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Astronomy > Planets > Flashcards

Planets Flashcards

1
Q

What is the name of the organisation which define what is and isn’t a planet?

A

The International Astronomical Union (IAU)

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2
Q

What three things define a celestial body in our solar system to be a planet?

A

1) it is in orbit around the sun
2) it has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape
3) it has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit

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3
Q

Name the two ‘inferior’ planets.

A

Mercury and Venus (as they are closer to the Sun than Earth)

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4
Q

Name the ‘superior’ planets.

A

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (plus dwarf planets such as Pluto and Ceres) - all are further from the Sun than Earth

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5
Q

Name the ‘inner’ planets.

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars (as they are all inside the asteroid belt, rocky or terrestrial planets)

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6
Q

Name the ‘outer’ planets.

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (as they are all outside the asteroid belt, gas giants)

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7
Q

Who proposed the ‘Planet X hypothesis’ at the start of the 20th Century, stating that there might be another planet beyond Neptune based on discrepancies in gas giant orbits?

A

Percival Lowell

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8
Q

What is the name for a planetary-mass object that has either been ejected from the solar system or was never gravitationally bound to any star, so therefore orbits the galaxy directly?

A

Rogue planet or orphan planet

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9
Q

What is a name for a planet which orbits two stars instead of one?

A

Circumbinary planet

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10
Q

What was the name of the planet, proposed by 19th-century French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier to be situated between Mercury and the Sun to explain discrepancies in Mercury’s orbit?

A

Vulcan

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11
Q

Who proposed the small planet ‘Vulcan’ between Mercury and the Sun to explain discrepancies in Mercury’s orbit?

A

Urbain Le Verrier

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11
Q

Whose laws of planetary motion describe the motion of planets around the Sun?

A

Johannes Kepler

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11
Q

What is the name of the now-discredited hypothesis that the semi-major axes of planets in the solar system follow a simple rule?

A

Titius-Bode Law (or just Bode’s Law) - the discovery of Neptune discredited it

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12
Q

What is the name for the difference between the equatorial and polar diameters of a planet due to the centrifugal force of its rotation?

A

The Equatorial Bulge (Earth’s is 42.7 km)

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13
Q

What is the name for Earth’s not-quite-spherical shape?

A

Oblate Spheroid

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14
Q

Which planet has an orbital period (year) of just 88 days?

A

Mercury

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15
Q

Which planet has an average temperature of 167C?

A

Mercury

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16
Q

How many moons does Mercury have?

A

0

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17
Q

What is the second densest planet, after Earth?

A

Mercury

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18
Q

What is the second hottest planet, after Venus?

A

Mercury

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19
Q

Which two moons of the solar system are larger than Mercury?

A

Ganymede (Jupiter) and Titan (Saturn)

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20
Q

Which planet has the highest orbital eccentricity?

A

Mercury (7 degrees)

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21
Q

Which is the fastest planet?

A

Mercury (48 km/s)

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22
Q

What is the name for the largest crater on Mercury which measures about 1550 km in diameter, making it one of the largest impact basins in the solar system?

A

Caloris Basin (or Caloris Planitia)

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23
Q

Which planet has an orbital period (year) of 225 days?

A

Venus

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24
Q

Which planet has the highest average temperature (462C)?

A

Venus

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25
Q

Which planet has an atmosphere consisting of 96.5% carbon dioxide?

A

Venus

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26
Q

How many moons does Venus have?

A

0

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27
Q

Which is the closest planet to Earth?

A

Venus

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28
Q

What are the three alternative names for Venus?

A

Hesperus (evening star), Lucifer (morning star) or Phosphorus

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29
Q

Which two planets have retrograde rotation?

A

Venus and Uranus

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30
Q

On which planet is a day longer than a year?

A

Venus (year: 225 days, day: 243 days)

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31
Q

Which acid makes up the acid rain found on Venus?

A

Sulphuric acid

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32
Q

Which celestial object is the brightest in the night sky, after the moon?

A

Venus

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33
Q

Which planet has the lowest orbital eccentricity?

A

Venus

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34
Q

Who was the first to observe the transit of Venus, and in what year?

A

Jeremiah Horrocks in 1639

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35
Q

Who first hypothesised that Venus could have an atmosphere in 1761?

A

Mikhail Lomonosov

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36
Q

When was the last transit of Venus, and when will the next one be?

A

2012 and 2117

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37
Q

What is the rarest predictable astronomical phenomenon?

A

Transit of Venus

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38
Q

Where did James Cook observe the 1769 transit of Venus from?

A

Point Venus in Tahiti

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39
Q

What is the name for the ‘teardrop’ effect which occurs between the second and third contacts of the transit of Venus, which makes it impossible to accurately time those contacts?

A

Black drop effect

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40
Q

Which mountain massif contains the highest point on the surface of Venus, and on which terra is it?

A

Maxwell Montes on Ishtar Terra (named for James Clark Maxwell)

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41
Q

What group are every Venus surface feature named after?

A

Women or goddesses (except Maxwell Montes, Alpha Regio and Beta Regio)

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42
Q

What is the name of the highest volcano on Venus?

A

Maat Mons

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43
Q

Which is the only planet not named after a god?

A

Earth

44
Q

What was the length of the day when Earth formed?

A

6 hours (as rotation speed was faster)

45
Q

At what angle is the Earth’s rotation axis tilted from the perpendicular of its orbital plane?

A

23.4 degrees

46
Q

On what date is the Earth closest to the Sun?

A

3rd January

47
Q

On what date is Earth farthest from the sun?

A

4th July

48
Q

Which is the densest planet in the solar system?

A

Earth

49
Q

How old is the Earth?

A

4.5 billion years

50
Q

What is the temperature at Earth’s core?

A

4000C

51
Q

Approximately what percentage of the volume of the Earth does the crust occupy?

A

1%

52
Q

What is the most abundant element of the Earth’s crust?

A

Oxygen (46%), followed by silicon (27%) and aluminium (8%)

53
Q

What is the name for the belt of energetic charged particles around Earth which is held in place by the magnetic field?

A

Van Allen radiation belt (it is formed of electrons in the outer belt and a combination of electrons and protons in the inner belt)

54
Q

What area of the Earth experiences higher than usual levels of radiation due to it being where the Van Allen radiation belt comes closest to the surface?

A

South Atlantic Anomaly

55
Q

Which planet’s day is roughly the same length as Earth’s?

A

Mars

56
Q

Why does Mars have a very thin atmosphere?

A

It lost it’s magnetosphere, so solar wind interacts directly with the ionosphere, stripping away much of the atmosphere

57
Q

What is the tallest known volcano and mountain in the solar system?

A

Olympus Mons, Mars

58
Q

Who first observed ‘canals’ on Mars’ surface in 1877 (though these are now known to not exist)?

A

Giovanni Schiaparelli

59
Q

What is the largest visible impact crater known in the solar system?

A

Hellas Planitia, Mars’ southern hemisphere

60
Q

What is the largest recognised impact crater in the solar system (not visible)?

A

Utopia Planitia, Mars

61
Q

What is the largest known canyon in the solar system, which runs 7 km deep for more than 4000 km along Mars’ surface?

A

Valles Marineris

62
Q

What are the names of the two largest volcanic regions on Mars?

A

Tharsis and Elysium Planitia

63
Q

What are the names of the moons of Mars?

A

Phobos and Deimos

64
Q

How many moons does Mars have?

A

2

65
Q

Which planet has the shortest day, at less than 10 hours?

A

Jupiter

66
Q

How many moons does Jupiter have?

A

80

67
Q

Which is the largest planet in the solar system?

A

Jupiter

68
Q

Which satellite was the first to observe Jupiter’s atmosphere, in 1979?

A

Voyager 1

69
Q

Which gas giant is known for lightning in the atmosphere?

A

Jupiter

70
Q

Which planet has the highest gravity?

A

Jupiter

71
Q

What is the name of the large storm visible on the surface of Jupiter?

A

Great Red Spot

72
Q

Which planets have rings?

A

Jupiter, Saturn (by far the most visible), Uranus and Neptune

73
Q

What are all of Jupiter’s moons named after?

A

Figures in the life of Zeus (Galilean moons are all lovers)

74
Q

What are the names of the Galilean moons, discovered in 1610 by Galileo?

A

Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa

75
Q

What are the three largest moons in the solar system?

A

Ganymede (Jupiter), Titan (Saturn) and Callisto (Jupiter). Ganymede and Titan are both bigger than Mercury

76
Q

How many moons does Saturn have?

A

83

77
Q

Which planet has the lowest density?

A

Saturn

78
Q

Which planet has the largest equatorial bulge?

A

Saturn

79
Q

What is the most distant planet that can be seen with the naked eye?

A

Saturn

80
Q

What is the name of the storm that is visible on Saturn’s surface once every 30 years?

A

Great White Spot

81
Q

What is Saturn’s upper atmosphere mostly made of?

A

Clouds of ammonia ice

82
Q

Who was the first to observe the rings of Saturn in 1610?

A

Galileo Galilei (although he couldn’t identify what they were)

83
Q

Who was the first to suggest that Saturn was surrounded by detached rings of material?

A

Christian Huygens

84
Q

What is the name of the region between Saturn’s A Ring and B Ring? It was discovered in 1675 and is governed by the moon Mimas.

A

Cassini Division

85
Q

What are the three main rings of Saturn?

A

A Ring, B Ring and C Ring

86
Q

What is the name of the gap in Saturn’s rings at the inner edge of the Cassini division?

A

Huygens Gap

87
Q

Which gap of Saturn’s A ring is caused by the presence of the small moon Pan?

A

Encke Gap

88
Q

Which gap of Saturn’s A ring is caused by the presence of the small moon Daphnis?

A

Keeler Gap

89
Q

What is the name for the separation between the A ring and F ring? It is named after a French physicist.

A

Roche Division (after Edouard Roche)

90
Q

Which ring of Saturn is the most active in the solar system and is held together by the orbits of the moons Prometheus and Pandora? It was discovered in 1979 by Pioneer 11.

A

F Ring

91
Q

What shape is the wave pattern of the jet stream of Saturn?

A

Hexagonal (around the north polar vortex)

92
Q

How many moons does Uranus have?

A

27

93
Q

What is the name of the largest moon of Saturn?

A

Titan

94
Q

What is the name of the largest moon of Uranus?

A

Titania

95
Q

What was the original name of Uranus?

A

Georgium Sidus or the Georgian Planet (in honour of King George III)

96
Q

Which is the only planet whose name derives from Greek mythology?

A

Uranus

97
Q

Which planet has an axis of rotation on its side with respect to the plane of the solar system? This gives it seasonal changes unlike those of other planets?

A

Uranus

98
Q

Which two planets are often known as the Ice Giants?

A

Uranus and Neptune

99
Q

What is the name of Uranus’ brightest ring?

A

Epsilon ring

100
Q

Who first observed Uranus in 1781?

A

William Herschel

101
Q

Which US space observation platform confirmed the presence of a ring system around Uranus in 1977?

A

Kuiper Airborne Observatory

102
Q

How many moons does Neptune have?

A

14

103
Q

What is the largest moon of Neptune?

A

Triton

104
Q

Which two scientists predicted the existence of Neptune from calculations based on observations of Uranus? They did so at the same time without knowing of the other.

A

Urbain Le Verrier and John Couch Adams

105
Q

Which two scientists observed Neptune using the Berlin Frauenhofer refractor in 1846 based on Le Verrier’s calculations?

A

Johann Galle and Heinrich d’Arrest

106
Q

What makes Uranus and Neptune appear blue?

A

Methane in the upper atmosphere observes red light

107
Q

Which planet has the strongest sustained winds of any planet?

A

Neptune

108
Q

What is the name of the spot on Neptune’s surface that was discovered by Voyager 2 in 1989?

A

Great Dark Spot (although this has now disappeared, and there is now a Northern Great Dark Spot in the northern hemisphere)

109
Q

What are Neptune’s rings named after?

A

Astronomers that did important work on the planet - Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago and Adams

Astronomy (9 decks)

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