Astronomy Ch. 10 Final – Flashcards

What is an "extrasolar planet"? a planet that orbits a star that is not our own Sun a planet that is extra large compared to what we'd expect a planet that is larger than the Sun a planet that is considered an "extra," in that it was not needed for the formation of its solar system

In essence, the Kepler mission is searching for extrasolar planets by____________. obtaining high-resolution photographs of other star systems monitoring stars for slight dimming that might occur as unseen planets pass in front of them observing a star carefully enough to notice that it is experiencing a gravitational tug caused by an unseen planet identifying spectral lines that look like what we expect to see from a planet rather than a star

If we can measure the period of a star's "wobble" caused by an orbiting planet, we know the _______. distance to the planet. distance to the star. period of the planet's orbit. mass of the planet.

If we can measure the period of a star's "wobble" caused by an orbiting planet, and if we also know the mass of the star, we can calculate the _______. distance to the planet. mass of the planet. eccentricity of the planet's orbit. size of the planet's orbit.

Assume a solar-mass star and a "wobble" period of one year. The larger the velocity change in the wobble, the larger the _______. distance to the star. mass of the planet. distance to the planet. size of the planet's orbit.

Complete this statement. The larger the decrease in the star's brightness as the planet transits in front of a star, _______. the larger the distance to the star. the larger the size of the planet. the larger the size of the planet's orbit. the larger the size of the star.

Why are planets with long orbital periods among the last to be discovered? Very few of these planets exist. They will never block any of the light from their host star. They are harder to see against the bright light of the host star. Astronomers have to watch a long time before they repeat their orbits.

What was so surprising about the first extrasolar planets that they forced a change in our theory of planet formation? The extrasolar planet compositions were nothing like the planets in our own solar system. Rocky planets do not exist outside of our solar system. They were massive like Jupiter, but very close to their host star. They were far less common than we suspected.

What new process was added to our theory of planet formation to explain these surprising extrasolar planets? evaporation condensation migration disk formation