FINAL Flashcards
5 visible planets
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
Main Source of short-period comets in our solar system
Kuiper belt, (Pluto is part of it)
What is a planet?
In orbit around the sunSufficiently big to have self-gravity that causes it to have a spherical shapeHas cleared out its ‘neighborhood’
Largest asteroid in orbit between Mars and Jupiter
Ceres
Largest asteroid in orbit between Mars and Jupiter
Ceres ( accounts for 1/3 of the total mass of the asteroid belt)
Formation of the solar system
The solar nebula hypothesis
The solar nebula
a spinning disk of interstellar gas and dust ( formed from an interstellar cloud that collapsed 4.6 billion years ago)
Formation of Sun
ignited 4.56 billion years ago
Formation of Planets
Proto-planetary disk forms around sun;dust and gas collect via static and gravitationattraction into proto-planetary bodies viathe process of planetary accretion
(4.5 billion years)
Carbonaceous chondrites
oldest dated solar system material, building blocks of rocky planets
accretion
accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravity
Early solar system processes
condensation, accretion, differentiation
differentiation
Example: separation of iron to form metal core in largest objects (planetesimals) by partial melting of hot interior
terrestrial planets
small, dense rocky planets close to sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)
Jovian planets
large, low density gaseous planets far from sun (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
Main Asteroid Belt
lies between orbits of Mars and Jupiter at distance from the sun of around 2-3 AU
asteroids
(aka minor planets) are small, rocky-metallic planetesimals less than 1,000 km (600 miles) in diameter -mostly much smaller -that orbit the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, in a nearly flat ring called the main asteroid belt.
First Manned Landing on the Moon
July 20, 1969
Earth vs. Moon
moon has little Iron compared to Earth - small iron core
identical oxygen isotope rations - indicates they were formed from same material
Moon rocks contain virtually no bound water - earth rocks have up to several % H20
Giant Impact hypothesis
‘Mars-size’ proto-planet impacts the Earth ~4.5 byrs ago, as proposed by Hartmann & Davis
vaporized ejecta coalesces in orbit to form the moon
average earth-moon distance
240,000 miles
moon’s orbit
tidally locked, 1 rotation for every orbit ( 29 earth days)
True or False: our Moon is the largest moon in the solar system
False
True or False: Saturn’s moon Titan has a dense atmosphere
True
The most abundant element in the solar system is... A. Silicon B. Carbon C. Helium D. Hydrogen
Hydrogen
The only nation to land a probe on the surface of Venus is
Soviet Union
All of the following planets have a measurable magnetic field, except: A. Jupiter B. Saturn C. Venus D. Earth E. Mercury
Venus
Which of these moons has a larger diameter than the planet Mercury? A. Europa B. Titan C. Enceladus D. Phobos
Titan
The Jovian gas giant planets share all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:
A. Densities less than 3 g/cm3
B. Lack of magnetic fields
C. Hydrogen as the most abundant element
D. Distances from the Sun greater than 1 AU
Lack of magnetic field (They all have magnetic fields)
NASA’s Cassini Mission studied which planet?
Saturn
The Galileo spacecraft explored which planet?
Jupiter
Observations from the Pioneer and Messenger space crafts indicate that Mercury has
a magnetic field
The Magellan spacecraft used which method to map the surface of Venus?
Radar
The Martian polar caps are mainly composed of what two ice forms?
water and carbon dioxide
The only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere is
Titan
Which planet has the older surface age?
A. Venus
B. Mercury
Mercury, has more impact craters
Ceres and Pluto are now both classified as dwarf planets: T or F
True
CAI’s indicate that the solar system is
4.567 billion years
The oldest rocks on the Moon are made of:
basalt
The first manned moon landing was in
1969
The best theory for the formation of the moon states that:
The moon was formed by a giant impact
Encladeus
Saturn’s active ice moon, geysers if water, appears to have a subterranean ocean, could have life
Titan
Saturn’s largest moon
has a dense atmosphere of nitrogen methane and hydrocarbons
could have life?
has methane lakes
most distant world we have landed on
The Cassini division
major gap in Saturn’s ring system,
Saturn’s North Polar Hexagon
Rotating storm
Saturn’s Ring system
very thin
few empty gaps
made of particles of water ice
Age of the solar system
4.567 billion
most abundant element in the universe
hydrogen
how far is the main asteroid belt from the sun
2 to 3 AU
why was pluto demoted to dwarf planet?
it is not the gravitational center of a multi-body system
What object is both a dwarf planet and an asteroid
Ceres
What was returned from the Moon’s surface by Apollo?
anorthosite
basalt
lunar soil (regolith)
Does the moon have an atmosphere?
no
what spacecraft observed Mercury in orbit?
Messenger
why are Venus and Earth thought of as sister planets
They are about the same size
Atmospheric pressure on the surface of Venus is:
90 times greater than on Earth
Evidence for active volcanoes on Venus
changes in sulfur content of the atmosphere with time
radar imaging of fresh lava flows on the surface
thermal imaging of hotter areas associated with volcanoes
surface air temperatures on Venus
860 degrees Fahrenheit
NASA mission that mapped the surface of Venus from orbit using radar
Magellan
what are the clouds obscuring Venus’s surface made of primarily
sulfuric acid
The path that planets follow in the sky against the background
the ecliptic
what did Galileo observe about Venus that had never been seen before?
the complete cycle of phases, similar to our moons phases
Where is the largest volcano in the solar system?
Mars
What are the polar ice caps on Mars made of?
water ice and carbon dioxide ice
Mars has this feature in common with Venus
an atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide
The biological experiments designed to test for the presence of life on Mars in the 1970’s were conducted by:
Viking Landers
One of the mysteries of Martian soil chemistry is that:
it appears to be sterile with no organic compounds, yet it is highly reactive
Pure liquid water probably cannot exist on the surface of Mars today because:
the very thin atmosphere
What are the names if Mar’s two small moons?
Phobos and Deimos
What may provide habitats for life on Mars?
Briny liquids (salt water)
Venus
very dense co2 atmosphere
slow backwards rotation
no magnetic field
no moon
Mars
thin co2 atmosphere
half radius of earth
Jupiter
5 AU from sun metallic hydrogen interior four moons (Io, europa, ganymede, callisto)
largest moon in the solar system
ganymede
