(A) Topic 11 study these Flashcards
What are asteroids between Mars and Jupiter thought to be formed from?
Debris of an old planet or raw materials of a forming planet that failed due to Jupiter’s gravitational influence
Describe the composition of asteroids
Consist of iron, rock and silicate
Name the parts of a comet
Nucleus, coma, ion tail, dust tail
When does a comet form its tails?
As it gets closer to the sun
What are the names of comet tails and how are they formed?
Dust tail: radiation pressure
Ion tail: particles from solar wind hit the comet
What are the differences between the comets two tails?
Dust tail is brighter and more curved, whereas ion tail is more coloured but straighter than the dust tail
What is unusual about the orbit of comets compared to those of planets?
Comets have an inclined orbit: at a higher/lower angle to the elliptical
Explain the position of the Kuiper Belt
Outside Neptune’s orbit. Possibly 100-1000 AU
Explain the position of the Oort cloud
Spherical region 10,000 to 20,000 AU
Explain the type of bodies thought to originate from the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud
Kuiper Belt: where large bodies such as Pluto reside temporarily + short period comet origin
Oort cloud: source of long period comets
What is the heliosphere?
Extended feature of the sun’s influence. Bubble surrounding the solar system created by solar wind
What are the three ways a satellite can be formed?
1) Forms in the same space as the planet
2) Captured by the planet
3) Evolves from the debris of the planet
Describe the composition of Gas Giants
Rocky core and the largest have an outer core of liquid metallic hydrogen (larger) or ammonia (smaller)
How were gas giants formed?
Gas from the Sun’s formation travelled further and further, gas giants evolved by accreting more gas
What are meteoroids?
An object in space that will eventually become a meteor. There are two main kinds:
cometary meteoroid: small particles shed by the comet
asteroidal meteoroid: particles fallen off/ chipped off asteroids
What are meteorites?
Meteor which survives entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Most aren’t observed + fall into the ocean
- made of stone or iron with smooth exteriors
What is the difference between elliptic and ecliptic?
Ecliptic: imaginary line between Earth and the Sun
Elliptic: oval shape, rounded like an egg
What are ingress and egress points?
The moment a body starts and ends its transit
How did scientists come up with an accurate measurement of the AU?
By taking multiple observations of the transit of a body and using geometry based on said observations, we can calculate the AU
Why is liquid water important for life?
It is a solvent and allows various chemicals to form
What are the two main theories about the origin of water?
Comets: since the Earth was heavily bombarded by comets, the comets containing large amounts of ice would’ve fed our oceans on impact
Condensation: claims water was part of the Earth’s body when it formed
Why is our eye limited when it comes to naked eye observations?
Due to the size of our pupils
What do telescopes allow us to do?
To see finer details of objects far away such as the moon or planets
What do telescopes contain to help us see far objects?
Lenses or mirrors which are placed at the end of the tube
