Chapter 1 (Week 1) Flashcards
what is an astronomical unit (AU)
the distance from Earth to Sun 1AU = 1.5 x 10^8 km
what is a light year
1 ly = 9.5 x 10^12km (300,000 km/s)
1 ly = (speed of light)*(1 year)
what is the difference between a mega-year and giga-year
A mega year is 1,000,000 years, a Giga year is 1,000,000,000 year
Angles what is an arcminute and arc second
arcminutes(‘): 60’= 1 degree
arcsecond (‘’): 60’’= 1’ Therefore 3600’’ = 1 degree
what is a solar system
A star (or multiple stars) orbited by planets, moons, and debris (asteroid, comets, and dust)
What is the order of our solar system
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
M.V.E.M.J.S.U.N
What planets are in the inner solar system
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
What planets are in the outer solar system
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
What are terrestrial planets? Which planets in our Solar system are Terrestial
“terrestrial” means earth like
- composed mainly of rocks
- small in size
- thin or no atmosphere
- few moons
These are the same planets that are in our inner solar system so this includes M.V.E.M
What are gas planets? Which planets in our Solar system are gas giants
“Jovian” menas Jupiter like
- composed of mainly gas and liquid with small rock core
- mainly light elements like hydrogen and helium
- large in size
- many moons
- rings
This includes planets from our outer solar system so J.S.U.N.
How big is Jupiter relative to the Earth?
Earth is 10x smaller than Jupiter. Essentially you could fit 1,000 Earths in Jupiter.
What are some facts about Mercury
- no atmosphere
- highly cratered surface
- no moons
- rocky exterior
- huge iron core
- Always stationary so one side is always facing the sun whilst the other faces space. Huge differences in temperature.
What are some facts about Venus
- thick CO2 atmosphere
- lots of possible volcanoes
- no moons
- same size of earth
- runaway green house effect = very hot
- rotates very slowly and upside down
What are some facts about Earth
- wet planet
- atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen
- active volcanoes
- big moons
- only currently habitable planet in the solar system
What are some facts about Mars?
- very thin CO2 atmosphere
- huge but extinct volcanoes
- subsurface water and evidence for liquid water on the surface in the past (pebbles on mars look similar to rocks in river beds on earth)
- home to Olympus Mons ( the largest volcano)
- Home to Valles Marineris (a huge canyon system)
Where and what is the Asteroid Belt
The asteroid Belt is in between Mars and Jupiter.
- it has millions of rocks and “rubble pile”
- lots of space through them almost 1 million km
- Jupiters gravity prevents these from coalescing into another planet
What are some facts about Jupiter
- the largest planet in our solar system
- thick gaseous atmosphere of hydrogen surrounding liquid hydrogen interior
- possibly rocky core
- many moons
- faint rings
- four large moons I.E.G.C
What are some facts about Saturn
- composed of gas/light elements (hydrogen and helium)
- rocky core
- rings of ice and boulders things 1 meter in diameter, orbit in a very thin band
- 60+ moons
What are some facts about Uranus
- composed of ice as well as gas “ice giant”
- blue colour due to methane in the atmosphere
- small solid core
- Many moons
- faint rings
- Rotates on its side 90-degree tilt
What are some facts about Neptune
- composed of ice as well as gas “ice giant”
- blue colour due to methane in the atmosphere
- small solid core
- many moons
- faint rings
- similar to uranus
What is beyond Neptune?
- Trans Neptunian objects, includes dwarf planets (Pluto) which are small and have icy bodies
- Kuiper Belt, ring or disk of comets orbiting beyond Neptune, leftover material from the formation of the solar system
- Oort Cloud, a spherical cloud of about a trillion comets to 50,000 AU
-Onmuamua, an interstellar asteroid, originated in another solar system, ejected by gravitational perturbation and flew through our solar system.
What is the nearest star from the earth except for the sun?
Proxima Centauri
What is our Cosmic Address?
(largest to smallest) Earth, Solar system, Milky way galaxy, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Observable universe
