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Astr 150 Final > Review cards > Flashcards

Review cards Flashcards

1
Q

three basic types of meteorites

A

Stony, Stony-Iron, and Iron

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2
Q

three sub-classes of Stony meteorites

A

Carbonaceous Chondrites, Ordinary Chondrites, and Achondrites

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3
Q

Carbonaceous Chondrite Meteorites

A
  • originates from primitive asteroids
  • black to dark gray in color
  • rich in the element carbon (thus their black color)
  • contain small spherical droplet-like inclusions called chondrules
  • rare among meteorites that fall to the Earth (~ 4%), look like earth rocks, weather easily
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4
Q

primitive asteroids

A

the asteroid has been altered very little over the age of the solar system. More specifically, it means that the asteroid has not been heated to the point that would change the material that makes up the asteroid.

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5
Q

Ordinary Chondrites

A
  • contain chondrules, have been heated less primative, but not much, so from small object
  • wide variety of appearances: some light, some dark,
  • some coarse grained, some fine–grained.
  • most common meteorites that fall to Earth (~ 74%),similar appearance/density as Earth rocks, difficult to recognize in the field.
  • contain some metallic iron flakes, came from an undifferentiated object
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6
Q

Achondrites

A
  • stony meteorites that lack chondrites, subjected to a much greater degree of heating that other stony meteorites, came from geo. active bodies
  • Some are pieces of impact breccia, and some are very similar to pristine highland rocks on the Moon
  • about 8% on the meteorites that hit the Earth
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7
Q

Stony-Iron Meteorites

A

-rarest class of meteorites, about 1% of meteorites that fall to Earth

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8
Q

two broad classes of stony-iron meteorites

A
  • Pallasites (composed primarily of iron with crystals of a rock mineral called olivine embedded in it)
  • mesosiderites (that look like stony meteorites with lots of metallic iron veins running through them)
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9
Q

Iron Meteorites

A
  • ~5% of all meteorites
  • look and feel like metal
  • Widmanstatten pattern is our best evidence that iron meteorites were once the cores of larger, differentiated bodies
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10
Q

Compared to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, ordinary chondrite meteorites

A

are depleted in volatile elements

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11
Q

Jupiter takes about 12 years to go around the Sun. An asteroid in a 3:1 resonance with Jupiter would take how many years to go around the Sun?

A

4 years

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12
Q

The Widmanstatten patten found in iron meteorites forms under what circumstances?

A

slow cooling and high pressure

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13
Q

Asteroids larger than about 500 km are spherical because

A

their central pressure is greater than the strength of rocks

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14
Q

The volcanic activity on the surface of asteroids

A

occurred long ago

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15
Q

Assume this asteroid formed in the asteroid belt. How do you get pieces of it to the surface of the Earth?

A

Impacts can disrupt the asteroid, and interaction with Jupiter will send the pieces to Earth

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16
Q

What is the wavelength range of the visible part of the spectrum?

A

380 to 750 nm

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17
Q

What is the most common geological feature on the surfaces of Dead worlds?

A

Impact Craters

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18
Q

the surface of Saturn’s moon Rhea is about 3.8 billion years old because it has about the same crater density as the highlands of the Earth’s Moon. Why might this statement be completely wrong.

A

Rhea may not have been hit by the same population of impactors as the Moon.

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19
Q

Saturn’s moon Titan is about the same size as the Earth’s Moon. Why can Titan retain a thick atmosphere while the Moon can not?

A

Titan is farther from the Sun than the Moon

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20
Q

The Roche limit for Saturn lies about 2.5 planetary radii away. This distance is:

A

near the outer edge of the rings

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21
Q

The gaps in the rings of Saturn are caused by

A

resonances with moons changing the ring particle’s orbits

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22
Q

Saturn’s small moon Mimas is saturated with impact craters. What does saturated mean in this context?

A

The addition of more craters would not change the crater density.

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23
Q

Small worlds in the outer solar system can have similar levels of geological activity as much larger worlds in the inner solar system because:

A

they are made primarily of ice

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24
Q

Why do we think that the methane in Titan’s atmosphere must be continually replenished from the surface?

A

methane has a very short lifetime in the atmosphere

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25
Q

Neptune’s moon Triton has active volcanoes on its surface. The most probable energy source for these volcanoes is

A

The Sun

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26
Q

Why is Io the only solid surface in the solar system that has no impact craters on it?

A

The surface is constantly being resurfaced, covering impact craters

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27
Q

Io and Europa are geologically active today because their interiors are heated by

A

gravitational interactions with Jupiter and its satellites

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28
Q

Liquid water probably exists below the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Why can liquid water not exist in large seas on the surface of Europa?

A

Europa has no atmosphere so the surface pressure is too low for liquid water to exist

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29
Q

Why is it unlikely that Saturn’s volcanically active moon Enceladus is being powered by tidal heating?

A

The dead moon Mimas should be even more tidally heated

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30
Q

Astronomers estimate that there may be a trillion cometary nuclei in the Kuiper Belt. Despite their large numbers they have only been discovered in the last decade. Why is this?

A

cometary nuclei have a very low albedo and are hard to detect so far out

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31
Q

Halley’s comet takes about 76 years to orbit the Sun. Why do we believe that Halley’s comet was not in its present orbit 4 billion years ago?

A

It would have completely disintegrated if it had been in this orbit for 4 billion years

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32
Q

Compared to the surfaces of asteroids, the surfaces of Kuiper belt objects are

A

more volatile rich

33
Q

The Kuiper belt never formed into a planet because

A

Accretion times are longer that 4 Byrs in the Kuiper Belt

34
Q

In what way are the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn more like stars than terrestrial planets?

A

Like stars, Jupiter and Saturn are big balls of gas composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.

35
Q

The belt and zone apperance of the clouds of Jupiter is a consequence of Jupiter’s:

A

Rapid rotation

36
Q

The color in the clouds of the Giant Planet atmospheres is due mainly to

A

trace gasses (i.e H2S)

37
Q

Venus has no magnetic field. What property of magnetic field generation does Venus lack?

A

moderately rapid rotation

38
Q

Mars has no magnetic field. What property of magnetic field generation does Mars lack?

A

fluid is convecting (internal heat source)

39
Q

What does a planet need to have to have a magnetic field?

A

fluid is convecting (internal heat source)
electrically conduction fluid
moderately rapid rotation

40
Q

All regular satellites in our solar system are synchronous rotators. What does this mean?

A

They keep the same face toward their parent planet

41
Q

if I brought the two masses closer so their distance is one half (1/2) of their original distance, How would the force of gravity between the two change?

A

4 times stronger

42
Q

The tidal force on the Earth due to the Moon is twice that of the tidal force due to the Sun. How can this be when the Sun is MUCH more massive than the Moon.

A

The Moon is much closer than the Sun

43
Q

Why is the Earth’s Moon not geologically active today due to

tidal heating by the Earth?

A

The Moon is not in resonance with another moon

44
Q

In order to have Tidal Heating you need:

A
  1. A massive central planet (Tidal forces depend on mass)
  2. A moon orbiting close to the massive planet (Tidal forces really depend on distance).
  3. Another moon in resonance with the inner moon. (You have to force an eccentric orbit in order to keep the distance between the inner moon and the planet changing)
45
Q

How do we know the solar system is 4.5 billion years old?

A

Carbonaceous chondrites are 4.5 billion years old

46
Q

Why did every Apollo mission to the Moon explore simple impact craters?

A

Impacts bring deep-seated materials to the surface

47
Q

Why is Io the only solid surface in the solar system that has no impact craters on it?

A

The surface is constantly being resurfaced, covering impact craters.

48
Q

What is a common characteristic of exoplanets discovered by the radial velocity method?

A

The planets are generally very large and orbit very close to the central star.

49
Q

Which of the following lists best characterizes our solar system

A

The Sun, Jupiter

50
Q

In studying the surfaces of solid worlds in the solar system, we have learned that the number of craters (per unit area)

A

is roughly proportional to the age of the surface

51
Q

How do we know that the asteroid belt was not a single planet that exploded?

A

We have carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Also, meteorites are undifferentiated, meaning the came from a parent body that was very small

52
Q

Which list of meteorite types is arranged from most primitive to least primitive

A

carbonaceous chondrite, ordinary chondrite, iron

53
Q

What process is responsible for the heat generated in the interior of the Earth?

A

radioactive heating

54
Q

What process is responsible for the heat generated in the interior of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io?

A

tidal heating

55
Q

Why are very few (about 2) asteroids spherical in shape?

A

very few asteroids are larger than 400 km in diatemeter

56
Q

Inside the Roche limit of Saturn accretion is

A

very inefficient because tidal forces are strong

57
Q

Which of the following atmospheric gasses would be a strong indicator of a potentially biologically rich world?

A

Ozone (oxygen)

58
Q

Which of the following would most affect the level of geolocially activity on Jupiter’s moon Io?

A

Remove Europa from orbit around Jupiter.

59
Q

If a planet formed inside of the orbit of Mercury (< 0.3 AU), which of the following materials would be the most abundant component of this planet?

A

Iron

60
Q

What is unusual about the position of Uranus and Neptune in the Nice Model of solar system formation?

A

They formed and a much closer distance and were kicked to larger orbits

61
Q

A planet with a mass of 10 times that of Jupiter will have a size (diameter)

A

About the same as Jupiter

62
Q

Why do we think the water on the Earth had to come from the outer solar system?

A

Water can not exist as a solid inside the snow-line

63
Q

In 2 billion years the Earth will be

A

Much warmer due to a brightening Sun

64
Q

Roche Limit

A

outside limit - gravity wins and particles move toward - moons
inside limit - tidal forces win and particles move apart - rings

65
Q

short period comets

A

less than 100 years - pass in front of jupiter, steal energy

66
Q

long period comets

A

more than 100 years - come from outside kuiper belt - pass behind jupiter, give energy

67
Q

Coriolis effect

A

becomes stronger as rotates faster

68
Q

Nice model scatters

A

in –> LHB
out –> ort cloud
left over –> kuiper belt

69
Q

why is accretion hard close to big planets?

A

roche limit, gravitational force between 2 planets is stronger

70
Q

small worlds in the outer SS can have levels of geo act. similar to much larger worlds in the inner SS because:

A

they are made primarily of ice –> more volitile

71
Q

the kuiper belt never formed into a single object because

A

accretion time are longer than 4 byrs

72
Q

the asteroid belt never formed into a single object because

A

of the influence of jupiter

73
Q

saturn’s rings never formed into a single object because

A

tidal forces are greater than gravitational forces

74
Q

why can we NOT use crater counting to determine the absolute age of the surfaces of the dead moons of saturn (or other outer SS worlds)

A
  • R plots look completely different
  • crater population is different in outer worlds, cannot compare them to the moon
  • need to compare to the moon to determine age
75
Q

explain why the atmospheric composition of titan is different from the composition of venus

A

-composition of atmosphere is due to the surface comp –> venus: rock – titan: ice

76
Q

describe the approx. size, shape, density and k of the parent body of an ordinary chondrite

A

size: less than 500km - cuz would become spherical in shape and start to differentiate
Shape: irregular
density: 3 g/cm^3
k: .4

77
Q

Sample and age of Io today and in 1 byrs

A 
Sample today: Basalt
Age today: 0 --> geo active
Sample 1 byrs: Basalt
age 1 byrs: 0
NOT driven by radioactive material, but tidal heating
78
Q

Sample and age of Mimas today and in 1 byrs

A

Sample today: Impact breccia
Age today: 4 byrs –> no geo active
Sample 1 byrs: impact breccia
age 1 byrs: 5 byrs

79
Q

Sample and age of short period comet today and in 1 byrs

A

Sample today: Ice
Age today: 0 –> surface changes due to the sun
Sample 1 byrs: nothing
age 1 byrs: dead

Astr 150 Final (1 decks)

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