Earth Science, Tarbuck Chap 22 Flashcards
What is the nebular theory
proposes that the Sun and the planets formed from the same rotating cloud of interstellar gases, called the solar nebula
How did the four terrestrial protoplanets form
As metals condensed near the sun, they collided into each other, growing into planetesimals that pulled other forms of matter in.
2 types of planets
Terrestrial and Jovian
2 types of terrain on the moon
dark lowlands and bright highly cratered highlands
What are maria
Dark lowlands on the moon
what are terrae
Bright cratered highlands of the moon
What is lunar regolith
blanket of debris on the moons surface
Which planet has greatest extremes of night to day temperatures
Mercury
Fastest rotating planet around the sun is
Mercury
How long is a day-night cycle on mercury
176 days
How long is one rotation around the sun on mercury
88 days
Does mercury have an atmosphere?
Nah
Does Mercury have a magnetic field
Yup
Why does Mercury have a magnetic field
Large molten core compared to planet size
Largest known crater impact on Mercury
Caloris Basin
Was there Tectonic Activity on the moon?
Yes there was, early in the moon’s creation where it was hot enough to exhibit tectonic activity. This caused basaltic magma eruptions. Later, after the moon mostly cooled down, tectonic activity seized
How were maria formed
When impact craters dug deep enough to penetrate the crust, basaltic magma flooded these holes. Note that Maria was only created when tectonic activity was still exhibited.
How were lunar highlands formed
When the Moon was cooling, Denser basaltic magma sinks due to magmatic differentiation and it formed the feldspar rich lunar highlands.
Mercury also has lowlands similar to the Maria on the moon, why is that?
Formed very similarly to maria, where crater impacts left holes that magma later filled.
Which planet has the most circular orbit around the sun?
Venus
Orbit period of Venus
225 days
Which planet has retrograde motion
Venus, rotates in the opposite direction of other planets
1 venus day is equal to how many earth days
243
Which planet has the densest atmosphere
Venus
What is venus’ atmosphere mostly composed of
Carbon Dioxide
Why is venus so hot during the night and the day?
High amounts of carbon dioxide in atmosphere lead to high levels of greenhouse effect.
Venus has a molten metal core but doesnt seem to have a magnetic field, why is that
Core does not exhibit convection
were plate tectonics ever active on venus?
No
Why is venus’ surface covered by the atmosphere?
Thick cloud layer of tiny sulfuric acid droplets
Why does Venus not have many craters
Thick atmosphere
Largest known lava channel in solar system
Baltis Vallis on Venus
Why are there lava features on Venus
High surface temperatures leads to more melt produced
Why are there volcanoes on venus
Mantle plumes
What do venusian volcanoes look like
Flatter and larger compared to earth’s due to higher temperatures allowing for lava to stay mobile for longer.
Largest volcano on venus
Maat Mons
Mars orbit period
687 earth days
Does mars have an atmosphere
Very thin one
Atmosphere of mars is composed mostly of what
carbon dioxide
Why does mars look red
Iron oxide in soil
Mars surface is mostly made up of
2/3 heavily cratered highlands and 1/3 low plains. southern hemisphere is a rugged, cratered highland, while the northern hemisphere is a smooth, lower-lying plain
Most low plains in the terrestrial planets are created because
Basaltic outpourings of lava
What is the Tharsis Bulge
Elevated region along the martian equator the size of North America
Does Mars have tectonic forces
no
What are the Valles Marineris
Mariner valleys formed on Mars surface that was created mostly from graben-like valleys formed by down-faulting
What is Hellas
Largest Visible Impact crater on mars
What is Olympus Mons
Largest volcano in solar system found on Mars
Why does mars have scarce amounts of craters
erosion
Does mars exhibit tectonic forces
No
How are volcanoes on mars formed?
Similar to venus, mantle plumes rise and create volcanoes
Dominant force in shaping mars surface
Wind erosion
Which terrestrial planet has polar ice caps(other than earth)
Mars
Largest planet
Jupiter
Jupiter Orbital Period
12 earth Years
Jupiter rotation period
Under 10 hours
What makes Jupiter’s appearance and why
3 layers of clouds. Blue-gray water ice lower layer, orange-brown f ammonium hydrosulfide middle layer, and white wispy clouds of ammonia ice on top.
What drives heat on Jupiter
contraction of Jupiter due to immense gravity
What does self-emanating heat on Jupiter cause
atmospheric circulation. Produces huge convection currents
What does the convective currents on Jupiter cause
alternating dark-colored belts and light-colored zones
What do the light-colored zones on Jupiter represent
regions where
warm material is ascending and cooling
What do the dark-colored belts on Jupiter represent
Regions where cold material is sinking and
warming
what direction does convective circulation on jupiter move
east-west
What is the great red spot
Enormous anticyclone storm on jupiter
Largest of the Jovian Satilites
Ganymede
What are the galilean satilites
Ganymede, Io, Europa, and castillo
Most volcanically active body in the solar system
Io
Innermost Jupiter Satellite
Io
What causes Io to be so volcanically active
Tidal energy generated by the gravity of jupiter and other jovian satellites
Europa is special from other Jovian satellites because
Good prospect of a water ocean below the icy surface
What are jupiters rings made up of
Dark- smoke like particles
One orbit on Saturn is how long
29 earth years
Atmosphere of Saturn is mainly composed of what
hydrogen
What are clouds on Saturn mainly made up of
ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water
How does saturn generate heat
much like jupiter, Saturn has an internal heat source
What is enceladus
Moon on saturn that exhibits cryovolcanism
Only satellites in the solar system with signifcant atmospheres
Neptune’s Triton and Saturn’s Titan
What are Saturn’s main rings
A and B rings. They are bright and composed of particles with variable size
What is Saturn’s E ring
Small outer ring composed of particles formed from Cryovolcanism on Enceladus
What makes uranus and neptune blue
Methane in the Atmosphere
What makes Uranus unique to the other planets
It rotates on its side
Describe neptune land conditions
Extremely windy
Which Satellites exhibit Cryovolcanism
Saturn’s Enceladus and Neptunes’ Triton
Largest Neptune Satellite
Triton
Largest Known object in asteroid belt
Ceres
What are Asteroids
Planetesimals that are left over from the creation of our Solar system
Where do most asteroids lie
Asteroid belt
What is the Asteroid belt
Area between Mars and
Jupiter where lots of asteroids lie
What are Comets
loose collections of rocky material, dust, water
ice, and frozen gases
Shortest orbit period comet
Enckes Comet
What is the Nucleus of the Comet
small central body
What is the coma of a comet
escaping gases that come from the Nucleus of the comet to produce huge dusty atmosphere. Gasses escape when the Comet comes within 5 AU of the sun, which heats up the nucleus
Which 2 regions do most comets originate
Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud
What is the Kuiper Belt
hosts a large group of icy objects that reside in the
outer solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune
What is the Oort Cloud
icy planetesimals that form a roughly
spherical shell around the outer reaches of the solar
system
