30.3 Flashcards
Jupiter definition
It is the largest planet and contains more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined. It is made up of about 90 percent hydrogen and 10 percent helium with traces of ammonia, methane, and water vapor. Beneath Jupiter’s gaseous atmosphere, there is a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen subjected to extreme pressure. Scientists believe that a metallic core, 5 to 15 times the mass of Earth, resides beneath this layer. Temperatures in the core could reach 40,000 degrees Celsius.
Which space probes flew past Jupiter in 1979?
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
Which space probe reached Jupiter in 1995?
The Galileo space probe
What did the Voyager probes and Galileo study?
These probes studied the composition, structure, and motion of Jupiter’s atmosphere and many features of its moons, including active volcanoes on Io. The probes also searched for new moons and discovered faint rings around Jupiter.
How many known moons does Jupiter have?
it has 63 known moons. Many are small rocky bodies that could be captured as asteroids.
What are the 4 Galilean moons?
The four Galilean moons are Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.
Which of the Galilean moons is the largest in the solar system?
Ganymede is bigger than Mercury.
Which of the Galilean moons most likely have water trapped beneath their surface?
Europe, Ganymede and Callisto.
Which of the Galilean moons is the most volcanically active object in the solar system?
Io
Saturn definition
The sixth planet from the Sun is Saturn. It is the sixth planet from the Sun, even less dense than water. Like Jupiter, Saturn is composed of hydrogen and helium with traces of methane, ammonia, and water vapor. Its interior has a Jupiter-like structure. Beneath the atmosphere is a thick layer of liquid hydrogen and probably a rocky core. Saturn has the largest and most complex ring system of all the planets.
What is Saturn’s most commonly known feature?
The rings appear as seven broad bands, each made up of thousands of thin curls.
What are Saturn’s rings made of?
Saturn’s rings are made up of water ice particles.
How many moons does Saturn have at least?
Saturn has at least 60 moons
What is the name of Saturn’s largest moon?
Titan…
What is the name of the spacecraft that approached Saturn in 2004?
the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft
What was Cassini’s mission?
Cassini has collected data on Saturn, its ring system, and its many moons.
What was the Huygens mission?
Huygens, was launched from Cassini as it passed Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. In January 2005, Huygens descended to the surface of Titan. He discovered methane lakes and hydrocarbon sand dunes on Titan, and evidence of a lake of liquid ammonia below the surface. Hydrocarbons are compounds that contain hydrogen and carbon, the building blocks of life.
Uranus definition
The seventh planet from the Sun is Uranus. Uranus’ atmosphere contains about 83 percent hydrogen, 15 percent helium, 2 percent methane, and other trace gases.
Which space probe is the only probe to study Uranus?
Voyager 2,
How many moons does Uranus have?
27 moons
Does Uranus have moons?
Yes
How is Uranus’s axis tilt?
The axis of rotation of Uranus is tilted so that it is almost parallel to the plane of the planet’s orbit.
What color is Uranus?
Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red light from the Sun, and the planet’s clouds reflect blue-green light.
Neptune definition
The eighth planet from the Sun is Neptune. Neptune is roughly the same size as Uranus. Neptune’s atmosphere feeds on internal heat, creating the fastest winds (2,000 km / h) in the solar system. Neptune has a rocky core surrounded by an icy mantle and a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen on the surface. Like Uranus, Neptune also has a weak ring system.
Which space probe is the only probe that reaches Neptune?
Voyager 2
What makes Neptune a bluer color than Uranus?
Neptune’s atmosphere contains about 3 percent methane, which makes it appear bluer than Uranus.
How many moons does Neptune have?
Neptune has at least 13 moons.
What is Neptune’s largest moon?
Triton is the largest moon
Dwarf planets definition
Dwarf planets are almost round objects in orbit around the Sun that are not satellites and that have not cleared the debris in their orbits.
What are the names of 3 dwarf planets?
Pluto, Eris and Ceres
Comet definition
A comet is made up of dust and rock particles, frozen water, methane, and ammonia.
What is the bright cloud of a comet called?
eat around the core.
Where do Comets originate?
Most comets originate from the Kuiper belt or the Oort cloud, a cloud of comets that surrounds the solar system.
Asteroid definition
Rocky objects formed from material similar to material in the composition of planets are called asteroids.
Meteoroid definition
Objects the size of sand to rock in the solar system are called meteoroids. Meteorites are smaller than asteroids, so small that they are not observable until they enter Earth’s atmosphere.
When meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere, what are they called?
When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it heats up and emits light. Most are completely burned up and we see them as meteors or “shooting stars.
When a meteor strikes Earth’s surface, what are they called?
Those that impact the Earth’s surface are called meteorites.
Sedna definition
Sedna has been labeled a distant planetoid. With a diameter of 1,200 to 1,700 km, it is smaller than Pluto but larger than comets in the Kuiper Belt. In addition, it has an elliptical orbit; Sedna travels within the 76-950 AU range from the Sun.
What does AU stand for?
it has an elliptical orbit; Sedna travels within the 76-950 AU range from the Sun.
What is an AU equal?
Remember that one astronomical unit (UA) equals 150 million kilometers.
