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Exam 4 Flashcards

1
Q

Who discovered the first periodic comet?

A

Edmond Halley

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2
Q

Two men independently discovered comet hale-bopp. Who was the astronomer and who was the amateur astronomer with a borrowed telescope?

A

Alan Hale was the astronomer
Thomas Bopp was the amateur astronomer

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3
Q

How long was comet Hale-Bopp visible?

A

18 months

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4
Q

How many comets have been visited and imaged by spacecraft as discussed in class?

A

6? 22?

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5
Q

Which comet was visible during this semester?

A

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

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6
Q

Which mission returned a sample of comet dust to Earth?

A

Stardust

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7
Q

which mission had both an impactor and a flyby?

A

Comet Temple 1 & Deep impact

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8
Q

Which mission followed a comet in its orbit to see how it changed in time?

A

Rosetta

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9
Q

What is the diameter of the nucleus of a typical comet?

A

10-20 km

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10
Q

Which of a comet’s tails is made by the solar wind?

A

Gas Tail

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11
Q

Which of a comet’s tail is made by radiation pressure?

A

Dust Tail

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12
Q

Which of a comet’s tail is curved and why?

A

Dust Tail
Affected by gravity (Kepler’s Law)

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13
Q

In which direction do comet tails point?

A

Away from the sun

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14
Q

what do comets have to do with meteor showers?

A

A meteor shower can happen when Earth passes through the trail of a comet

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15
Q

When will we see another great comet?

A

a long time

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16
Q

How long are the periods of short period comets?

A

Up to 200 years

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17
Q

How long until comet Hale-Bopp will be back again?

A

2,400 years
Around the year 4385

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18
Q

Are great comets usually short period or long period comets?

A

They can be either but usually long period

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19
Q

Given the provisional name of a comet, identify the type of comet and the year and month it was discovered

A

p/: periodic short term
c/: non periodic long term
D/: periodic comet that broke up or was lost
a/: wrongly designated as a comet
i/: interstellar object
Year discovered, letter indicating 1/2 month of discovery
Starts with January as AB and goes to December as XY and skips “i”

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20
Q

How many interstellar objects have been discovered? Name them

A

2
Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov

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21
Q

Where do short period comets come from?

A

Kuiper Belt

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22
Q

Where to do long period comets come from?

A

Oort Cloud

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23
Q

Where is the Kuiper Belt the most dense?

A

Most dense 40 to 48 AU

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24
Q

How many known Kuiper Belt objects are there?

A

1,000

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25
What is the total mass of the Kuiper Belt compared to the Earth's
10% of the Earths
26
What is the orbital resonance between Neptune and Plutions?
3:2
27
What part of the Kuiper Belt is the principal source of comets?
Scattered disc
28
When was pluto discovered?
1930
29
How does Pluto's diameter and mass compare to Earth's
Diameter: 1/5 Mass: 0.002 x
30
When were transits of Pluto and Charon last visible from Earth? When will the next transit be?
Last visible 1985-1990 Next transits: 2103-2117
31
How long does it take pluto to orbit the Sun?
248 earth years
32
Which mission did a flyby of Pluto? Whose ashes were onboard this mission?
New horizons with Clyde Tombaugh ashes
33
When was the second Kuiper Belt object discovered?
1992
34
How many dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt do we presently have? Name them
5 - Pluto - Haumea - Makemake - Eris - GongGong
35
Which dwarf planet is the most massive?
Eris
36
Why does Haumea have such an unusual shape?
Ellipsoid shape, equators twice the radius as poles
37
What is the name of the Kuiper Belt object that is the farthest object visited by spacecraft?
Arrokoth
38
What is the shape of the Inner Oort Cloud? What dwarf planet is found here?
Donut Shaped Sedna
39
What is the Shape of the Outer Oort Cloud?
Spherical shell
40
What can change the orbit of a comet?
- Interstellar gas cloud - Supernova shock wave - Passing Star - Dense part of the milky way
41
What is the distance from the Earth to the Sun in AU, miles and Sun diameters?
1 AU or 9.296e+7 miles Sun diameters: 864,000 miles
42
How does the Sun's diameter compare to the Earth's Diameter and Mass?
Diameter: 109 x Mass: 300,000 x
43
How does the Sun's mass compare to Jupiter's?
1,000 x
44
What percent of the Sun's mass is composed of elements heavier than helium?
2%
45
What is the average rotation period of the Sun?
27 days
46
What is the surface temperature of the Sun?
10,000 degrees F
47
What is the power output of the Sun?
4 x 10^26 watts 400 yota watts
48
What is the source of the Sun's energy?
Nuclear fusion
49
What is the temperature of the core of the Sun?
27 million degrees F
50
What percent of the Sun's total m ass has been converted into energy during the 5 billion years that the Sun has been shinning?
0.035%
51
How long does it take for energy to get from the core of the Sun to its surface?
tens of thousands to millions of years
52
What kind of particles are used to study the Sun's core?
Solar neutrino
53
What is the solar neutrino problem?
Only 1/3 of expected neutrinos were detected
54
What is the solution to the solar neutrino problem?
Neutrinos comes in three flavors and change their identities. Look for the other ones
55
Put the following layers of the Sun in order from the center of the Sun to its outer atmosphere: chromosphere, convective zone, core, corona, photosphere, radiative zone
1. Core 2. Radiative zone 3. Convective zone 4. Photosphere 5. Chromosphere 6. Corona
56
What causes sunspots to be cooler?
Convection is hindered and there is localized cooling
57
What is the period of the solar cycle from maximum solar activity to maximum solar activity?
Around 11 years
58
What ceases the solar cycle?
Sun's magnetic activity
59
In what layer of the Sun's atmosphere are spicules found?
Chromosphere
60
What part of the Sun's atmosphere is the hottest?
Corona
61
What are solar prominence?
huge plumes of glowing gas
62
What are solar flares?
Brief but bright eruption of gas
63
What are coronal mass ejection?
enormous bubbles of hot gas burst from the corona out into space
64
Which lasts longer a solar prominence or a solar flare? Which did we see when we looked at the Sun?
Solar prominence
65
What is the solar wind mostly composed of?
Hydrogen and helium
66
Which mission made three solar scans at all latitudes?
Ulysses
67
Which mission was able to see the whole Sun?
STEREO
68
What mission has a set of postage stamps?
SDO
69
Which mission is studying the Sun up close?
Parker solar probe
70
Are planets common around other stars? How common?
Yes
71
If the sun were the size of a grapefruit and was located in California, where would the nearest star be?
Florida
72
Why is it so difficult to directly image an exoplanet?
Its like sitting in California and taking a picture of a firefly b a street light in Florida
73
Why is the James Webb Space Telescope a good choice for directly imaging exoplanets?
Because it is not affected by earth's atmosphere
74
What are the 3 main methods for detecting exoplanets?
1. Radial velocity 2. Astrometry 3. Transit
75
Which method works best for close stars with distant massive planets?
Astrometric method
76
What method works best for massive planets that are close to their stars?
Radial Velocity method
77
Which method likely only works for 1% of stars?
Transits and Eclipses
78
How many stars did the Kepler Mission watch for transits in the original part of its mission?
150,00 stars ever 30 minutes
79
Which method has been used to discover the most exoplanets?
Transit method Over 70%
80
Which method can be used to determine the orbital period of exoplanets?
Transit method
81
Which method can be used to determine the eccentricity of exoplanets?
Radial velocity method
82
Which method can be used to determine the size of exoplanets?
Transit method
83
What two method are used to determine the density of exoplanets?
Transit Method and Radial Velocity Method
84
How many confirmed exoplanets have been discovered to date?
5,612
85
What percent of confirmed exoplanets are terrestrials?
4%
86
What kind of planet was the first exoplanet found around a Sun like Star?
Hot Jupiter
87
How many planets have been discovered orbiting TRAPPIST-1?
7 known planets
88
HAT-P-32 b has a density similar to?
Styrofoam
89
What method was used to find OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b?
Gravitational Lensing Technique
90
What kind of rain falls on the nightside of WASP-76 b?
Iron Rain

Space Exploration (6 decks)

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