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Astronomy GCSE Edexcel > Topic Two: Planetary Systems > Flashcards

Topic Two: Planetary Systems Flashcards

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1
Q

Name the 4 Rocky/Terrestrial Planets:

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

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2
Q

Name the 4 Gas Giants:

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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3
Q

What is the definition of a planet?

A

A planet is a body that:

  • Is in orbit around a Star
  • Is large enough to be Spherical
  • Has cleared its orbit of other objects
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4
Q

Name 6 other types of body in our Solar System except Planets:

A 
Asteroids (minor planets)
Comets
Centaurs
Moons/satellites
Dwarf Planets
TNOs (Trans Neptunian Objects)
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5
Q

What size are asteroids?

A

bigger than 10m but smaller than a few hundred kilometres

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6
Q

Where are asteroids usually in our solar system? Name a few.

A

The Asteroid Belt

Vesta and Pallas

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7
Q

What is the brightest asteroid in the asteroid belt?

A

Vesta

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8
Q

What can comets be described as? And what do they consist of?

A

Icy snowballs

Consists of:
Dust, Rock and Ice

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9
Q

What are centaurs?

A

Half comet, half asteroid.

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10
Q

Where do centaurs orbit?

A

Between Jupiter and Neptune

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11
Q

Give examples of centaurs:

A

Chiron, Hidalgo and Absolus

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12
Q

Give examples of Dwarf Planets:

A

Pluto, Ceres and Eris

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13
Q

What is the IAU?

A

International Astronomical Union

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14
Q

What were the 2 decisions the IAU made in 2006?

A

Ceres promoted from Asteroid to dwarf planet

Pluto demoted from planet to dwarf planet

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15
Q

What is 1AU?

A

Unit of Measurement

Based on distance between Earth and Sun (150 million km)

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16
Q

Describe Mercury:

A 
Closest to the Sun
Fastest orbital period 
Heavily cratered 
Highlands and lava filled basins
Smallest Planet
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17
Q

What is odd about Venus?

A

It spins backwards (retrograde rotation)

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18
Q

Describe Venus:

A 
Similar Size to Earth
Clouds of Sulphuric Acid
Atmosphere of mostly Carbon Dioxide 
Runaway Greenhouse Effect
Temperature: 470 degrees Celsius 
Pressure: 90x Earth's
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19
Q

Describe Mars:

A

Iron rich rocks (red planet)
450km long water carved canyons
Highest volcano is solar system

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20
Q

What is the Great Red Spot?

A

The anticyclone weather system greater in size the Earth on Jupiter

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21
Q

How many times bigger than Earth is Jupiter?

A

11

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22
Q

Describe Jupiter’s equatorial budge:

A

Dynamic wind system splits atmosphere into belts and zones

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23
Q

Why does Jupiter have an equatorial budge?

A

Extremely fast rotation (once in only 10hrs)

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24
Q

How long is a Venus day?

A

243 Earth days

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25
Q

Name some similarities between Uranus and Neptune:

A

They are both cold Gas Giants

Similar in size

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26
Q

Describe some similarities between Jupiter and Saturn:

A

Both have ring systems
Both are gas giants
Similar rotational periods

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27
Q

Describe two differences between Jupiter and Saturn:

A

Saturn has less visible structure to its atmosphere unlike Jupiter, which as the great read spot, red/brown belts and yellow/white zones

Jupiter’s rings aren’t as reflective as Saturn’s

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28
Q

Name some differences between Uranus and Neptune:

A

Uranus is almost featureless
Uranus spins on its side
Neptune has a Great Dark spot
Neptune has clouds of frozen methane

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29
Q

Name 5 problems Astronauts could face is venturing beyond the moon:

A

Time

Space adaptation syndrome

Physiological problems

Psychological problems

Communication delays

Radiation risk

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30
Q

Describe Space Adaptation Syndrome:

A
  • No up and no down
  • Disorientation
  • Headaches
  • Vomiting
  • Poor concentration
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31
Q

Describe Physiological problems from venturing beyond the moon:

A

Prolonged zero gravity causes:

  • Muscle wasting
  • Brittle bones
  • Reduced red cell count
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32
Q

Name some advantages of robotic planetary exploration:

A
  • Less expense
  • No loss of life
  • Safer
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33
Q

Name one advantage of human planetary exploration:

A

Hype -publicity, etc

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34
Q

Name Mars’ two small moons:

A

Deimos

Phobos

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35
Q

Why do astronomers believe that Deimos and Phobos are captured Asteroids?

A

Heavily cratered
Irregular in shape
Densities half that of Mars
Compositions similar to asteroids

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36
Q

Name 3 moons of Neptune:

A

Triton
Dark Proteus
Nereid

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37
Q

Describe Dark Proteus

A

Largest irregular moon of the Solar System

Orbits in the plane of Neptune’s equator

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38
Q

Describe Nereid:

A

Highly eccentric orbit:

  • 1 orbit is 1 Earth year
  • probably captured Kuiper Belt object
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39
Q

Why do astronomers believe Triton is also a captured body?

A

Revolves around Neptune in the opposite direction to Neptune’s rotation

Highly inclined orbit

It is thought that Triton’s capture is the result of a collision with Neptune or one of its moons

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40
Q

Name 4 planets that have ring systems:

A

Saturn
Jupiter
Neptune
Uranus

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41
Q

Why aren’t Jupiter’s rings visible like Saturn’s rings?

A

Saturn’s rings are made out of highly reflective ice particles

Jupiter’s rings are made out of dark dust

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42
Q

What are the gaps in Saturn’s rings called?

A

The Cassini Division

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43
Q

Which planets have incomplete rings (arcs)?

A

Neptune

Uranus

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44
Q

Give 4 theories on the origin of rings:

A

Debris left over from planet formation

Large impacts between moons

Moons torn apart through tidal gravitational forces

Meteors striking moons creating debris

45
Q

Are the orbits of planets circular?

A

No they are elliptical

46
Q

What is the plain on which the planet’s orbit called?

A

The ecliptic

47
Q

What is the Zodiacal band?

A

Because all the planets orbit on the ecliptic they appear to move through a narrow region of the sky called the Zodiacal band

48
Q

What are the inferior planets?

A

Mercury and Venus

49
Q

What are the Superior Planets?

A

Mars to Neptune

50
Q

Where do the inferior planets appear in the sky?

A

Near the sun

Best observed during sunsets and sunrises

51
Q

At what time in their orbit is it best for us to see Mercury and Venus?

A

At their Greatest Elongation

52
Q

What is an inferior conjunction?

A

When the angle of elongation is 0
Planets passes between Sun and Earth
May undergo a transit

53
Q

What is a superior conjunction?

A

When the angle of elongation is 0
When the planet passes behind the Sun
May undergo an occultation

54
Q

What is an occultation?

A

When the planet disappears behind the sun

55
Q

When are superior planets most favourably placed for observation?
Give two reasons why:

A

At opposition

Brighter (fully illuminated by sun throughout night) and better resolution (closest to Earth)

56
Q

Which directions do planets seem to move in the night sky?

A

From west to east

57
Q

Explain retrograde motion:

A

Direct motion of planet seems to stop and move backwards

It is because Planets orbit the sun at different speeds (Angular and Actual)

We therefore see planets from different viewpoints (as we also orbit the sun)

58
Q

What kind of orbits do comets have?

A

Highly elliptical

59
Q

Describe the ion tail of a comet:

A

Blue coloured
Fluorescence
Ionised carbon monoxide
Ionised by solar wind

60
Q

What direction does the ion tail point in?

A

Away from the sun

61
Q

Describe the dust tail of a comet:

A 
Lighter coloured
Broader
Curvier 
Produced by radiation pressures pushing particles out of the nucleus 
Reflects sunlight
62
Q

What direction does the gas tail point in?

A

Away from the path of the comet

63
Q

Name two categories of comets:

A

Short period

Long period

64
Q

Describe short period comets:

A

<200 years

Originate from Kuiper Belt

65
Q

Describe long period comets:

A

Originate from Oort Cloud.
Paths clockwise or anticlockwise.
Orbits highly inclined to the ecliptic.
Originate vast distances from the sun.

66
Q

What is the Kuiper belt?

A

Where short period period comets originate
Disc shaped region of icy bodies
Beyond Neptune
30-50 AU from Sun

67
Q

What is the Oort Cloud?

A

Where long period comets originate
Spherical region of cometary nuclei
Roughly 50000AU from Sun

68
Q

What is the difference between a meteoroid and meteorite?

A

A meteroid is a small rocky irregular lump in the solar system
Meteroids are between micrometres and several meters
When a meteroid enters the earth’s atmosphere it turns into a meteor
If it survives the atmosphere and impacts the grounds is a meteorite.

METEOROID - METEOR - METEORITE

69
Q

Name three origins of meteroids:

A

Broken fragments of clodding asteroids

Impacts with the surface of the moon or Mars

The dust tails of comets

70
Q

How fast can a meteoroids orbit be?

A

40km/s

71
Q

What is a meteoroid shower?

A

A dramatic increase in the number of meteors observed when the Earth passes through a meteoroid stream left by a comet

72
Q

What causes meteors to appear as light streaks in the sky?

A

Friction between a meteor and the surrounding air product heat and light

73
Q

What is a fireball?

A

Meteors with a bright magnitude of -3 or less

74
Q

What is the radiant?

A

A point in the night sky from which meteors appear to diverge from

75
Q

Describe the classification of meteorites:

A

Stones, Irons, Stony Iron

76
Q

How do we name meteor showers?

A

Named after the constellation in which the radiant is found

77
Q

Name 4 annual meteor showers and when they occur:

A

Perseids - in August

Leonids - in January

Geminids - in December

Quadrantids - in January

78
Q

What is the definition of an NEO?

A

A near Earth object is an asteroid or comet whose path might bring them closer to Earth than 0.3AU

79
Q

What is a PHO?

A

A potentially hazardous object

Comes closer than 0.05AU

80
Q

Give examples of collisions between astronomical bodies in the solar system:

A

Craters

Unusual rotations

Giant Impact Hypothesis

Comet Shoemaker-Ievy

Tunguska event (explosion of comet/asteroid in the sky)

81
Q

Why do we need to monitor PHOs?

A

Because it could have catastrophic consequences

Especially if the PHO’s are larger than 1km

82
Q

What is the Torino Scale?

A

Used to assess asteroid/comet impact predictions

83
Q

Who was Ptolemy?

A

First Geocentric Model of the universe

Ancient Greece

84
Q

Who was Copernicus?

A

First Heliocentric model of the universe

85
Q

Who was Kepler?

A

Tycho’s assistant

Formulated laws of planetary motion

86
Q

Describe Kepler’s 1st law:

A

Planets move in elliptical orbit around a Star

Star was at one focus of each ellipse

87
Q

Describe Kepler’s 2nd Law:

A

Planets speed is related to distance from Sun

The closer the sun the faster the orbit

88
Q

Describe Kepler’s 3rd Law:

A

The orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to its mean distance from the sun

T squared = R cubed

Where T =number of Earth years to orbit the sun
Where R = the average distance from the Sun in AU

89
Q

Name some of Galileo’s discoveries:

A

The moon was not spherical
Venus’s phases
Four of Jupiter’s moons

90
Q

Name the four galilean moons:

A

Callisto, Europa, Ganymeade and Io

91
Q

Who was Newton?

A

Came up with the theory of Gravity

Inverse Square Law

92
Q

What is the inverse square law?

A

two objects are inversely proportional to the square of their distance

Distance between two object doubles, force is one quarter of original value

93
Q

Who discorvered Uranus?

A

William Herschel in 1781
Mistook Uranus for a star
Tracked the star to find an orbit

94
Q

Who found Ceres?

A

Giuseppe Piazza in 1801

Astronomers predicted another planet between Mars and Jupiter

95
Q

Who found Neptune?

A

Johann Galle and Henrick D’arrest

Based on a mathematical prediction by Le Verrier

96
Q

Describe Astrometry:

A

When stars wobble due to exoplanet’s gravity.

Astronomers monitor stars to see if they wobble, to indicate whether their are exoplanets orbiting

97
Q

Describe Transit method:

A

When exoplanets move across the star the brightness is reduced.

Astronomers monitor star’s brightness and observe light curves.

98
Q

What is a “Hot Jupiter”?

A

Large planets orbiting at extremely close distances to the parent star

99
Q

What is the main problem with the current methods used to find exoplanets?

A

We cannot find rocky, Earth-like exoplanets

100
Q

What is the Kepler spacecraft?

A

NASA space observatory, aiming to find earth sized planets in habitable zone

101
Q

What is the problem with using the Transit method?

A

We must be in the plane of the exoplanets to detect changes in light

102
Q

What are the two essential chemical ingredients for life (as we know it)?

A

Carbon and liquid water

103
Q

Where is water on earth thought to have come from?

A

Deposited by ice containing comets striking Earth

104
Q

What is the habitable zone?

A

Narrow range of distances from star

Temperature allows liquid water

Goldilocks zone (neither too hot or too cold)

105
Q

What is the Drake Equation?

A

The estimated probability of life existing elsewhere in our Galaxy

N = R* Fp Ne Fl Fl Fc L

106
Q

List some factors considered in the Drake Equation:

A

Number of stars in our galaxy
Fraction of stars with planetary system s
Number of planets capable of sustaining life
Fraction of life forms that are intelligent
Fraction of these that can and wish to communicate
Fraction of planets lifetime of which such civilisations can live

107
Q

Where else in our solar system is life most likely?

A

Mars

Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons)

108
Q

Name 3 techniques astronomers use to search for signs of life on other planets:

A

Space probes

Spectral analysis of planetary atmospheres of rocky planets

Analysis of radio waves

109
Q

Name 2 potential dangers of finding extra-terrestrial life:

A

Potential Foes

Diseases

Astronomy GCSE Edexcel (6 decks)

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