Week 1 Flashcards
structure, formation, history, processes and condition, when did it all begin
what did the big bang do
it exploded all the elements of the Universe that we see and the space in which we see them
when was the earliest giant stars formed and what was formed after?
100 million years after big bang and then galaxies (assemble of a trillion stars)
the sun accounts for ___ of our solar system’s mass
99.8%
what are planets
large formed bodies orbiting a star (the sun)
and have a spherical shape
have largely cleared other things in orbite around them (by gravity)
how many planets in our solar system
8
what is a moon
body gravitationally locked in orbit around a planet
what else orbits around the sun
millions of asteroid, trillions of icy bodies orbit the sun
two main grouops of planets occur in the solar system
- Terrestrial Planets
small, dense, rocky
mercury, Venus, Earth, mars - Giant planets
large, low-density, gas and ice/water giants
- gas giants: Jupiter, Saturn (hydrogen and Helium)
- ice giants: Uranus, Neptune (frozen water, ammonia, methane)
what is the solar system held together by
gravity
how was the solar system formed
concentration of gas and dusts released by earlier stars and supernova:
The region where mass was concentrated began to pull in gas:
- Region gained mass and density
-Mass compacted into smaller region and began to rotate
- Rotation rate increased, dev. a disk shape
- central ball of disk became hot enough to glow
- a protostar was born (sun) 4.6 Ga
- planets formed within the rotation nebula
where do elements come from
the original big bang formed the lightest elements (H,He,Li,Be, B) (atomic # 1-5)
Then heavier elements (atomic number 6-26
when did the heavist element (#s > 26) form
during fast neutron capture processes in supernova
during the solar system’s formation, what happened to the dust in the rings?
condenses into mineral particules, particles coalesce to form planetesimals
how did planets form
planetesimals clump into a lumpy protoplanet
interior heats, softens, gravity forms a sphere
what does the interior differentiates into during formation of planets
a stony outer shell - the mantle
a central iron rich core
formation of moon
4.53 Ga
mars sized planet collides with earth
planet and part of earth’s mantle disintegrated
collision debris forms a ring around earth
debris coalesces and forms the moon
t or F the moon has a composition simliar to Earth’s
true
formation of atmosphere and oceans
earths atmosphere develps from volcanic gases
when earth becomes cool enough: moisutre condennses and accumulates and oceans are created
what would space visitors notice orbiting around earth
atmosphere (gaseous envelope)
hydrosphere (blue liquid water)
biosphere (life)
lithosphere (solid outer shell)
what components comprises earth system
atmos, hydros, biosphere, lithosphere
what fuels internal processes
heat from radioacive decay
what powers atmospher, biosphere, hydrosphere
sunlight
what is earth’s magnetic field generated from
fluid circulation in the liquid outer layer of the core
what are hot spots
plumes of deep mantle material independent of plates
- not linked to plate bnoundaries
- originates as a deep mantle plume
-plume partially melts lithosphere: magma rises to surface
