Our Solar System Flashcards
SOLAR SYSTEM
is very big
T or F
Our Solar System consists of 9 planets
F. 8 planets and one dwarf planet (Pluto)
Largest object in our Solar System, about 99.8%
The Sun
Temperature of Sun’s photosphere
About 5800 Kelvin
“Cool” regions of the photosphere, only about 3800 Kelvin
Sunspots
What causes sunspots?
A very complicated interaction with Sun’s magnetic field
How is the Sun considered in terms of size??
Yellow Dwarf star
Region just above the photosphere
Chromosphere
Highly rarefied region just above the chromosphere, and is only during a total solar eclipse
Corona
Point where the planet is furthest away from the Sun
Aphelion
Point where the planet is closest to the Sun
Perihelion
When an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body
Eclipse
Alignment of three celestial objects
Syzygy
Eclipse
- Completely hidden
Occultation
Eclipse
- Partially hidden
Transit
An eclipse when shadow falls on Earth
Solar Eclipse
An eclipse when Earth blocks most of light
Lunar Eclipse
Region of an object’s shadow when the object completely covers the light source
Umbra
Region of an object’s shadow when the object is completely in front of the light source but too small to completely cover it
Antumbra
Region of an object’s shadow when the object is only partially in front of the light source
Penumbra
Rocky airless worlds, too small to be called planets
Asteroids
When asteroids gather in a large number in a doughnut-shaped ring, it is called
Asteroid Belt
Luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity
Stars
Occurs during the last stellar evolutionary stages of a massive star’s life, marked by one final titanic explosion
Super Nova
Brightest star you see in the sky
Sirius, “Dog Star”
The largest star
VY Canis Majoris
- Blue supergiant
- Brightest star in the constellation Orion
Rigel
Bright red star in the Orion which is nearing its end
Betelgeuse
Celestial body moving in an elliptical orbit around a star
Planets
Relatively small, dense, rocky planets closest to the Sun
Terrestrial planets
Large, low density planets farthest from the Sun
Jovian planets
They form a diffuse spherical cloud located in the far reaches of the Solar System
Comets
Dutch astronomer, showed in 1950 that comets form a diffuse spherical cloud located in the far reaches of the Solar System. Some comets periodically swoop toward the Sun and retreat again
Jan Oort
Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Antares, and Ceres
Which dwarf planet doesn’t belong?
Antares. It’s a star.
Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Eris, and Ceres
Only planet that spins on its axis clockwise
Venus
Venus and Uranus are Prograde, the rest are Retrograde
T or F
F, Venus and Uranus are Retrograde, the rest are Prograde
Planet tilted over its axis, it’s virtually spinning on its side
Uranus
Smallest planet in the Solar System
Mercury
Biggest planet in the Solar System
Jupiter
Bodies of our solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula
The Nebular Theory
Solar nebula consists of?
Hydrogen and Helium atoms, microscopic dust grains, and ejected matter of long-dead stars
The formation of the Sun marked what?
It marked the end of the period of contraction and the end of gravitational heating
Repeated collisions caused these masses to coalesce into larger asteroid-sized bodies called ___
Planetesimals
Name the four protoplanets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Rocky and metallic pieces not incorporated into planetesimals are called ___
Meteorites
