physical universe unit 3 Flashcards
order of the planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
looks like our moon
Mercury
the messenger of the Roman gods
Mercury
fastest moving planet
mercury
smallest planet
mercury
800 days 300 nights
mercury
2 years=3 spins
mercury
the only planet in retrograde motion
venus
spins backward
venus
spins super slow which results in temperature changes
venus
orange looks like fire
venus
god of war
mars
covered by iron oxide dust
mars
has ice caps and seasons
mars
king of gods
Jupiter
60 moons
Jupiter
less dense than water
Saturn
god of agriculture
Saturn
Giovanni and cassini
Identified divisions between Saturn’s rings
60 moons
saturn
chemical composition is primarily hydrogen and helium
saturn
similar in size. smaller than other gas giants, but larger than terrestrial planets
Uranus/Neptune
god of the sky
uranus
god of the sea
Neptune
primarily hydrogen and helium gas
Uranus/Neptune
methane gives them their blue color
Uranus/Neptune
great dark spot
Neptune
rotates on its side heavy bombardment
Uranus
slowest orbit
Neptune
acid rain
venus
most volcanic object in the solar system
IO
white and yellow (sulfur)
IO
biggest planet
Jupiter
smallest planet
mercury
hottest
venus
fastest orbiting
mercury
slowest orbiting
Neptune
goddess of beauty
venus
winged god
mercury
god of sky
Uranus
Galilean moons
Jupiter
largest of all moons
Ganymede (Galilean)
most likely saltwater ocean under its surface
Ganymede
most cratered in the solar system
Callisto (Galilean)
one of the most reflective objects in the solar system
Europa (Galilean)
one of Saturn’s moons. hazy mustard yellow color
Titan
the only planet with liquid on its surface methane rain
Titan
the most reflective
Enceladus
creates the E ring
Enceladus
yellow booger ball
IO
Large dark spot, gray and white
Ganymede
looks like a fire ball
Callisto
white with orange lines
Europa
green and hazy yellow
Titan
blue tiger stripes, cryovolcanoes
Enceladus
characteristics of Gas Giants
-Longer orbital periods
-Much greater mass
-spin faster
-not cratered
-further apart from each other
-outside asteroid belt
-moves through space slower
-very strong magnetic fields
what are common characteristics of Terrestrial planets
-shorter orbital periods
-rocky/metallic
-can stand on
-dont have rings
-few to no moons
-closer to each other
-inside asteroid belt
-move through space much quicker
Earth’s magnetic field protects us from
solar flares
why is pluto no longer considered a planet
it doesnt clear out the neighborhood of smaller objects
pluto is a
plutoid, dwarf planet and KBO
what are some other dwarf planets?
-Ceres
-Pluto
-Eris
-Makemake
-Haumea
characteristics of a dwarf planet
- Be orbiting the sun (and not something else)
- be massive enough for its own gravity to pull it into a round shape
- Dwarf planets DO NOT clear out their neighborhood
plutoid
- orbit outside of neptune
- are mainly spherical
- do NOT clear out neighborhood
KBO
Kuiper Belt Object, an object that orbits in the KB. ex- Pluto
meteoroid
rocky/metallic body IN SPACE
meteor
(shooting star) rock that enters our atm so quickly it starts to glow
meteorite
rock has burned up significantly and lands ON EARTH
comet
The inside of the comet is a rock, metal and icy (called nucleus) the burst of light around the nucleus is the coma
-2 tails - dust/ion
-VERY elliptical orbit
-Burn up when they’re in the terrestrial planets
-really slow when they’re far away (fast when they’re near)
-Tails always point away from the sun (solar wind)
-The dust left behind by comets collect in tails that earth passes though and we see meteor showers
-Come from way past asteroid belt
asteroid
a rocky, metallic and/or icy body revolving the SUN in SPACE (first and LARGEST asteroid ever found- Ceres)
Why would a nebula collapse to form a star or solar system
gas and dust gravitationally pull eachother inwards so much it eventually collapses into itself
Why are the gas giants mostly made of hydrogen, followed by helium, yet the terrestrial planets are mostly rock and metals
different material condenses at different temperarures. (gas doesnt turn solid unless its really cold, thats why the jovian planets are farthest from the sun)
Why are the gas giants spinning so much faster than the terrestrial planets
because there mass is so much greater
How did Earth end up with such a massive moon
also heavy bombardment (Giant Impact) something really big hit earth while it was forming and a whole bunch of crust was thrown into space that eventually became our moon
Angular Momentum is the product of what two physical properties
rotational inertia and rotational speed
rotational inertia
the tendency of an object to keep spinning how it was already spinning
solar eclipse
moon is between earth and sun. part of earth is in the NEW moons shadow
lunar eclipse
earth is between moon and sun. FULL moon is in earths shadow.
which planets moons are named after Shakespearean plays
Uranus
can’t be seen with the naked eye
Neptune
solar eclipse
moon is betweeen earth and sun. part of earth is in the NEW moons shadow
lunar eclipse
earth is between moon and sun. FULL moon is in earths shadow.
tidal forces
the gravitational force exerted by one body on another is not constant across it; the nearest side is attracted more strongly than the farthest side.
Why would a nebula collapse to form a star or solar system
gas and dust gravitationally pull eachother inwards so much it eventually collapses into itself
Why does the nebula spin faster as it collapses
because the center of mass is more concentrated and therefore spins faster (angular momentum)
Why does the nebula flatten as it collapses
because of the dusts Inertial tendency to leave, it wants to go straight out
Angular Momentum is the product of what two physical properties
rotational inertia and rotational speed
define rotational inertia
the tendency of an object to keep spinning how it was already spinning
angular momentum is conserved
angular momentum is the (constant) product of rotational inertia and rotational speed, so when one increases the other one decreases, visa versa.
Keplers laws of planetary motion
1) Planets orbit the sun in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focal point. They’re very close to being circles, they can be oriented differently.
2) Planets further away from the sun move at a slower speed than planets closer to the sun
3) Inner planets travel faster than outer planets
difference between a theory (such as the nebular theory of solar system formation) and a law
theory- EXPLAINS a set of observations that are all interconnected
law- describes a relationship in nature and is accepted to be true bc it is consistently observed
If a theory fails a test, does this disprove the theory
Yes, at least in part. Scientific theories are often large in scope so sometimes a part of a theory can fail a test while other parts may remain unchallenged.
