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Planetary Science Flashcards

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1
Q

Heliocentric

A

We orbit the sun

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2
Q

Geocentric

A

The sun orbits us

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3
Q

Aristotle

A

Geocentric

It doesn’t explain retrograde motion of Mars

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4
Q

Ptolemy

A
  • explains retrograde motion
  • epicycles
  • –2 motions (around earth, around a point in space) (like Pluto)
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5
Q

Copernicus

A

Heliocentric model

  • different planets orbit at different speeds and distances
  • explains retrograde motion
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6
Q

Galileo

A
  • probes heliocentric model with scientific data

- created compound telescope and looked up

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7
Q

Brahe

A
  • astronomy’s first observer
  • observations of stars + planet positions
  • did NOT believe heliocentric model
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8
Q

Kepler

A
  • brahe’s student
  • proved heliocentric model with math using Brahe’s data
  • had 3 laws
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9
Q

Newton

A

You know him

Gravity

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10
Q

Distance between planets farther out

A

Gets way bigger

Gravity is weaker

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11
Q

Kepler’s 1st law

A

Law of ellipses
-elliptical orbits
(See diagram)

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12
Q

Kepler’s second

A

Law of equal areas

  • sweeps out same area in same time
  • faster close to sun
  • earth is ALMOST circular
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13
Q

Kepler’s third

A 
Law of periods
-k•r^3 = p^2
k = constant
p = period 
r = radius (mean distance to sun)
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14
Q

Orbital eccentricity

A

How much an orbit differs from a circle

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15
Q

Apogee

A

Point an object orbiting something is at its farthest point

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16
Q

Perigee

A

Point where an object orbiting something is closest to it

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17
Q

How big is the moon

A

27% earth’s size (about 1/4)

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18
Q

How far away is the moon

A

384 000km

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19
Q

Why do we always see the same face of the moon

A

Rotation and Revolution is the same length

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20
Q

Why do we have phases of the moon

A

Earth blocks the sun

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21
Q

Regolith (moon)

A

Dusty blanket of meteorites that landed on moon

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22
Q

Highlands (moon)

A

Mountains (rings around craters)

1000s of feet tall

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23
Q

Lowlands (moon)

A

Craters + Maria/seas (lava filled basins, hardened

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24
Q

Tides

A
  • caused by moon’s gravity

- bay of Fundy has huge tides (55 feet)

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25
Moon's gravity does what?
- tides | - keeps earth's axis constant
26
Moon theory: co-creation
Grew up together | -but moon has lower Fe content
27
Moon theory: fission
Molten earth spun off - can't do math closer than 5 revolutions a day - earth is too fast for current speeds
28
Moon theory: captured
Like Jovian moon's | -earth's gravity is too weak
29
Moon theory: giant impact
Mars sized rock crashed | -most accepted
30
Challenges with coming up with a theory on how the solar system was formed
- categorizing planets - patterns of motion - asteroids + comets - exceptions
31
Best theory on how solar system was formed?
Solar nebular theory | -evidence is protoplanetary disks elsewhere (beta pictoris)
32
Protosun
Hot ball of gas becoming the sun
33
Protoplanet
Matter becoming a planet
34
Interstellar dust
Dust between stars
35
Fragmentation
Small objects -> smaller objects | Swept by protoplanets
36
Gravitational coalescence
Stuff coming together because gravity
37
Mercury
- smallest - difficult to study because it's so close to the sun (we see it 13x a year) - resembles earth's moon - 1 year = 88 days - -173-427 C because no atmosphere - eccentric orbit
38
Venus
- similar to earth - hottest planet - no moon's
39
Mars
- Rocky, dusty, cold - less gravity than earth - explored with spacecraft, satellites, Rovers
40
Jupiter
- shortest day (9:55) (fastest spinning) - great red spot been going on for 350 years - magnetic field 14x stronger than earth's - tilt of 3 - no seasons - 80x more massive = it's a star
41
Saturn
- least dense - 62 moon's - rings disappear - could be life on moon's - 1 year = 30 earth years - can be seen with naked eye - fastest planet - Jupiter-style storms
42
Uranus
- 27 moons, 13 rings - made of ice (ice giant) - rotates at nearly 90 degrees (spins on side) - atmosphere mostly H + He - min temp of 49K (-224.2 C)
43
Ceres
- largest object in asteroid belt - only dwarf planet in inner solar system so far - 25% water (has more water than earth) - thin atmosphere - may harbour life (micro organisms/bacteria) - size of Texas - 1 year = 4.6 earth years
44
Eris
- 1 year = 557 earth years - one known moon (Dysnomia) - sometimes closer than Pluto to the sun - surface is icy
45
Makemake
- 3rd largest Kuiper Belt Object - doesn't have an atmosphere (usually) - methane, ethane, nitrogen ice - one discovered moon - named after God of fertility/created of humanity of Rapa Nui myths (Easter Island) - 1 day = 7.7 hours, 1 year = 310 earth years
46
Sedna
- beyond Kuiper belt - supposedly in Oort Cloud - no moon's - cold, small, far away - half the size of the moon - miner planet (can't confirm that it's a sphere) - very elliptical orbit
47
Meteoroids
- stuff flying around (parts of asteroids and comets broken off) - size of pebble - appear everywhere
48
Meteorite
Meteoroid that hits the ground
49
Asteroid
- star-like - irregular shaped dust + gas - some have gravity, some don't (all smaller than a planet) - Trojan asteroids (beside (in front/behind) planet)
50
Comets
- dust - gas - ice - short period (<200 years) - long period (>200 years)
51
Kuiper belt
30-55AU asteroid belt
52
Oort Cloud
Cloud of ice and dust beyond Kuiper belt (comets)
53
Sun layers (bottom to top)
``` Core Radiative zone Convective zone Photosphere Chromosphere Corona ```
54
Suns core
Nuclear fusion
55
Sun radiative zone
Energy transfer by radiation (photons)
56
Sun convective zone
Energy transfer by convection (plasma)
57
Sun photosphere
Where hot gases rise and give off heat
58
Sun chromosphere
Outer atmosphere
59
Sun corona
Aura of plasma around sun
60
Solar prominence
``` Bright, large feature from photosphere Coronal loops -some last for hours/days -100 000km long (some 500 000km) Magnetic field Causes solar flares + CMEs ```
61
Solar flare
Sudden, intense energy release - a few mins, some over an hour - can be 35x earth's diameter (most 7x ish) - cause CME's, knock out comms + radio - from twisted magnetic field - sun quakes when big enough
62
CME
Release of plasma + magnetic field - can reach earth in 14-17h - very big (mass of Mt Everest) - earth's magnetic field protects us - power outages, radiation, comms down
63
Sunspots
Reduced temp areas from twisted magnetic field (no convection) (1000 degrees) - last 11 years - most from 1500km-50 000km in diameter - become prominences/flares/CMEs - can twist like Great Red Spot - 1st proof that sun rotates
64
Solar wind
Continuous flow of charged particles from sun - will last all of Suns lifetime - causes light, part of CMEs - big (goes in all directions)
65
Coronal streamers
Wisp-like stream of particles through corona
66
Solar max/min
Every 11 years - period of high/low solar activity
67
Alfvén waves
Hydromagnetic shield waves in plasma along magnetic field lines (ions oscillate in response to restoring force)
68
Halo effect
Hall ring around sun/moon at 22 angle | Ice crystals in cirrostratus clouds
69
Heliosphere
Region of space where sun has influence
70
Ozone layer
Blocks most of Suns UV light on earth
71
Gamma ray burst
Photons (I mean really)
72
Hinode
- sun - study of magnetic field - HD photos of sum - magnetohydrodynamics - explained why Suns angular momentum differs - Japanese
73
MESSENGER
- Mercury - NASA - to explore Mercury (it's dense, it has useful metals) - it has buried water, varied temps - may be shrinking - tectonically active
74
Venera 4
- Venus - USSR - collected atmospheric data (90-95% CO2, 3000x weaker magnetic field, 7% N) - 1st probe to send data from elsewhere
75
Apollo
- 107 degrees in day, -153 at night - Mt Huygens is tallest (1/2 mt Everest) - 12 Apollo missions (11 landed) - Saturn V rocket was used to launch it - moon
76
Opportunity, Spirit, Curiosity
- Mars - to determine whether there's life on Mars - rovers - characterize climate + geology - prepare for human exploration - thees water - spirit is trapped in sand - curiosity is still going - Mars lost atmosphere over time
77
Dawn
- Ceres + vesta - first probe to either - vesta has 2 large craters + hydrated materials - Ceres has H2O beneath surface, mineral deposits, maybe life - going to asteroid 2 (Pallas), stay on Ceres
78
Juno
- farthest solar powered spacecraft - reveals origin + evolution of Jupiter - how planets formed - atmosphere - magnetic field map - pics, solar panels, magnetometers - great red spot, huge cyclones at poles - Jupiter
79
Voyager 2
-Uranus and Neptune -One of 1st probes to go beyond solar system -to explore outer planets + beyond Uranus: ocean, 10 moon's, 2 rings, average temp, magnetic field Neptune: 5 moon's, 4 rings, dark spot, triton is coldest thing in solar system
80
New horizons
- Pluto - answer questions about its moon's and Kuiper belt - US completion of solar system exploration - evolutions of dwarf planets - ice dwarfs - 4 moon's (ish)
81
Hubble Space Telescope
- cassegrain telescope - to capture images from beyond earth's atmosphere - Jupiter (monitors red spot) - saltwater on Ganymede
82
Rosetta
Comet 67P - orbited and landed on comet for first time - watching comet change during closest approach to the sun - debate of origin of H2P on earth
83
Deep Impact spacecraft
- comet tempel 1 - flyby + impactor - tempel 1 is fine dust held together with gravity - increase of carbon containing stuff - hasnt changed since early solar system - helps understand comets
84
Exoplanets
Extra-solar planets | Trappist-1
85
Near earth objects
NASA tracks them
86
Sun's max angle in sky
Latitude + 23.5 degrees
87
Who first introduced the concept of a heliocentric system
Copernicus

Earth And Space (10 decks)

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