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Class A > Section 3 > Flashcards

Section 3 Flashcards

1
Q

How was Uranus discovered

A

Herschel saw it in his telescope

1781

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2
Q

How was Neptune discovered

A

Through mathematical prediction by Adams and LeVerrier

1846

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3
Q

Why do Uranus and Neptune appear blue-green in color

A

A high abundance of CH4 (methane) in their atmospheres

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4
Q

Which is the solar system’s most featureless planet

A

Uranus

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5
Q

Which planet has the most exaggerated seasons

A

Uranus

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6
Q

On which planet was the Great Dark Spot seen?

Is it still there

A

Neptune

No, it had disappeared by 1955

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7
Q

What most likely produces the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune?
How do we know

A

Compressed liquid water oceans.

A lack of ammonia in their atmospheres.

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8
Q

How where the rings of Uranus and Neptune discovered

A

Occultations of a distant star by both of these planets

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9
Q

Which world was discovered by the use of a blink comparator

A

Pluto

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10
Q

What is unique about the Pluto-Charon system

A

Mutual synchronous rotation

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11
Q

What observations finally gave us good data about Pluto and Charon

A

A series of eclipses and transits

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12
Q

Why do many argue that Pluto is not truly a planet?

Do all astronomers agree

A

It has not dominated its region of the solar system.

Many do not agree with this

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13
Q

Where are the Kuiper belt objects located

A

Orbiting the Sun farther away than Neptune

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14
Q

Where are most of the solar system’s asteroids located

A

Asteroid Belt (between Mars and Jupiter)

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15
Q

What are the Kirkwood Gaps

A

Regions without asteroids in the Asteroid Belt (due to orbital resonances with Jupiter)

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16
Q

Where are the Trojan asteroids located

A

In Jupiter’s orbit (at stable Lagrange points)

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17
Q

Why are the Apollo asteroids of such concern

A

They cross the Earth’s orbit (impact threats)

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18
Q

Which solar system objects may be best described as “dirty snowballs”

A

Comets

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19
Q

Where are most of the solar system’s comets thought to reside

A

Oort Cloud

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20
Q

In which direction are comets’ tails pointed

A

Away from the Sun

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21
Q

What is happening on the night of a meteor shower

A

Earth passes through the orbit of a comet

22
Q

What appears to have wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago

A

A major impact

23
Q

What was the Solar Nebula?

What event most likely caused it to begin to collapse

A

The cloud of gas and dust that our solar system formed from.

A nearby supernova

24
Q

Why are terrestrials closer to the Sun and Jovians farther from the Sun

A

This is where the material existed to form these types of planets

25
Q

What are exoplanets?

What are the two main ways that we can detect them

A

Planets orbiting other stars.

Doppler shifts and transits of the star they orbit

26
Q

What happens in one proton-proton chain reaction

A

4 hydrogen fuse to make 1 helium, with two neutrinos and energy produced

27
Q

From which layer of the Sun’s atmosphere does most of the visible light come from

A

Photosphere

28
Q

What are granules?

Where do we find them?

A

Convection cells seen in the photosphere

29
Q

What color does the chromosphere appear?

Why

A

Reddish/pinkish, due to hydrogen alpha emission

30
Q

Why does the corona appear so dim in visible light

A

It is extremely hot gas, so it emits most of its energy in the x-ray spectrum

31
Q

From where does most of the solar wind escape from the Sun

A

Coronal holes

32
Q

What are the giant loops of gas seen hanging over the limb of the Sun called

A

Prominences

33
Q

What are solar flares

A

Very energetic explosions in the Sun’s atmosphere

34
Q

About how much longer will the Sun live before it begins its death process

A

About 5 billion years

35
Q

What is the solar neutrino problem

A

We see only 1/3 of the predicted number of solar neutrinos

36
Q

Today, what are the spectral types for the stars?

What do they represent

A

OBAFGKM

They represent surface temperatures (listed from hottest to coolest)

37
Q

How do M stars compare to O stars

A

M stars are cooler, less massive, have longer lives and are far more numerous

38
Q

About how many stars make up our Milky Way galaxy

A

About 200 billion

39
Q

What type of galaxy is the Milky Way

A

Spiral galaxy

40
Q

What are the best seasons to view our galaxy

A

Spring and fall

41
Q

How are galaxies spread throughout the universe

A

Galaxies reside in clusters, which reside in superclusters separated by voids

42
Q

What is the importance of Olbers’ Paradox

A

The night sky is dark, so the universe is not infinite, eternal and static

43
Q

General relativity predicted what about the universe?

Has it been verified

A

The universe must expand or contract.

Hubble later verified it is expanding

44
Q

What are the three big pieces of evidence supporting the Big Bang

A

The expansion of the universe, the cosmic Helium abundance, and the C.M.B.R.

45
Q

How close to time zero does physics currently describe the universe’s nature

A

10 to the -43rd seconds

46
Q

What currently appears to be the fate of the universe

A

Expand forever

47
Q

Do most astronomers believe life exists elsewhere in the universe?
Why

A

Yes, due to the vast number of stars and the Sun is really just an average star

48
Q

What type of signal do we expect to one day detect from an intelligent civilization

A

A powerful radio signal with some form of mathematical content

49
Q

What was the result of the Miller-Urey experiment

A

The formation of amino acids

50
Q

What does the Drake Equation attempt to predict

A

The number of intelligent civilizations in the galaxy today

Class A (3 decks)

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