Exam 1: The Solar System Flashcards
relative abundance of most common elements in universe
- Hydrogen
- Helium
- Oxygen
- Carbon
- Neon
nebular hypothesis of solar system formation
Tons of stars formed, collapsed and created a huge rotating protoplanetary accretion disk that spit out rocks and things, the sun formed from a bunch of collapsed stars, protoplanets were created, etc.
inner planets
terrestrial planets; denser, closer, have atmospheres
outer planets
Jovian planets; gaseous, far away, don’t all have defined atmospheres
How do features of inner planets/outer planets relate to nebular hypothesis?
the planets were all formed from a rotating mass of gas and dust, all at the same time. Closer to the sun, denser elements were formed and held in its gravity, and hence formed the more dense planets, whereas the more gaseous, lighter elements were held further out in the sun’s gravitational field.
Why are inner planets rocky?
When the solar system formed, gravity held heavy elements closer to sun
Why are outer planets gaseous?
When solar system formed, lighter elements were held further away because heavier were closer– all far planets are gaseous
Compare physical characteristics of planets to Earth
Venus is Earth’s twin, but has way more carbon because it doesn’t have oceans to balance it out; other terrestrial planets have solid cores and are somewhat like Earth
Jovian planets are unlike Earth
general formation of inner planet (including heat sources)
the inner planets formed when protosun pulled all the heavy elements toward it because of gravity
origin of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans
when Earth had its original atmosphere full of carbon, plates began moving and magma leaked up from the crust, changing the chemical balance of the air; also water leaked up through the crust and began to counterbalance the carbon in the atmosphere; after about two billion years, oxygen formed in the air because of the oceans and magma, then plants emerged and the atmosphere kept changing and balancing out
4 primary interacting spheres of the Earth system
Atmosphere, biosphere, oceans, soil
CHECK TEXTBOOK!
Why do we see the moon go through phases?
We only see the part of the moon that is illuminated by the sun.
What is a lunar eclipse?
When the moon goes directly behind Earth into its shadow; Sun–Earth–moon
Why don’t we see a lunar eclipse every month?
Earth, sun, and moon are not always in line because the Earth and moon have crooked orbits
