6.1 THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Question 1

What is our home supercluster called?

Answer 1

Laniakea

Question 2

What is our solar system made up of?

Answer 2

• One yellow dwarf star (the sun)
• 8 planets
• About 170 clearly defined moons

Question 3

Where is the asteroid belt located?

Answer 3

Between Mars and Jupiter

Question 4

What do fragments of the asteroid belt enter the Earths atmosphere as?

Answer 4

Meteorites

Question 5

What is ceres + its diameter?

Answer 5

Its is the largest asteroid, 914km diameter

Question 6

Other than the asteroid belt, where can meteorites come from?

Answer 6

moon + mars

Question 7

What do some Martian ( from Mars) meteorites contain?

Answer 7

Traces of water (held in the minerals atomic structure)

Question 8

When was the first manned moon landing?

Answer 8

1969

Question 9

When did the Apollo missions run?

Answer 9

1967-1972
- Not all landed on the moon

Question 10

How many moon landing were there?

Answer 10

6

Question 11

How much moon rock was bought back during the Apollo missions?

Answer 11

-20kg

Question 12

What did the Apollo missions find out?

Answer 12

• Rocks much older than expected
• Oldest rocks dared 4400 Ma
• Moons structure consists of a solid crust, mantle and core

Question 13

What are Maria?

Answer 13

Dark areas of moons surface
- Composed of basalt lava flows
- Generated by impacts of meteorites

Question 14

What are highlands?

Answer 14

Light coloured areas on moon
- Composed of plagioclase rich rock anorthosite

Question 15

Exploration of Mars: Stage 1 the fly by Mariner missions

Answer 15

• 1960s space probes Mariners 3-7 flew past Mars - took many photos
• Identified volcanoes e.g Olympus Mons (largest volcanic structure in our solar system - 25km)

Question 16

Exploration of Mars: Stage 2 Orbit missions

Answer 16

• 1970s
• Global studies
• 2005 - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter take pictures of objects 10cm actoss
• Sedimentary rocks present on Mars surface

Question 17

Exploration of Mars: Stage 3 Mars landings

Answer 17

-2007 - Phoenix Mission landed on Mars
- 2012 - Curiosity rover landed on Mars, can move, photograph + test for water
- 2016 - Attempted landing (not sucessful)

Question 18

What have spacecraft landed on Venus found out?

Answer 18

• Actual temperature and pressure of surface

Question 19

Does Venus have oceans?

Answer 19

No

Question 20

What is Venus covered by?

Answer 20

Thick, rapidly rotating clouds that trap surface heat - leads to temperatures high enough to melt lead

Question 21

What planet is the brightest in the sky?

Answer 21

Venus