Exam 2 Flashcards
Why do Uranus and Neptune appear bluer than other planets?
Because of the methane in their atmosphere.
Of which two elements are the Jovian planets mostly made?
Hydrogen and helium.
What planet has 0 degree axial tilt?
Mercury.
What two heavenly bodies have no atmosphere?
Mercury and the moon.
Hottest planet
Venus
Biggest planet
Jupiter
How many layers does the Sun have?
Six. Core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona.
Atmospheric composition of Mars
CO2, Nitrogen, (other trace elements.)
Atmospheric composition of Venus
CO2, nitrogen, other trace elements.
Why doesn’t Mars have a magnetic field like Earth?
Because it’s core is solid.
Why doesn’t Mercury have an atmosphere?
Solar radiation strips stuff away and it’s gravity is too weak to hold onto stuff.
Why does Mercury have such drastic differences in surface temperature?
Because it has no atmosphere.
What are the layers of the terrestrial planets?
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust.
How often is the sunspot cycle?
Every 11 years.
When do solar flares occur?
When prominences break.
What are solar flares made of?
X-Rays.
What are coronal mass ejections?
Bursts of high energy massive particles. Take 1-3 days to reach Earth.
Prominence
Loops of bright gas that connect sun spots.
Sunspots.
Regions of strong magnetic fields.
Solar thermostat.
Decline in core temperature causes fusion rate to drop, so core contracts and heats up. Rise in core temperature causes fusion rate to rise, so core expands and cools down.
How does the sun make light?
Proton, proton chain a form of thermal nuclear fusion.
Jupiter’s ice moon
Europa
María
Cooled lava plains. Less heavily cratered than lunar highlands.
Largest volcano is on what planet?
Mars.
Jupiter moons
Ganymede, Callisto, Europa.
Nebular theory
How the planets form from a nebula.
What is accretion?
The process by which planets come together.
What is a meteoroid?
Small body outside earth’s atmosphere.
Meteorite
Small body that has fallen through earths atmosphere and hit ground.
Meteor
Small body traveling through the earth’s atmosphere.
Where do lobg period comets come from?
Oort Cloud.
Where do short period comets come from?
The Kuiper Belt.
Why are terrestrial planets rocky and Jovian planets gassy?
Short answer. Frost line. Terrestrial planets formed inside the frost line. Jovian planets formed outside the frost line.
Which planet rotates backwards?
Venus
Which planet rotates on its side?
Uranus.
What does the sun’s core do?
Generates energy with nuclear fusion.
Characteristics of the radiation zone
Energy transported upward by photons.
Transparent to visible light.
Convection zone functions
Transports energy upwards by hot rising gas.
Opaque to visible light.
Photosphere
Visible surface of the sun.
6000K
Chromosphere
Invisible to human eye but visible to UV wavelength.
10 to4 -10 to5 k.
100,000- 1,000, 000.
Corona
Outermost layer of the sun.
1 million K
Visible in eclipse.
Hydrostatic equilibrium
The balance of the sun’s gravitational pull and it’s nuclear fusion.
Scarps
Mercuries giant ridges.
Which planet rotates on its side?
Uranus.
Where is the asteroid belt?
Between mars and Jupiter.
Where is Kuiper Belt?
Close to Pluto.
What causes flattening in angular momentum?
Collisions between particles in the cloud.
