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ES1086 > ES1086 EXAM BOLDED WORDS > Flashcards

ES1086 EXAM BOLDED WORDS Flashcards

1
Q

Betyls

A

Hebrew for home of God, ancient Greeks and Romans called meteorites betyls

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2
Q

Meteorites

A

Highly valued by ancient Egyptians - the rocks have been found entombed with Egyptian pharaohs. The East African Wanika Tribe worshipped a piece of meteorite, but as the enemies burned their village, they concluded that the rock was not good after all & sold it to missionaries.

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3
Q

Kaaba Stone

A

Kaaba Stone to which Muslims pay homage in Mecca is a large meteorite - but it’s strictly out of bounds for critical examination! It could just as well be an obsidian (dark volcanic glass) or an impactite (impact glass).

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4
Q

Father of Meteoritics

A

Ernst Chladni, published a book of all the data he could find about meteorites in 1774. He was heavily ridiculed and mocked at the time

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5
Q

Ceres

A

Asteroid now classified as a dwarf planet

one of the 1st discovered in the asteroid belt by monk Giuseppe Piazzi

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6
Q

Asteroid Belt

A

region of space between orbits of Mars and Jupiter where many asteroids can be found.

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7
Q

Theories regarding Asteroid Belt

A

Wrong theory: Objects in belt are material left over from planet that was blasted into bits by a collision with a comet

Correct theory: The objects are materials that never assembled into a planet at all, caused by the enormous force of Jupiter

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8
Q

Asteroid

A

Natural rocky object in space measuring 100m to several hundred km in diameter

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9
Q

Meteoroid

A

Natural rocky object in space measuring from a few mm to 100m in diameter

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10
Q

Meteor

A

a visible streak of light from a small meteoroid passing through Earths Atmosphere;

light is the result of friction between object and gas in the atmosphere

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11
Q

Fireball

A

light from a large meteoric or asteroid as it interacts with the atmosphere

Very bright compared to meteors

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12
Q

Meteorite

A

Fragment (any size) of either a meteoroid or asteroid that lands on Earth’s surface.

It’s not called a meteorite until it lands on Earth’s surface

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13
Q

Titius-Bode Law

A

A law predicting the space between planets in the solar system.

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14
Q

David Gregory

A

made mathematical sequence which estimates spacing between planets

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15
Q

Main Asteroid Belt

A

Majority of the asteroids can be found here between Mars and Jupiter.

Most asteroids here have accurately known circular orbits, and are fairly spaced out from each other appearing mostly empty.

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16
Q

Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

A

Asteroids not in the main belt, may cause a threat to us

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17
Q

Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR)

A

Telescope that is a new asteroid detective which is a highly sophisticated and sensitive electro-optical detector with something called a CCD (charge coupled device) - an array of light sensitive elements that can record very faint images.

As of 2011, LINEAR has found over 231,000 new objects, 2423 of these being near Earth asteroids and 279 comets

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18
Q

Asteroid naming

A

assigned a sequential number when its discovered

1 Ceres, 2 Pallas, 452 Hamilton, 1026 Ingrid, and so on

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19
Q

15025 Uwontario

A

An outer main-belt asteroid was discovered on October 15th, 1998, and named after Western University

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20
Q

Jupiter’s Effect

A

Jupiter has a large mass and high gravitational pull, causing neighboring asteroids to be affected by its gravitation.

Causing the number of asteroids today between Jupiter and Mars AKA main asteroid belt

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21
Q

Kirkwood Gaps

A

Explained by Daniel Kirkwood. It is gaps in the asteroid belt where no asteroids exist. That’s because they will get swung out by the gravity of Jupiter which heads towards the inner solar system

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22
Q

Albedo

A

proportion of light reflected from an object; 0=pitch black, 1=perfect reflection

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23
Q

Spectrometers

A

break down the reflected light in a whole spectrum to tell us which minerals reflect the light

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24
Q

Differentiated

A

Asteroids that have been heated by radioactive decay caused by accretion to the extent where it’s interior melts

As they melt, metal can sink toward the center and volcanic rocks (such as basalt) can erupt at the surface.

If these differentiated asteroids are broken apart, layers of different rock types may be exposed. If just the outer layers are broken apart we may see a variety of rock types exposed in a large asteroid. On the other hand, if all of the outer rocky layers are stripped away we can be left with just the metallic core

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25
Q

C-Type asteroids

A

high carbon content or carbonaceous, 75% of known asteroids; roughly similar composition to the Sun, minus volatile elements

2/3 show evidence of water in their mineral structures, which shows up as an absorption feature in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.

These asteroids range from the middle to the outer edge of the belt.

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26
Q

S-Type asteroids

A

high silicon or silicaceous, 17% of known asteroids

S-type asteroids are confined to the inner belt, but there is some confusion about the S-type asteroids; they do not closely match the spectra of ordinary chondrites.

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27
Q

M-Type asteroids

A

metallic, most of the remaining asteroids

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28
Q

Carbonaceous asteroids

A

Most are high in dark carbon-rich minerals with low albedos

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29
Q

4 Vesta

A

One of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, it is also the brightest in the sky and at times is visible to the naked eye.

Has a metal-rich core half the diameter of its mass.

5.3hr rotation

Struck several times evident by the impact marks

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30
Q

E-type asteroids

A

Asteroids with the highest albedo (40%) are called E-type asteroids

E standing for mineral enstatite

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31
Q

Dawn Spacecraft

A

NASA spacecraft was captured to Vesta’s orbit in 2011 and made the discovery about its metalcore. Also discovered that the biggest mountain on Vesta is larger than Earth.

In 2015, Dawn moved to explore Ceres and captured high reflective spots within craters on its surface.

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32
Q

Hirayama families

A

Astronomer Hirayama grouped the breakup of an asteroid into a collection of fragments which he called a FAMILY.

Families have similar orbital characteristics and members of one family were collision fragments of the same original planetesimal.

In total there are 19 Hirayama families.

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33
Q

Near Earth Asteroids/Objects (NEAs)

A

asteroids and comets that approach or cross Earth’s orbit

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34
Q

Atens asteroids

A

Asteroids orbits less than 1 AU, meaning that most of the time they are within the orbit of Earth, though they may cross Earth’s orbit when they’re at their farthest from the Sun

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35
Q

Apollos asteroids

A

Most have orbits that bring them through Earth’s orbit (orbits cross Earth’s orbit).

Earth is hit by an Apollo object once every 250000 years on average. Craters can be 2km deep and 20km in diameter.

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36
Q

Amors asteroids

A

Commonly cross orbit of Mars; they get teasingly close to orbit of Earth but don’t cross

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37
Q

Trojan asteroids

A

group of non-belt asteroids that travel and are trapped in front and behind Jupiters orbit in its Lagrangian points.

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38
Q

Torino Scale

A

Impact potential scale used to determine level of concern of an object colliding with Earth (0 - 10). 8,9,10 = certain collision, life at stake

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39
Q

Apophis

A

previously listed as a 4(highest rating ever awarded) but re-listed as a 0

If it did impact Earth, the energy released would be equivalent to 114000 times the Hiroshima bomb.

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40
Q

Meteoritics

A

Study of meteorites; drawing upon fields such as cosmochemistry, planetology, and space exploration to figure out what meteorites can tell us about how solar system formed, and how planets and asteroids formed.

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41
Q

Find meteorite

A

discovered without prior knowledge of when, where, and how it came to Earth

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42
Q

Fall meteorite

A

witnessed and after seeing its entry through the atmosphere someone has collected a piece/all of that rock

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43
Q

Irons meteorites

A

almost made up entirely of iron + nickel metal alloys.

Makes up 6%

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44
Q

Stony-iron meteorites

A

rare meteorites (1%) have a 50-50 mixture of silicates (stones) and iron-nickel alloys

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45
Q

Stone meteorites

A

most common (93%) made up mostly of silicate stones

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46
Q

Chondrites

A

Stony meteorite that has never been altered or melted.

Chondrites derive from the Greek word chondros which means grain or seed, referring to the small rounded inclusions in Chondrites called Chondrules.

how they formulated: condensed from a hot cloud of gas and dust, very early in the Solar System history, by flash melting of dust aggregates in the solar nebula.

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47
Q

Achondrites

A

stony meteorite; igneous rock that has been at least partially melted or recrystallized.

A fragment of another planet that falls on earth and is the product of crystallization from magma is called achondrites.

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48
Q

Pallasite stony iron

A

metallic looking meteorite with brown/rusted holes

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49
Q

Accretion

A

process of clumping together of the various products appearing in chondrites

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50
Q

Igneous rock

A

magma (molten rock) is formed by melting pre-existing rock at very high temperatures; when that molten rock crystallizes to a solid

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51
Q

Residual rock

A

material left behind that didn’t melt from molten pre-existing rock

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52
Q

Primitive achondrite

A

if the fragment is from residual rock - material left behind that did not melt; it is called primitive achondrite

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53
Q

Interplanetary dust particles

A

micro-sized particles/micrometeoroids orbiting around the Sun are the solar system’s smallest meteoroids. These meteoroids are being wiped out constantly by the Sun’s flares. They have ability to replace themselves because:

1: asteroid belt send objects/small pieces there constantly
2: dusty trails from comets

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54
Q

Pegasus and IRAS.

A

Two spacecraft sent to detect amounts and locations of dust that would contribute to micro-meteors. They confirmed that the asteroid belt is indeed a major source of micrometeorites.

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55
Q

Fireballs

A

produced by large chunks of rock and iron that were knocked off asteroid parent bodies by collisions.

Particles in an average meteor shower never survive to reach Earth’s surface, but most meteoroids that produce fireballs are massive enough to survive the atmospheric passage, often explosively disintegrating into several smaller pieces en-route.

light is normally visible, and sound is commonly heard over 50km

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56
Q

Ablation

A

erosion process by removing small masses during atmospheric drag

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57
Q

Inertia

A

Tendency for an object to resist change in its motion

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58
Q

Momentum

A

Product of an object’s mass, volume, and velocity. The more mass the meteorite is, the faster it travels, and the greater the force needed to change its direction

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59
Q

Kinetic energy

A

Energy gained by a meteorite according to its motion. The heavier and faster a meteorite is moving, the greater its kinetic energy, the greater atmospheric resistance.

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60
Q

Regmaglypts

A

Meteorite surfaces marked with depressions resembling thumbprints from ablation

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61
Q

Fusion crust

A

The crust of a meteorite caused by its entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

a layer (usually less than 1 mm thick) of glass (commonly dark or even black in color)

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62
Q

Meteorite hunt

A

Antarctica is the best place to look for meteorite because of its open grounds and cold condition to preserve it. The meteorite found belongs to the landowner it fell on. Otherwise, finders keepers.

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63
Q

Petrographic microscope

A

A specialized version of a binocular microscope

sends transmitted polarized light designed for the study of thin sections of rock or pottery.

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64
Q

Electron microscope

A

microscope that forms an image by focusing beams of electrons onto a specimen.

chemically analyzes the minerals of the meteorites.

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65
Q

Mass spectrometer

A

An instrument that measures the amount of very selective radioactive isotopes in the sample. To understand the age of meteorites.

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66
Q

Great Red Spot

A

a 300-year-old high pressure raging storm on Jupiter

  • hurricane-force winds twice the size of Earth
  • lightning bolts, and swirling vortex of clouds
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67
Q

Io

A

Innermost moon/satellite of Jupiter orbiting every 2 days

most volcanic active body in the solar system

  • The closest satellite to Jupiter- which is also the densest.
  • Has a partially molten core of iron and sulfur
  • There are over 150 active volcanoes on Io’s surface - which cause no crater impacts at all - the lava that is blasted out constantly buries any craters that can be formed.
  • Io is heated by tidal heating which affected Ganymede and Europa
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68
Q

Ganymede

A

Satellite of Jupiter

-seems to have a water ‘slush’ ocean beneath a solid ice cover

  • The 3rd outermost Galilean Satellite.
  • The largest out of the 4, larger than the moon & mercury.
  • Molten iron-rich core, with liquid salty ocean
  • One of the only satellites that have a magnetic field - due to its molten core which is very hot to generate heat.
  • Has its own extremely thin atmosphere, primarily oxygen and hydrogen (no nitrogen unlike Earth)
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69
Q

Callisto

A

Satellite of Jupiter

-a body that never chemically differentiated

  • The outermost of the four satellites
  • A mixture of rock & ice
  • Has a very weak magnetic field - no dense core / its interior is a mix of rock and ice.
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70
Q

Europa

A

A satellite Jupiter

-significant liquid water beneath the surface

  • The 2nd inward satellite
  • The more inward the satellite, the denser it is.
  • Made up of rock and metal
  • Surface has ice, almost free of craters
  • Does not have a molten core
  • Heat is a result of tidal heating, because of the cracks of its ice surface clearly showing convection beneath.
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71
Q

Galilean satellites

A

Jupiters four main satellites

-named this in honor of the first man to describe them Galileo

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72
Q

Pioneer 10

A
  • spacecraft to photograph Jupiter
  • over 500 images
  • fictional pioneer 10 was used in Star Trek V: the final frontier
  • it has left the solar system
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73
Q

Pioneer 11

A
  • better pics than pioneer 10
  • measured Jupiter’s intense charged particle and magnetic field environment
  • it has also left the solar system
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74
Q

Voyager 1 and 2

A

-Voyager 1 made the closest approach on March 5,1979 to Jupiter

  • Voyager 2 followed in July
  • images showed complicated swirling turbulence of Jupiter’s atmosphere
  • Voyager 1: discovered 9 active volcanoes erupting on io
  • Voyager 2 found that 8/9 were still erupting 8 months later
  • Rings were also discovered
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75
Q

Galileo Spacecraft

A
  • First spacecraft to orbit Jupiter
  • Studied Jupiter’s atmosphere, satellites
  • Found that there’s saltwater in Europa.
  • Sent crashing to the surface of Jupiter to not contaminate Europa
  • It changed the way we think about the Solar System
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76
Q

New Horizons

A

Passed Pluto in 2015 and is heading for the Kuiper belt

Passed the Jupiter system in 2007

Took great images

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77
Q

Juno

A

The first solar powered spacecraft with the goal to study early history of Solar System- since Jupiter was the first to form.

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78
Q

Obliquity

A

axial tilt
-the angle between an object rotational axis and its orbital axis or equivalently the angle between its equatorial plane and orbital plane

-Jupiter has a v upright stance w a mere 3* of obliquity

–> has a fast rotational period (9hrs 55 mins) as Jupiter orbits the sun

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79
Q

Oblateness

A

Bulges slightly at the equator

-Jupiter is mostly liquid, not having a hard surface, it rotates fast having detectable oblateness

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80
Q

Jupiter’s Interior heat engine

A
  • Jupiter emits about 1.7x as much energy as it receives from the sun
  • Jupiter’s weird interior is responsible for this
  • from true gaseous hydrogen rich atmosphere it turns to a liquid hydrogen then to ‘metallic’ hydrogen and finally a heavy metal core
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81
Q

Speculation about life in the oceans of which satellites

A

Europa

Ganymede

-for life to exist radiation strength would have to be decreased substantially by the time it reaches them

82
Q

Atmosphere structure Instrument (ASI)

A
  • carried by the Galileo probe
  • sent the ASI into the atmosphere of Jupiter
  • made most difficult planetary atmospheric entry ever attempted
  • detected high winds and v intense turbulence during descent through the thick atmosphere
  • confirmed theories that the source driving much of Jupiters distinct circulation phenomena is probably heat escaping from the deep interior
83
Q

Dark belts and bright zones

A
  • clouds of Jupiter are organized into dark belts and bright zones
  • belts: appear to be regions of descending gas
  • zones: appear to be high-pressure regions of rising gas that cools as it rises and forms clouds higher in the atmosphere, where they receive more sunlight and look brighter
  • belts are low-pressure regions w sinking gas and lower clouds that are not as brightly lit
84
Q

Galilean Moons (AKA satellites)

A
  • 4 largest satellites of Jupiter
  • seen through a crude telescope
  • all are tidally locked to Jupiter, meaning that they keep the same face facing Jupiter forever
85
Q

Regular satellites

A
  • define the outer orbital reaches of a planets domain in space
  • ex. Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
  • are large and round
  • tend to have stable, simple, nearly circular orbits
  • all move through a plan in space that is roughly equal to the planets equatorial plane
86
Q

Formation of regular satellites

A

2 hypothesis:

  1. they formed out of the same nebula of gas and dust that built the planet and likely at the same time THIS IS WHAT EVERYONE BELIEVES
  2. they formed by collision. our moon is an ex of this
87
Q

Irregular satellites

A
  • these are of unknown origin
  • almost certainly captured objects
  • typically small
  • all look to have similar composition and trajectories
  • great amount of objects in one segment of the Kuiper belt
88
Q

Trojan Satellites

A
  • Satellites that orbit the sun, but is also gravitationally bound to their planet at the same time
  • Lagrangian points (60* ahead&behond Jupiter)on its sun’s orbital path, 2 packs of asteroids here. Do not orbit Jupiter
  • Earth only has one true Trojan called 2010 TH7 sharing Earth’s orbit

Earth has acquired a sort of enhanced Trojan, a rock called 2002 AA29

89
Q

3 important principles in comparative planetology

A
  • composition depends on the temp of the material from which it is formed. ex: ice in the outer solar system where sun is weak
  • cratering can tell the age of a hard surface
  • internal heat has a powerful influence over the geology of these larger satellites
90
Q

Ganymede (points in bold)

A
  • interior estimated at 1500K-1700K

- very thin atmosphere (about 1/10,000 the pressure of earths atmosphere)

91
Q

Tidal heating

A
  • important for Europa and apparently provides enough heat to keep the little satellite active, obviously active because the ice surface is covered w cracks, showing the effect of convection beneath
  • Tidal heating occurs through the tidal friction processes: orbital energy dissipated as heat in the surface ocean or interior of a planet or satellite.
92
Q

Active volcanoes

A

over 150 present on Io

  • Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system
  • volcanism is virtually non-stop
93
Q

Orbital resonance

A

A situation in which one object’s orbital period is a simple ratio of another object’s period

  • Io, Europa, and Ganymede are locked in an orbital resonance: in the time it takes Ganymede to orbit once, Europa orbits twice and Io four times. This gravitational interaction keeps the orbits slightly elliptical, and Io, being closest to Jupiter, suffers dramatic tides, with its surface rising and falling by about 100 m!
  • result is enough friction too melt the interior and drive volcanism
94
Q

Saturn mission: Pioneer 11

A
  • 79’ flew within 20,000km of the planets cloud tops
  • took pics of rings
  • took temp of titan (largest satellites)
95
Q

Saturn mission: Voyager 1&2

A
  • provided data for the Cassini-Huygens mission
  • hydrogen/helium ratio of the atmosphere
  • winds and atmosphere belt pattern
  • auroras at the poles
  • good images of the satellites and rings
96
Q

Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft

A
  • 1st spacecraft to orbit Saturn, explored rings and satellites
  • dropped into orbit July 1, 2004
  • Cassini was built by NASA, and the Huygens probe was built by the European Space agency
  • designed to use as little fuel as possible, depends on gravity assists from other solar bodies
97
Q

Plutonium nuclear reactor

A
  • part of Cassini-Huygens

- nuclear reactor fuel cell

98
Q

Saturn: New Horizons

A

-cut through orbit of the Saturn system as it sped down toward Pluto

99
Q

Saturns heat

A
  • infrared observations show that Saturn is radiating 1.8x as much energy as it receives from the sun
  • must be hot inside cause heat is flowing out from interior
100
Q

Friction and Compaction

A

The friction of the falling droplets and the compaction of them in the core heat up the planet.

heating is similar to when a star contracts

101
Q

Saturn - Composition

A

Thick atmosphere with lots of cloud

  • Same composition of Jupiter but it is much less dense (contains more hydrogen - the lightest element)
  • Saturn has a small rocky core - consist of metallic hydrogen inner mantle and rest is liquid hydrogen.
102
Q

Saturn - atmosphere composition

A

91% hydrogen, 6% helium

Few but very strong/cold winds

103
Q

Belt and zone circulation

A

Same as Jupiter

Zones are higher clouds formed by rising gas

Belts are lower clouds formed by sinking gas

104
Q

perfectly symmetrical magnetic field

A

Saturns magnetic poles exactly match the rotational poles, thus it’s the only planet with a perfectly symmetrical magnetic field

-this like other planets magnetosphere is an efficient deflector of the solar winds

105
Q

Credit for the discovery of Saturn

A

Galileo

106
Q

Credit for the discovery of Saturn’s rings

A

Huygens

107
Q

Cassini Division

A

The big gap between Saturn’s A and B rings - caused by gravitational disturbances by Mimas (Saturn’s moon/satellite)

  • Very “dirty” - more dirt than ice
108
Q

Mimas

A

one of Saturn’s satellite

109
Q

Resonance

A

The ring particles orbiting in the gap between Saturns rings (with Mimas) are over time gravitationally nudged into new orbits, thus largely clearing out the section

110
Q

Where do Saturn’s rings lie

A

EXACTLY above Saturn’s equator

-only visible because the planets 27 degree axis

111
Q

Spokes

A
  • Discovered by Voyager 1.
  • Dark radial features that move in curious patterns on the B ring
  • Disappeared and appeared again: Seems to be a seasonal phenomena
112
Q

Water ice

A

Composition of Saturn’s rings are composed of 95% water ice

113
Q

Shepherd satellites

A

Satellites that tightly associate with the rings were thought to act as stabilizers

-will at least temporarily stabilize the orbit as it will orbit just outside a ring of Saturn and due to its mass, it will orbit a little slower, the gravitational force of the satellite will drag the particles back toward it thus controlling the energy of the particles stabilizing there orbit

114
Q

Titan (Saturns largest moon)

A
  • The main atmospheric component is nitrogen (98.4%) (like earth)
  • Larger than Mercury
  • The surface is composed of water, ice, and rocky materials, also of an intriguing pattern of irregular bright and dark regions that look like continents and oceans
  • 1.5x the surface pressure of the earth
  • Surface temperature is -179 degrees - caused by the haze of the atmosphere - meaning the tiny chance of any biological life - methane not created by biological life.
115
Q

Cryovolcanoes

A

Volcanoes on Titan which their product is not hot lava but cold water and ice.

116
Q

Mimas and Lapetus (Saturn’s satellites)

A
  • Mimas: Enormous crater impact on the top right

- Lapetus: Also have a big crater impact, with an equatorial ridge that crosses the equator.

117
Q

Enceladus

A

satellite of Saturn

-Frictional kneading and wobbling creates enough heat to make liquid water

  • orbits very close to Saturn
  • travels at a high speed
118
Q

Prometheus and Pandora

A

Shepherd satellites which stabilize the F Ring.

119
Q

Gas Giants

A

Refers to Jupiter and Saturn

Composed of H and He

120
Q

Ice Giants

A

Refers to Uranus and Neptune

Composed of Water, ammonia, and methane

Both 4 times larger than Earth, circled by dark rings

121
Q

Discovering/naming Uranus

A
  • oldest of the Greek god names suggested by Bode
  • they did not want to call it Herschel after the English king
  • controversy as he discovered it but it had been discovered years earlier by the Europeans
122
Q

Missions to Uranus and Neptune

A

In 1986, Voyager 2 flew past Uranus and in 1989 flew past Neptune.

123
Q

Kuiper Belt Location

A

A region of the solar system that begins just beyond the orbit of Neptune and contains small bodies made mostly of ice.

Neptune is the closest planet to the belt and its gravitation largely affects the belt.

124
Q

Stratosphere

A
  • Upper stratosphere of Uranus’s atmosphere

- Part of the belt-zone cloud patterns of Uranus

125
Q

Troposphere

A
  • the lower troposphere is more interesting
  • temp rises rapidly from top to bottom of the layer
  • haze or cloud layers of very specific composition appear at different heights through the troposphere
  • Temp gradient plus rotation gives rise to a belt-zone cloud pattern
126
Q

Titania

A

Uranus’ largest satellite

127
Q

Conduction

A

The direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that it is touching.

128
Q

Convection

A

The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid or gas

129
Q

Radiation

A

Energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or electromagnetic waves or particles.

130
Q

Satellites of Uranus

A

Titania, Umbriel, Miranda, Puck, Ariel

  • All 5 contain frozen water
  • Dark surfaces
  • All 5 contain frozen water
131
Q

Satellites of Neptune

A

Neptune only has 2 satellites - Triton and Nereid

Triton is nearly circular, but it travels backward – opposite to that in which Neptune
rotates. This makes Triton the only large satellite in the Solar System with a
retrograde (backward) orbit!

Completely stable rn but maybe not in the future

132
Q

The surface imaged from Voyager 2 is divided into three main regions

A

Uhlanga Regio
(polar)

Monad Regio (eastern equatorial)

Bubembe Regio (western equatorial).

133
Q

Viviane and Namazu Macula

A

Plumes of dark material made by nitrogen geysers in Uhlanga region

134
Q

Tuonela and Ruach

A

walled plains or “lakes” such as Tuonela and Ruach in Monad region

135
Q

Trans-Neptunian objects

A
  • these are any sized objects in the solar system that orbit the sun at a greater distance on avg than Neptune
  • include everything in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud
136
Q

Pluto’s classification

A
  • demoted in 2006 from a ‘proper planet’ to a dwarf planet
  • this was done because too many Pluto like planets were being discovered

Eris, Ceres, Makemake, and Haumea are also in this category

137
Q

Small Solar System Bodies (SSSBs)

A

Any astronomical object in the solar system that doesn’t meet the international astronomical union (IAU) definition of a planet or dwarf planet–includes moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.

BAD DEF, USE TNO’s instead

138
Q

how often does Pluto swing inside the orbit of Neptune?

A

every 248 earth years

-stays here for 20 yrs

139
Q

Blink comparator

A

A machine that allowed to look through a microscope at a small spot on one plate and then flip of a lever to see the same spot on the other plate.

Tombaugh used this to discover Pluto by seeing if any objects moved from the first plate compared to the second plate.

140
Q

Tombaugh Regio

A

Bright, heart-shaped region on Pluto

141
Q

Sputnik Planum

A

A smooth plain in the bright, heart-shaped region of the Tombaugh Region is made out of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane

  • It suggests that the ice are very young and are geologically active thus no cratering
142
Q

Plutos 4 tiny satellites

A

-Nix, Hydra, Kerberos and Styx

Discovered by Hubble space telescopes

143
Q

Scattered disc

A

Objects like Eris that have wild and random orbits out at the edge
of the Solar System are said to make up a Scattered Disc

  • since the scatter disc can be said to start w in the Kuiper belt
  • evidence most short term comets come from here
144
Q

Amino acids

A

Most basic carbon components, building blocks

145
Q

Nucleus of comets

A

dust/frozen gas center typically 1-10km in diameter

146
Q

The Coma of a comet

A
  • atmosphere surrounding the nucleus of the comet

- this is a result of the sun warming the solid ice surface of the nucleus vaporizing it producing the coma

147
Q

The tail of a comet

A

-coma becomes larger and brighter as it nears the sun, as comet approaches sun, part of coma becomes elongated tail

148
Q

Head of the comet

A

Together, the coma and the nucleus form the head of

the comet

149
Q

Dust tail

A

-small (smoke-sized) dust particles that sputter off the nucleus

curves toward comet’s orbit - made up of dust particles that reflect light.

-usually easiest to see from earth

150
Q

Ion tail

A

longer blue-colored

  • made up of charged glowing gas
  • pushed straight away from the sun by the solar wind, while bright dust tail traces the curved orbit
151
Q

Meteor shower

A

occurs when Earth intersects a comet’s orbit and comet particles burn up as they enter Earth’s upper atmosphere

152
Q

Which direction do tails point?

A

tails directed away from the sun

  • gas (ion) tails points away from the sun
  • dust tail curves toward the orbit path
153
Q

Long-period comets

A

take more than 200 years to orbit the sun - sometimes thousands or millions of years to orbit the sun once

154
Q

short period comets

A

the orbital period of 200 years or less

  • do not venture past pluto at aphelion, according to Kepler’s 3rd law
  • dynamical lifetime of a typical short-period comet is 1/2 million yrs
155
Q

Life & death of comets

A
  1. The nuclei are losing mass at rates that cannot be sustained for very long.
  2. The active comets are under the gravitational control of the planets - thrown into sun, thrown out of solar system, or collided with one of the planets
156
Q

Oort Cloud

A
  • long period comets come from here
  • never been seen
  • swarm of icy bodies orbiting the sun at a distance of more than a light yr
157
Q

The Kuiper Belt comets

A

Significant for 2 reasons for comets:

  1. Objects in the Kuiper belt are believed to be the primitive remnants of the early accretional phase of the solar system.
  2. Kuiper belt’s overlap with the scattered disk is believed to be the source of at least some short-period comets
158
Q

Origin of Comets

A
  • Short-period comets are from the Kuiper Belt & Scattered disc
  • Long-period comets are from the Oort Cloud
159
Q

Gliese 710

A

The star which will shock the Oort cloud objects to land in the inner solar system.

160
Q

Comet Halley

A

The short-period comet was discovered in 1705 that repeats itself every 76 years and last appeared in 1986.

  • Giotto approached with a close flyby, crossing into the coma, produced photos of the nucleus
  • Surface is covered with a layer of organic material.
161
Q

Comet Borrelly

A

Surface is dark, with materials of carbonaceous chondrites

  • Studied by Deep Space 1 in a close approach
  • Doubled our knowledge of comets overnight
162
Q

left foot and right foot

A
  • Comet wild 2

- giant impact craters that resemble foot prints

163
Q

Deep impact

A
  • Comet Tempel 1
  • rough time justifying a budget
  • spent more than $300M to send a probe to smash into Comet Tempel 1 at 37,000km/h
  • probe vaporized upon impact
164
Q

Rosetta spacecraft mission

A
  • the visit of the Tchouri / “67P Tchourioumov-Guerassimenko” comet is currently ongoing
  • entered orbit around the comet in 2014
  • the lander called Philae, performed a soft landing on the surface of the comet and returned data from the surface
165
Q

First predicted return of any comet

A

Halley’s Comet

166
Q

The daylight comet

A
  • appeared a few weeks before Halley’s and was the brighter of the 2
  • had a long tail and was visible the same times as the sun
167
Q

Great southern comet

A

Was bright enough to cast shadows and to remain visible even when the sun was above the horizon

-1st comet to be properly photographed

168
Q

Hale and Bopp

A

-second brightest comet was discovered in 1995 by Hale and Bopp

had it come as close as Hyakutake, it would have cast
shadows

169
Q

Life/life-form

A

Living matter that utilizes energy from its environment to survive and create offspring.

Life-forms reproduce, & carry out processes by which they grow and live.

170
Q

DNA

A
  • a form of nucleic acid
  • carries genetic info of all organisms (bacteria also has this)
  • primary role is to contribute the info required for production to regulate chemical reactions to cells
171
Q

RNA

A

a nucleic acid that translates the code stored in DNA, carries out the coded instructions given by DNA

172
Q

Cells

A

The smallest unit that has the properties of life and all organisms are composed of 1 or more of them

173
Q

Nucleic acids and proteins

A

Nucleic acids: macromolecules containing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus

Interaction between them makes up the ability of life to reproduce and regulate within cells

174
Q

Carbon-based life on Earth

A

all earth life is carbon-based

Carbon atom bonds easily to other atoms, enables it to form long, complex stable chains that are capable of extracting, storing, & utilizing energy.

Unlikely existence of silicon people due to weak bonds

175
Q

Natural selection

A

The process in which variation in the DNA gives a particular species a survival advantage over the other species. Thus, this type of species will survive and reproduce while the weaker species will die & become extinct

176
Q

Mutant

A
  • Random change in genes/chromosomes produced in offspring that carry mutations (mutant genes)
  • the carrier is called a mutant
  • in rare cases gives the species a new survival advantage but often make no diff
177
Q

Life (textbook definition)

A

Cellular organisms

  1. that are carbon- and water-based
  2. that contain genetic information sufficient to reproduce
  3. that possess the abilities to undergo metabolism;
  4. that respond to stimuli
  5. that adapt (through natural selection) to their environment in successive generations.
178
Q

Primordial soup

A

The rich mixture of organic compounds in ancient seas

179
Q

Prokaryotes

A
  • all oldest fossils
  • poorly defined, simple, single-celled organisms, lacking complex internal structures such as a nucleus
  • contained entire DNA in each cell but it’s poorly defined
180
Q

Eukaryotes

A
  • larger more complexed structure with nucleus and organelles membrane bound
  • DNA nicely defined in the nucleus developed from prokaryotes
  • live by respiration using oxygen for energy
  • Are Sexual vs Asexual prokaryotes
181
Q

Cambrian period

A

aka Cambrian explosion

-1/2 billion yrs ago a change in earth climate, life exploded into a wide diversity of complex organisms

182
Q

The three questions leading to life on other planets

A
  1. Could life originate in another world if conditions were suitable?
  2. Will life always evolve toward intelligence?
  3. Are suitable conditions so rare that life almost never gets started?
183
Q

Most important requirements of life

A

presence of liquid water

It not only is part of the chemical reactions of life but also a medium to transport nutrients and wastes within the organism. Moderate temperature –> liquid water

184
Q

life on Moon

A

Airless, even with the possibility of frozen ice at poles, never had liquid water on its surface. Water would boil away rapidly.

185
Q

life on Mercury

A

Airless, cannot have liquid water on its surface for a long period of time

186
Q

life on Venus

A

Even with some traces of water vapor in its atmosphere, its surface is too hot for liquid water to survive.

187
Q

life on Europa

A

The satellite of Jupiter, Europa has the best chance to sustain life.

It seems to have a liquid water ocean below its icy crust, with minerals dissolved in the water that would provide a rich broth of possibilities for chemical evolution.

However, it is not promising because of its instability and it may have once been frozen completely which would prevent life from developing.

188
Q

life on Ganymede

A

Runner up of the possible destination of life. As the satellite of Jupiter, it has a liquid ocean (not ice). Still behind Europa in terms of the possibility of life.

189
Q

life on Titan

A

Saturn’s satellite has an atmosphere of nitrogen, argon, and methane, and may have oceans of liquid methane and ethane on its surface. It has a similar resemblance to early Earth 4.6 billion years ago.

190
Q

Liquid water on Mars

A

There’s a big belief that water once existed on Mars for a longer period of time than it took for life to evolve on Earth.

191
Q

Life on Mars

A

Mars has the highest potential to have developed life (not intelligent, just life).

It currently undergoes intensive investigation by large numbers of spacecraft - including the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, as well as the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Mars Express.

In 2004, ESA discovered signs of methane in the atmosphere. Methane can be the result of volcanic activity, breakdown of carbon dioxide, or most importantly, it can be the product of active biological activity - just like on earth.

192
Q

Habitable zone

A

Ecosphere

  • distance around each star which a planet has temperatures that permit the existence of liquid water
  • Size of habitable zone dependent on temp of the star
193
Q

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

A

The US Congress once canceled NASA’s funding in the 1990s, and it is now supported by private funds.

The controversy has to do with the fact that the discovery of intelligent life in other worlds has nothing to do with science.

194
Q

Goldilocks zone (hint: another term for..)

A

aka Habitable zone

195
Q

Kepler-186f

A

A red dwarf star was discovered by the Kepler mission - 491 light-years from Earth.

radius similar to Earth and sits within the habitable zone

196
Q

Kepler-452b

A

A potentially Earth-like planet (1.6 times the size of Earth) in the habitable zone of a 6 billion years old star which is like the sun, but a little bit brighter. Therefore, the Kepler-452b is more like Venus than the Earth.

This is considered one of the most important exoplanet discoveries.

197
Q

Tau Ceti e

A

An exoplanet orbiting around a sun-like star. It is only 11.9 light-years from the Sun, and is twice the size of earth, sits within the habitable zone. If it has an earth-like atmosphere, it will have a surface temperature of 68 degrees Celsius.

198
Q

how long will we have to wait for a reply from space 10 light yrs away

A

20 years

-this is from radio communication to space

199
Q

Mass extinctions

A

The 5 particularly devastating events in the past 500 million years. They all have the same characteristics

200
Q

Common characteristics of mass extinctions

A
  1. A very short period of catastrophism.
  2. Global context
  3. Disturbance in both marine and terrestrial environments

ES1086 (5 decks)

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