
severa! cyclonic slorm centers. including the “Great Red
Spol.”T!ie almosphere is composed pri- marily of hydrogen
and helium wiih small amounls of other elements of highcr
atomic number. Júpiter is nol massive enough to iniliate hydrogen fusión in its core.
Nevertheless, if has several sets of satelliles. and somc of the
snlcllites are comparable in size to the Moon of the Earlh.
(Pholo by NASA.)

Planel Earih is our hume in the solar sysiem. ii is (lie only

planel or salelliie wilh liquid water on tls surlace and wilh an
alniospliere contaimng molecular oxygen. Earih is also ihe
only place in the solar sysiem thai can sustain
llR
Th¡s view oí ihe Southern hemisphere showing Alfica. the lndian Occan wilh
Madagascar. and the Atlantic Ocean was taken Irom sp'ace by the aslronauts of
Apollo 17, December 1972. (Photo hy NASA.)

3.5 Summary
The sequence of events leading lo ihe formalion oí ihe solar sysiem can be
reconsirucied as a direci exlension of steliar evoluiion by applying the laws of
physics and chemisiry to a diffuse cloud of gas and dusi parlicles in interstellar
space.
The earthlike planeis eonsiiiute a very small fraclion of ihe loial mass of the solar
sysiem and are dwarfed even by the outer gaseous planets. Nevertheless, Earth is
the only planet in Ihe entil e solar system on which the surface environ-
menl is conducive to the developmenl and evolu- tion of lile forms.
The satellites of Júpiter form a miniature planetary system of their own. The four
largest satellites are similar in size lo Mercury and the Moon but differ significantly
in their Chemical compositions and surface features.
The satellites of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are likewise of great interest in the
study of the solar sysiem bul are less well known than the satellites of Júpiter.