Quiz 7 Practice Flashcards
albedo
when objects such as clouds have high reflective properties
lander/orbiter, fly-by
Lander spacecrafts enter the atmosphere of a planet or moon and make contact with the surface. Orbiter’s maintain the orbit of the orbit and take photos without touching the ground. Fly-bys are further away than orbiters.
troposphere
the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the surface
Venera mission
Soviet Union Programs (16 in total) between 1961 to 1984; A mix of orbiters, landers, and ONE fly-by
(1) First image of another planet’s surface
(2) CO2% is 95%
(3) First successful surface landing
(4) First close up images of Venus’ surface
Magellan mission
1990-1994
(1) Mapped 98% of Venus’ surface
Greenhouse gases
Gases that trap and re-radiate heat from the Sun in all directions (CO2, H20, CH4)
Density
mass/volume
Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
crust is lightest and solid, mantle is second lightest mostly solid; outer core is liquid and a hot layer of iron and sulfur; inner core is solid and hot layer of iron
Pangea
Crust: outermost rocky shell
Mantle: largest layer and mostly solid; Outer-core: liquid hot
Inner core: solid and iron
Divering, converging, transform plates
diverging plates move apart and cause extreme elevation changes; volcanism and hot spots
converging plates occur when one plates moves underneath the other; forms mountains and causes earthquakes and volcanos
transform plates slides past each other; cause earthquakes
Hot plates
areas where magma and heat can reach the surface; can be caused by diverging plates or breaks within in the crust
Polar Ice caps
seasonal (composed of CO2) and permanent ice caps (composed of CO2 ice and water ice); Northern and Southern polar ice caps are different (Northern ice caps are terraced which indicates multiple geological periods of ice formation)
Valles Marineris
huge canyon on Mars; spans 1/5 the surface
formed during planet formation and then widened due to erosion; 2500 miles long and 4 miles deep
Olympus mons
largest volcano in Solar System; has a 4 mile drop off; evidence for no tectonic plate movement
Hellas Basin
enormous old impact crater in Mars’ southern hemisphere; evidence for erosion via volcanism, water, and water
Northern Highlands/Southern Lowlands
Northern Highlands is younger and deeper than southern hemisphere surface
How do radar signals work? What do they “see?”
Radars are sent from Earth to the planetary or object’s surface, which are reflected and information is sent back to Earth
What is the runaway greenhouse effect?
occurs when greenhouse gases continuously increase in the atmosphere which creates a perpetual cycle of increased heat and increased greenhouse gases; rain and oceans can no longer effectively reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
What are some unique features of Venus?
(a) thick permanent cloud cover with high albedo; the surface is not visible through clouds
(b) very little tilt
(c) one Venus “day” is about 243 Earth days
(d) rotates “backwards” because of its 177 tilt (basically upside down)
What two pieces of evidence do we have for Mars’ tilt?
Growing and shrinking polar ice caps indicate seasons on Mars
What evidence do we have for Mars’ past and present geologic activity?
Valles Marineris (BEFORE AND AFTER), Olympus Mons (BEFORE AND AFTER), Hellas Basin, Northern Lowlands and Southern Highlands (geologic activity AFTER heavy bombardment)
