Solar system

Question 1

What planets are Gas giants?

Answer 1

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Question 2

What are the terrestrial planets?

Answer 2

mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Question 3

What is an AU?

Answer 3

Astronomical unit, average distance from the Earth to the Sun (150 000 000 km)

Question 4

Where is the asteroid belt found?

Answer 4

Between Mars and Jupiter. Jupiter’s gravity disrupts the rocks orbit every time they pass stopping them forming a planet.

Question 5

What is Eccentricity?

Answer 5

How stretched the Ellipse is.

Question 6

What type of orbit do comets have?

Answer 6

Very Eccentric Elliptical orbits.

Question 7

What is the part of a comet that surrounds the nucleus called?

Answer 7

Coma.

Question 8

Which tail points to where the comet has come from?

Answer 8

Dust tail.

Question 9

What direction does the Ion tail point?

Answer 9

Away from the sun.

Question 10

How do you work out the eccentricity of a comet?

Answer 10

E= 1- (b^2/ a^2)

b is the radius of the vertical axis, a is the radius of the horizontal axis, The measurements have to be in AU.

Question 11

Where do long period comets come from?

Answer 11

The Oort Cloud.

Question 12

Where do Short period comets come from?

Answer 12

The Kuiper Belt.

Question 13

What is a) more than one meteoroid b) a meteorite c) A lump of rock in space d) a Micrometeorite.

Answer 13

a) Meteor
b) A meteoroid when it is on Earth
c) Meteoroid
d) A mini Meteoriod also known as space dust

Question 14

What is a meteor shower?

Answer 14

When the Earth moves into a meteor. They happen at the same time every year so the meteor shower is named after the constellation its in front of e.g. Perseid, August.

Question 15

What are dwarf planets?

Answer 15

Small planets whih do not have a clear path in its orbit e.g Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Makemake.

Question 16

What are centaurs?

Answer 16

size of asteroids but make-up of comets. found between Jupiter and Neptune, come from Kuiper belt.

Question 17

What are TNO’s?

Answer 17

Trans-Neptunian- Objects e.g Pluto and 1 200 others.

Question 18

What is the Kuiper belt?

Answer 18

Outer solar system, lots of small bodies made up of ice.

Question 19

What is direct motion?

Answer 19

Movement of a celestial body from east to west across the sky (as seen from Earth.)

Question 20

What is the Oort cloud?

Answer 20

Outer most reaches of the solar system.

Question 21

What is the motion of an astronomical object across the sky in the opposite direction of the rotation of the sun known as?

Answer 21

retrograde motion.

Question 22

What is stationary point?

Answer 22

A point in an apparent path of a planet when it reverses its direction.

Question 23

What is it called when 2 major celestial bodies can be seen in two different directions in the sky?

Answer 23

Opposition.

Question 24

What is conjunction?

Answer 24

2 celestial bodies appear to be close.

Question 25

What is a PHO?

Answer 25

A potentially hazardous object, e.g. meteor, comet asteroid.

Question 26

how do you work out someone’s weight?

Answer 26

Mass (Kg) x Gravity (N/Kg)

Question 27

What do all objects have?

Answer 27

Gravity, but different size bodies have different amounts.

Question 28

What is the inverse square law?

Answer 28

surface weight / distance squared

Question 29

What did Kepler discover? (3)

Answer 29

That all objects had an elliptical orbit.

Question 30

What is Brahe do? (1)

Answer 30

Built new instruments for observations and noticed orbital anomalies.

Question 31

What did Copernicus find out? (4)

Answer 31

That the sun was the centre of the Solar System.

Question 32

what did Galieo see? (2)

Answer 32

4 jupiter moon: Io, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede. He also made a new telescope.