Unit 6: Moons & Small Bodies

Question 1

What is the asteroid belt?

Answer 1

A belt where asteroids in the inner solar system orbit between Mars and Jupiter

Question 2

What happens when asteroids enter the inner solar system?

Answer 2

They quickly collide with another body or get ejected

Question 3

What is the Kuiper belt?

Answer 3

A belt that contains objects from 30 to 50 AU; It’s much wider and massive than the asteroid belt

Question 4

What does the giant impact hypothesis explain?

Answer 4

-The Moon has a lower density than Earth on average (formed from surface rather than metal core)
-The composition moon is similar but not equal to Earth’s mantle rock (Made from Earth’s surface but via processes that can change composition)
-Moon rocks contain few volatiles (Ejecta was very hot, evaporating all volatiles during Moon formation)
-Timing of the Moons formation happened 50-70 Myr after formation of Earth

Question 5

What is the tidal stability limit

Answer 5

The limit that small moons survive for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

Question 6

What is the sister theory, capture theory, fission theory, and solar nebula theory?

Answer 6

-Sister theory: The moon formed together with (but independent of) the Earth
-Capture theory: The moon formed elsewhere in the solar system and was captured buy Earth
-Fission theory: Earth had been spinning so fast that some material broke away and began to orbit the planet
-Solar nebula theory: The moon (along with the sun, planets, and asteroids) were formed at around the same time 4.5 billion years ago from a nebula