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Astronomy-Zoe Brown > Topic 2:planetary Systems > Flashcards

Topic 2:planetary Systems Flashcards

1
Q

What is the order of the planets

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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2
Q

What dwarf planets is our sun host to

A

Ceres, Pluto, Eris

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3
Q

What are asteroids

A

Small solid bodies, with the majority orbiting in the asteroid or main belt between the orbits of mars and Jupiter

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4
Q

What are comets

A

Nuclei of ice, dust and rock that develop a gaseous coma and tails when relatively close to the sun

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5
Q

What are centaurs

A

Similar to asteroids and comets. Generally orbit the sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune

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6
Q

What are Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs)

A

Objects orbiting the sun beyond Neptune

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7
Q

What does a body have to be, to be a planet

A
  • in orbit around the sun
  • large enough to be spherical
  • has ‘cleared its orbit’ of other objects
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8
Q

What is 1 AU equivalent to

A

150 million km

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9
Q

List some characteristics of mercury

A
  • heavily cratered
  • contains highlands and lava-filled basins
  • diameter = 4.9,000 km
  • temperature = 170 degrees Celsius
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10
Q

List some characteristics of Venus

A
  • has clouds of sulphuric acid
  • dense atmosphere containing co2
  • diameter = 12.1,000km
  • temperature = 470 degrees Celsius
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11
Q

List some characteristics of mars

A
  • has iron-rich rocks
  • has a 450km long water-carved canyon
  • diameter = 6.8,000km
  • temperature = -50 degrees Celsius
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12
Q

List some characteristics of Jupiter

A
  • rotates on its axis in 10 hours
  • has a giant red spot which is an anticyclone weather system
  • diameter = 143,000km
  • temperature = -150 degrees Celsius
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13
Q

List some characteristics of Saturn

A
  • has majestic rings
  • is a gas giant
  • Diameter = 121,000km
  • temperature = -180 degrees Celsius
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14
Q

List some characteristics of Uranus

A
  • ‘surface’ is almost featureless
  • compositions of hydrogen, helium, methane and ammonia
  • diameter = 51,000km
  • temperature = -210 degrees Celsius
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15
Q

List some characteristics of Neptune

A
  • composition of hydrogen, helium , methane and ammonia
  • has clouds of frozen methane at high altitudes
  • diameter = 50,000 km
  • temperature = -220 degrees Celsius
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16
Q

List 3 problems astronauts may face if they venture further into the solar system

A
  • radiation risk
  • space adaption syndrome- suffer headaches and vomiting
  • physiological problems- brittle bones, muscle fatigue and reduced red blood cell count
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17
Q

What are mars’ moons called and what are they like

A

Diemos - smaller and more distant of the 2
Phobos
Both irregular in shape , heavily cratered

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18
Q

Neptunes main moons

A

Triton - slightl smaller that our moon, highly inclined orbit
Dark proteus - second largest moon, largest irregular satellite in solar system
Nereid - largest moon in solar system , takes 360 days to orbit Neptune

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19
Q

What are rings around a planet made from

A

Individual particles of ice, rock and dust that range from a few microns to several metres in size

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20
Q

What is the shape of an orbit

A

Ellipse

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21
Q

What narrow region do planets appear to move through

A

Zodiacal band

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22
Q

What are inferior planets

A

Planets that orbit inside of the earth - mercury and Venus

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23
Q

What are superior planets

A

Planets that orbit outside of the earth - mars to Neptune

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24
Q

What are jupiters major moons called

A

IO , Europa, Callisto, Ganymede

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25
Q

What is the greatest elongation

A

The angle between the sun and the planet, with the reference point as the earth, when an inferior planets position in its orbit Is at a tangent to the observer on earth

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26
Q

What is conjunction

A

an alignment of two planets or other celestial objects so that they appear to be in the same, or nearly the same, place in the sky.

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27
Q

What is opposition

A

When two celestial body’s are in opposite sides of the sky

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28
Q

What is transit

A

When at least one celestial body moves across the face of another celestial body

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29
Q

What is occulation

A

When one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer

30
Q

What is direct motion

A

Forward motion of planets across the sky

31
Q

What is retrograde motion

A

When the inside planet undertakes the outside planet

32
Q

What are the comets 2 tails

A
  • ion tail - straight and point away from the sun

* dust tail- sticks out behind the comet / opposite to the direction it’s going in. Slightly curved

33
Q

What are short period comets

A

Comets that have orbital periods less than 200 years and originate from the Kuiper belt

34
Q

What are long period comets

A

Comets that have an orbital period of 200-millions of years and they originate from the Oort Cloud

35
Q

What do observations of long-period comets indicate

A
  • high percentage originate from vast distances from the sun

* orbits are often highly inclined to the ecliptic

36
Q

What are meteoroids

A

Small rocky irregular limbs of debris in the solar system

37
Q

What are the sources of meteor showers

A

Debris left behind fro dust tails

38
Q

What is a meteor

A

A bright tail of light caused by a meteoroid during its atmospheric flight

39
Q

What are fireballs

A

Meteors with a magnitude of -3 or brighter

40
Q

What is meteorite

A

Part of meteoroid that survived the passage though the atmosphere

41
Q

What causes a meteor shower

A

The increased number of dust particles entering and burning up in the atmosphere

42
Q

What are examples of collision between astronomical bodies

A
  • craters on planets and moons

* planets rotating on there axis in unusual ways e.g. Backwards, upside down

43
Q

What effects could a PHO have on the earth

A
  • giant tsunamis
  • global dimming - due to dust covering the sun
  • disrupting tectonic plates - volcanic eruptions
44
Q

What can we do to stop pho’s

A
  • send and unnamed space craft to nudge it

* shoot nuclear weapons at it to change its path

45
Q

What is Kepler 1st law

A

That planets move in elliptical orbit around the sun, with the sun at one focus of each ellipse

46
Q

What is keplers 2nd law

A

An imaginary line from a planet to the su sweeps out equal area in equal intervals of time 8
I.e. At closer points in the orbit the planet moves faster therefore the wedge is bigger even though the number of days is equal

47
Q

What is keplers 3rd law

A

T2=r3
T= time period of an orbit
R= average separation

48
Q

What did Galileo Galileo discover

A
  • the moon was not spherical but contained ‘hollows and protuberances’
  • Venus exhibited phases
  • 4 satellites were in orbit around Jupiter : io, Callisto, Europe, Ganymede
49
Q

What is the inverse square law

A

Distance ^2

50
Q

What is astrometry

A

Measuring the precise position of the stars relative to each other, to see if they wobble over time due to the gravitational pull of the exoplanet

51
Q

What is the transit method

A

Measuring a dip in the light of a star to see if a planet has moved in front of it

52
Q

What is Doppler shift

A

Measuring the lights wavelength or frequency from the star, to see if it changed and if it does it is proof it is moving, so here is probably an exoplanet affecting the stars movement due to its gravity

53
Q

What are 2 essential chemical ingredients for life

A
  • Carbon- ability to make interesting compounds

* Liquid water

54
Q

How do astronomers search for signs of life

A

Space probes

Spectral analysis of planetary atmospheres - search for gases produced by living organisms

55
Q

What are 3 factors in the Drake equation

A

Number of stars in our galaxy
Number of planets capable of sustaining life
Fraction of life forms that are intelligent

56
Q

Why do meteor showers occur about the same time ever year?

A

Meteor showers occur only when the Earth’s orbit intersects that of a specific comet, and those intersections occur at fixed intervals.

57
Q

What point in a meteor shower do the meteors appear to diverge from

A

The radiant

58
Q

How were Uranus and Neptune discovered

A

By telescope

59
Q

How was Pluto discovered

A

By photography

60
Q

Which planets have ring systems

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

61
Q

What are the 2 principal origins water on earth is thought to have

A
  • outgassing kg hydrogen and oxygen from volcanoes that combined to produce steam which condensed into water
  • it was deposited by comets (containing ice) striking earth
62
Q

Which 2 of Galileo’s discoveries gave strong evidence in favour of the heliocentric universe

A
  • the phases of Venus

- moons of Jupiter

63
Q

Who developed the first serious heliocentric model of the universe

A

Nicolaus Copernicus

64
Q

What was nicolaus copernicus’ book called

A

De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (on the revolutions of the celestial spheres) published in 1543

65
Q

What did Copernicus suggest

A

That the Earth and planets orbited the sun instead of all heavenly motion being centred on the earth

66
Q

Who developed the geocentric (earth-centred) universe

A

The Egyptian philosopher Ptolemy using planetary observations made by Greek astronomer Hipparchus

67
Q

When was Uranus discovered and who by

A

1781 by William Herschel

68
Q

When was Pluto discovered and who by

A

1930 by Clyde Tombaugh

69
Q

When was ceres discovered and who by

A

1801 by Giuseppe Piazza

70
Q

How was Neptune found

A

It was predicted by John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier to account for the ‘wobbles’ or perturbations in the motion of Uranus, they suggested these perturbations could only be explained by the existence of another planet that pulled Uranus outwards at time. It was discovered in the first telescopic search

71
Q

How was Uranus discovered

A

Herschel was carrying out a ‘review of the heavens’ with a homemade telescope from his garden.he found one star that appeared as a small disc at first he thought it was a comet but subsequent observations allowed him to determine an orbit from which he deduced the object to be a new planet

Astronomy-Zoe Brown (9 decks)

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