Chapter 23 - Our Solar System Flashcards
What do Pluto and other dwarf planets not have enough of to clear out other nearby orbiting objects?
Mass and therefore gravity
What are dwarf planets classified as?
SSSB
What are terrestrial planets?
Planets about the same size and density as Earth
What are planets farther from the sun than the earth called?
Superior planets
What is it called when planets appear to move backwards?
Retrograde motion
Is retrograde motion an optical illusion?
YES
What is the brightest planet?
Venus
What were the planets named after?
Roman gods
What is the third planet from the sun?
Earth
Is Mars a terrestrial planet or a superior planet?
BOTH
What is astrogeology?
A mixture of astronomy and geology
What is the fifth planet from the sun?
Jupiter
What is the largest planet?
Jupiter
Who discovered the four largest of Jupiter’s moons?
Galileo
What are the four largest moon’s of Jupiter called?
Galilean moons
How many rings does Uranus have?
5
How many rings does Neptune have?
At least 4
Which dwarf planet has the most elliptical orbit of all the planets?
Pluto
Which object is closer to the sun than Neptune during part of its orbit?
Pluto
Where do most asteroids have their orbits?
Between Mars and Jupiter
What is the asteroids orbit path called?
The asteroid belt
What are the (at least) three asteroid families that exist in Earth’s vicinity called?
Near-earth asteroids
What are the main parts of a comet?
The head, nucleus, coma, and tail
Who noted the regular pattern of a comet that was named for him after his death?
Edmund Halley
What are the comets that appear in time intervals called?
Periodic comets
What’s the scientific name for a shooting star?
Meteor
What happens to most meteors before they even reach the earth’s surface?
They burn up
What are meteorites?
They’re meteors that reach the earth’s surface
How is a planet defined?
- orbits the sun
- has a spherical shape
- does not share the space of its orbit with any other object of significant size, other than moons
Which planet revolves the fastest?
Mercury
Do all planets have moon’s?
NO
Which planet is 1 AU from the sun?
Earth
Which planets existences were known before their discovery?
Neptune and Pluto
Introduced heliocentric theory
Capernicus
Persecuted for criticizing the heliocentric theory
Galileo
Applied gravity to planetary movement
Newton
Proposed difference in epicycles
Ptolomy
Combined heliocentric theory and geocentric theory
Tycho
How many planets are there?
8
Which planet orbits inside of Neptune during part of its orbit?
Pluto
Is it possible that earth could be hit by an asteroid?
Yes
Is it likely that we’d have a collision?
No
Who made three laws of planetary motion?
Kepler
