30.3 and 30.4 Flashcards
Jupiter
fifth planet from the sun; the largest planet with continuous, swirling, high-pressure gas storms
Saturn
sixth planet from the sun; the second largest planet with the most complex ring system
Uranus
seventh planet from the sun; appears blue-green due to methane in the atmosphere; its axis of rotation is tilted on its side
Neptune
eighth planet from the sun; has storms similar to Jupiter’s and is blue due to methane in the atmosphere
dwarf planet
nearly-spherical object in orbit around the sun that is not a satellite, and has not cleared the debris in its orbit
comet
object in elliptical orbit around the sun composed of dust and particles, frozen water, methane and ammonia; vaporized due to heat from the sun, producing a coma and a tail
asteroid
rocky object formed from material similar to that of the planets, orbiting the sun
meteoroid
sand-to-boulder sized rocky objects orbiting the sun
Sedna
distant planetoid, smaller than Pluto, larger than comets, with a very elliptical orbit
extraterrestrial life
life beyond earth, object of the search by exobiologists
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
composition, structure, and motion of Jupiter’s atmosphere and features of its moons
How many known moons does Jupiter have
63
What are the four Galilean moons
Ganymede, Callisto,Io, and Europa
Which of the Galilean moons is the largest in the solar system
Ganymede
Which of the Galilean moons most likely have water trapped beneath their surface
all of them except Io
Which of the Galilean moons is the most volcanically active object in the solar system
Io
What is Saturn’s most commonly known feature
The largest and most complex ring system
What are Saturn’s rings made of
particles of water-ice
How many moons does Saturn have at least
60
What is the name of Saturn’s largest moon
Titan
What is the name of the spacecraft that approached Saturn in 2004
Cassini-Huygens
What was Cassini’s mission
collected data about the sun, Saturn’s ring system, and Saturn’s many moons
What was the Huygens mission
Went to Titans surface
Does Uranus have moons
yes
How is Uranus’s axis tilt
almost parallel to its orbit
What color is Uranus
blue-green
How is Uranus’s axis tilt
almost parallel to its plane
What makes Neptune a bluer color than Uranus
it has 3% methane
How many moons does Neptune have
13
What is Neptune’s largest moon
Triton
What are the names of the three dwarf planets
Pluto, Eris, and Ceres
What is the bright cloud of a comet called
coma
Where do comets originate
Kuiper Belt
When meteoroids enter earth’s atmosphere, what are they called
shooting stars
When a meteor strikes earth’s surface what are they called
meteorite
What does an AU stand for
Astronomical Unit
What is an AU equal
150 million kilometers
