Unit 2 Flashcards
What contributions of the Solar System did Aristarchus provide?
He followed the Heliocentric Model, sun in the centre
What contributions of the Solar System did Copernicus provide?
He also believed the Heliocentric Model, had Earth rotate around the sun and revolve on an axis once per day
What contributions of the Solar System did Kepler provide?
Thought there was a mystery magnetic force, developed 3 laws that define the geometry of planets moving around stars
What contributions of the Solar System did Galileo provide?
First to observe planets through a telescope, convinced that Copernicus was correct. Convinced that planets rotated around the Sun, satellites rotated around their planet
Is the Sun a main sequence star?
YES
What is the structure of the Sun? (name the layers)
Corona, Chromosphere, Photosphere, Core
What is the most common element in the Sun?
Hydrogen
How was the Genesis Mission accomplished?
A robotic spacecraft collected solar wind particles for more than 2 years
What were the surprising results of the Genesis Mission
The isotopic compositions of oxygen and nitrogen implanted in the wafers are significantly different to those in most of the Solar System objects
How often does the Sun’s magnetic field usually flip or how long does a solar cycle last?
Switch happens almost like clockwork every 11 years. The solar cycle last 22 years
What is a Solar Cycle?
The complete 22 year cycle
Does Solar Wind reach Earth?
Yes, takes about 2-4 days
What are two effects of magnetic storms on Earth are caused by solar flares?
Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis
What are the stages of the Sun from birth the death?
Sun has grown about 30% brighter than first born, eventually will expand to a Red Giant,, then the core will cool and become a White Dwarf, and when it stops glowing it becomes a Black Dwarf
What do non-optical telescopes detect?
To collect radio waves
Name the planets in order from their distance to the Sun
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
What is the definition of a planet?
A celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit
What are the differences between a planet, dwarf planet and a small solar system body?
A dwarf planet is NOT a satellite, and a small solar system body is every other object except satellites orbiting the sun.
What is wrong with the Nebular Hypothesis?
It suggests gas collapses into itself, but gas needs to expand to overpower gravitational forces that are supposed to create planets.
How did the positions of the planets of the Solar System evolve?
Jupiter got caught by Saturn and both Jupiter and Saturn swing around to move back out into their current positions
What does the Grand Tack Model tell us about how quickly Jupiter was formed?
Takes place within 5 million years
How does the Nice Model explain the position of Neptune and Uranus?
As N & U were pushed out, on the way to the Sun, they would have to pass close to all the terrestrial planets and many would likely impact. Such bombardment must have left evidence!
What are the 2 pieces of evidence for Late Heavy Bombardment?
The grand tack and nice model??
What is Obliquity and how does it occur?
Its the angle between its equatorial plane and its orbital plane. Large collisions ofprotoplanets/planetesimals knocked the planets askew a bit
