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