Exam 3 Practice

Question 1

Titius-Bode Rule

Answer 1

1) Titius and Bode in 1760s-1770s
2) Based on 5 known planets with the naked eye
3) Planets increase by their distance from the Sun in sizes twice as far for each orbit
4) Succesful in measuring Uranus
5) Extra planet between Mars and Jupiter
6) Did NOT predict Neptune or Pluto

Question 2

Asteroid Belt

Answer 2

1) Diffuse ring of small rocky bodies between Mars and Jupiter
2) 2.2 AU to 3.2 AU
3) Contains about 75% of known asteroids
4) Most asteroids are only a few km to 10s of km across
5) Non-spherical and non-uniform
6) 4 largest objects contain half the total mass
7) Very sparse

Question 3

C-type Asteroid

Answer 3

1) Chondrite
2) Most common (including Ceres)
3) Clay/silicate & organic compounds
4) Low albedo
5) Primitive

Question 4

S-type Asteroid

Answer 4

1) Stony/Silicate
2) Second most common
3) Silicate and nickel-iron
4) NO organic compounds
5) Primitve

Question 5

M-type Asteroid

Answer 5

1) Metallic
2) Least common
3) Nickle and iron
4) Highest albedo
5) NOT primitive

Question 6

Basaltic surfaces

Answer 6

1) Similar to volcanic plains on the moon
2) Evidence of early volcanic activity

Question 7

Ceres

Answer 7

1) Largest object in Asteroid Belt
2) Guiseppe Piazzi 1801
3) 1/3 of mass of entire asteroid belt
4) Rock, ice, partially differentiated
4.5) Possible liquid ocean
5) 1/4 of diameter of the Moon
6) Self-gravity

Question 8

Eccentricity/ellipticity

Answer 8

the deviation from circular orbit (e=0 perfect circle)

Question 9

Inclination

Answer 9

tilt away from the ecliptic

Question 10

Jupiter

Answer 10

1) Striped pattern caused by (a) cloud layers and (b) varying wind patterns
2) Highest wind speeds occur at equator
3) Lighter stripes are frozen ammonia ice
4) High pressure means higher concentration of hydrogen (specifically metallic hydrogen which causes magnetic field)
4.5) Small amount of ice and rock
5) Has primordial heat
6) Gravitational impact protects Earth from impacts

Question 11

Great Red Spot

Answer 11

1) Oval-shaped region, most likely high-pressure storm system
2) Has persisted for last 300 years BUT slowly shrinking

Question 12

Jupiter’s Moons

Answer 12

1) 80 identified (less than Saturn)
2) 1km across to slightly larger than Mercury
3) Retrograde motion and eccentricity ranges

Question 13

Galilean Moons

Answer 13

1) Discovered in 1610 by Galileo
2) Evidence against geocentric theory
3) Largest moons of Jupiter (contain more than 99% of total mass orbiting Jupiter)
3.5) Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa
4) Disrupt further ring formation

Question 14

Io

Answer 14

1) Third largest moon of Jupiter
2) Size and density similar to Earth’s moon
3) Most volcanically active object in Solar System
4) Tidally locked with Jupiter
5) Many irregular depressions
6) NO observable impact craters
7) Interior re-heated by tidal forces
8) Subsurface crust remains liquid
9) Presence of lighting but NO water

Question 15

Tidal Forces

Answer 15

occur from difference in gravitational pull on opposite sides of an object which causes bulging at hemispheres

Question 16

Europa

Answer 16

1) Smallest Galilean moon
2) Density and size similar to Earth’s moon
3) Icy crust with subsurface salt water ocean
4) Most elliptical orbit
5) Criscrossed cracks on surface indicating freezing and thawing of ice
6) More geologically active than Earth
7) Ocean is larger than Earth’s ocean (40 to 100 miles deep)
8) Tidal forces with Jupiter and Io

Question 17

Ganymede

Answer 17

1) Largest Galilean moon
2) Lower density than our moon by slightly larger than Mercury
3) Small portion of surface shows heavy cratering
4) Has volcanic and tectonic activity
5) Differentiated interior (rocky core with ice on surface and liquid water)
6) Magnetic field
7) Tidal forces with Jupiter and Sun

Question 18

Callisto

Answer 18

1) Second largest moon of Jupiter
2) Lower density than moon and slightly smaller than Mercury
3) Barely affected by tidal forces
4) Synchronous rotation with Jupiter
5) Low surface temperature, stable water ice
6) Some rocky material but mostly frozen
7) Heavily cratered surface (no geological activity since formation)

Question 19

Saturn

Answer 19

1) 6th planet from Sun
2) Second largest planet
3) Less dense than water
4) 27-degree tilt
5) Clouds appear to all travel in same direction
6) Small magnetic field
7) Primarily molecular hydrogen, some metallic hydrogen, ice and rocky core
8) Hexagonal poles

Question 20

Cassini

Answer 20

1) Orbiter (2004-2007)
2) Majority of our data on Saturn’s rings, moons, and atmosphere
3) Launched probe onto Titan
4) Measured chemical makeup of Enceladus water geysers
5) 22 passes and deorbited into Saturn

Question 21

Saturn’s Moons

Answer 21

1) 83 moons (63 confirmed)
2) Majority of smaller moons located in rings

Question 22

Titan

Answer 22

1) Saturn’s largest moon (similar to Ganymede/Callisto)
2) Only moon with thick atmosphere (Nitrogen, CO, hydrocarbons)
3) Rocky surface, liquid rivers, and lakes (hydrocarbons)
4) Mountains, valleys, boulders of water ice
5) Experiences rainfall of hydrocarbons

Question 23

Enceladus

Answer 23

1) Saturn’s 6th largest moon
2) Icy crust over a liquid ocean, similar Europa
3) Smoothest most reflective body in Solar System
4) Tidal forces reheat interior (causes cracks and liquid geysers)

Question 24

Rings of Saturn

Answer 24

1) Vertically thin, very long
2) Composed of water ice (60% reflectivity)
3) Three Main Rings: A, B, C
4) E Ring is replenished by Enceladus
5) Moons are commonly found in ring gaps
6) Cassini Division (separates A and B rings)

Question 25

Uranus

Answer 25

1) Seventh planet from the Sun
2) Ice giant, no solid surface
3) Same density as Jupiter
4) 98-degree tilt (rotates “sideways”)
5) 42 year seasons (winter and summer
6) Clouds layers composed of methane
7) Stable atmosphere (frozen interior, no mixing of cloud layers)
8) No internal heating but atmosphere stores heat
9) Molecular hydrogen, ice and rocky core
10) SMALL magnetic field

Question 26

Neptune

Answer 26

1) Less haze, more transparent than Uranus
2) Similar temperature to Uranus
3) Has small primordial heating (causes cloud convections)
4) More rock and ice than Gas Giants, no metallic hydrogen
5) Small magnetic field
6) Has 4, thin, non-uniform rings
7) 14 confirmed moons

Question 27

Triton

Answer 27

1) 6th largest Solar System moon
2) Density between two smaller and two larger Galilean moons
3) Majority rock, and some water ice
4) Highly reflective surface
5) Coldest surface temperature of any object visited
6) Frozen nitrogen, water, methane and CO
7) Plumes of nitrogen
8) ONLY LARGE MOON WITH RETROGRADE ORBIT

Question 28

Miranda

Answer 28

1) Frankenstein Moon
2) Episodic periods of reformation OR multiple collisions pieced together

Question 29

Kuiper Belt

Answer 29

1) Asteroid belt beyond Neptune
2) KBOs
3) Icy, silicates, hydrocarbons
4) Higher elliptical orbits and inclinations
5) Discoveries began in early 1900s

Question 30

Pluto

Answer 30

1) Discovered in 1930
2) Most massive KBO
3) Similar density to Uranus and Jupiter
4) Highly elliptical orbit
5) Highly reflective surfaces (methane, CO, nitrogen)
6) Dark cratered regions (Orgnanic molecules)
7) Thin atmosphere when Pluto is closer to sun
8) Differentiated interior (water ice, liquid water ocean, and silicate core)
9) Internal heating

Question 31

New Horizons

Answer 31

1) Flyby in 2015
2) Revealed surface composition of Pluto

Question 32

The Whale

Answer 32

1) Largest, single dark feature on Pluto
2) Hydrocarbons, heavily cratered and textured

Question 33

The Brass Knuckles

Answer 33

1) Chain of dark spots
2) Tall, flat uplands and deep canyons
3) Tail of Whale to Sputnik Planitia

Question 34

The Heart

Answer 34

1) Flat plans of nitrogen ice
2) Water ice mountains atop nitrogen plains
3) Younger surface

Question 35

Sputnik Planitia

Answer 35

1) Western area of The Heart
2) Smoothes region of Pluto’s surface

Question 36

Charon

Answer 36

1) About half of Pluto’s size
2) Double tidally locked with Pluto

Question 37

Planet Requirements

Answer 37

1) Primary orbit around the sun
2) Sufficient mass for self-gravity
3) Cleared neighborhood around orbit

Question 38

Oort Cloud

Answer 38

1) Distant reservoir of icy objects
2) 2,000 to 100,000 AU
3) Estimated to contain a trillion objects

Question 39

Comets

Answer 39

1) Originate far from the sun
2) Icy composition
3) Highly elliptical orbits (3 to 250,000 years)
4) coma: bright atmosphere
5) Frozen nucleus
6) Composed of ices (volatiles)

Question 40

Halley’s Comet

Answer 40

1) Recorded since 239 BC
2) Every 74 to 79 years

Question 41

Gas Tail

Answer 41

charged particles that point away from the sun

Question 42

Dust Tail

Answer 42

trails the comet’s motion

Question 43

Rosetta Mission

Answer 43

1) Launched 2004
2) 67P in-depth study
3) Landed in November 2014

Question 44

Aphelion

Answer 44

furthest distance from the Sun