Earth Science chapter 21, 22 – Flashcards
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What major change did Copernicus make in the Ptolemaic system? Why was this change philosophically different?
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Copernicus constructed a heliocentric model for the solar system. Everyone else believed in a geocentric solar system.
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What data did Tycho Brahe collect that was useful to Johannes Kepler in his quest to describe planetary motion.
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Tycho Brahe collected data that is the stellar parallax. It is used to measure distances to the nearest stars.
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Who discovered that planetary orbits were ellipses rather than circles?
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Johannes Kepler
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Does the Earth move faster in its orbit near perihelion (January) or near aphelion (July)?
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Perihelion (January) - Days are shorter in Winter
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Explain why Galileo's discovery of a rotating sun supports the Copernican view of a Sun-centered universe.
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Galileo saw moons revolving around Jupiter so they couldn't be revolving around the Earth.
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Newton discovered that the orbits of the planets are the result of opposing forces. Briefly explain these forces.
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Each and every item in the solar system has a gravitational pull of some sort. The larger an item the greater the pull and the farther away an item the less the gravitational pull it has. Therefore if a larger planet is farther away, then it would have the same pull as a smaller planet closer together.
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Describe the three main primary motions of Earth.
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Rotation - Turning or spinning, of a body on its axis. Revolution - Motion of a body such as a planet or a moon. Axial Precession - Gradual change in the orientation of Earth's axis over a period of 26,000 yrs.
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Explain the difference between the mean solar day and the sidereal day.
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Mean solar day - The time interval from one noon to the next. 24 hrs. Sidereal day - Time it takes Earth to make one complete rotation with respect to a star other than our sun. 23 hrs. 56 min. 4 s.
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What is the approximate length of the cycle of the phases of the Moon?
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29 ½ days
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What phenomenon results from the fact that the Moon's period of rotation and revolution are the same?
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The same lunar hemisphere always faces Earth.
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The Moon rotates very slowly (once in 27 ⅓ days) on its axis. How does this affect the lunar temperature surface?
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The surface temperature in the daytime is 127C (261F) and during its nighttime -173C (280F)
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What is different about the crescent phase that precedes the new-Moon phase and that which follows the new-Moon phase?
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The crescent phase that precedes the new-Moon is the Waning or lit up on the left side. The crescent phase that follows the new-Moon is the Waxing or lit up on the right side.
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What phase of the Moon occurs approximately one week after the New Moon? Two weeks?
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One week - First Quarter Two weeks - Full Moon
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One of the discoveries which led to the modern view of the solar system was that the orbits of the planets are
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circles
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According the the Ptolmaic (Greek) model of the universe, how many "heavenly" bodies could be observed wandering along the background of the stars?
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Seven
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Galileo observed several features using the telescope. Which did he NOT discover?
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the two moons of Mars
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The first modern astronomer to propose a Sun-centered universe was
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Nicolaus Copernicus
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This scientist determined the nature of the forces that kept the planets in their orbits
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Sir Isaac Newton
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This scientist was the first to use the telescope in astronomy
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Galileo
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Three laws of planetary motion were discovered by
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Johannes Kepler
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In the Ptolemaic (Greek) model of the universe the
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Earth was in the center of the universe
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The apparent westward "drift" of the planets compared to the background stars is called
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retrograde motion
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The belt of constellations through which all the planets move is called
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zodiac
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The true shape of the planetary orbits was discovered by
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Johannes Kepler
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Who wrote the book entitled Of the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres (De Revolutionibus)?
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Nicolaus Copernicus
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The scientist that wrote a book that compared the Earth-centered system with the Sun-centered system entitled Dialogue of the Great World Systems
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Galileo
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Who formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation
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Sir Isaac Newton
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The Earth-centered system of the universe that was accepted for nearly seventeen centuries was presented in a treatise called the Almagest that was written by
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Ptolemy
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The first successful attempt to establish the size of Earth is credited to
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Eratosthenes
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The apparent westward drift of the planets as compared to the background of stars is called
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retrograde motion
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Any variance in the orbit of a planet from it predicted path is referred to as
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perturbation
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A very slow motion of Earth's axis that requires 26,000 years to complete is
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axial precession
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The apparent path of the Sun upon the celestial sphere is called the
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ecliptic
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In the Ptolemaic (Greek) model of the universe, the stars are attached to the
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celestial sphere
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The length of daylight on the Moon is about
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two weeks
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The period of time required for the Moon to complete one cycle of phases is called the ______ month
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synodic
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The _____ day is the time it takes for the Earth to make one complete rotation with respect to a star other than the Sun
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Sidereal
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solar system includes...
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sun, 8 planets and satelittes, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, meteroids, kuiper belt, ort cloud
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orbital plane
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the plane on which a body is orbiting, inclined, similar to a flat sheet of paper
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terrestial planets
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earth-like, mercury-mars, small, dense, rocky, low escape velocities
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Jovian planets
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jupiter-like, jupiter-neptune, large, low density, gaseous, massive, thick atmosphere made of hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia
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planets composed of..
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gases - hydrgogen, helium, rocks - silicate minerals, metallic iron, ices - ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide, water
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nebular hypothesis
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planets formed about 5 bill. years ago, solar system condensed from a gaseous nebular
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chemical differentation
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seperation of materials by density
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Mercury
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intermost planet, smallest planet, no atmosphere, cratered highlands, revovles quickly (years are 88 days) rotates slowly (days are 59 earths days), vast, smooth terrains, very dense
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Venus
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2nd to the moon in brillance, similar to Earth in size, density, and location, shrouded in thick clouds
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Venus's Surface
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mapped by radar, 80% subdued plains that are mantled by volcanice flows, low density of impact craters
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Mars
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"red planet" high mount of iron oxide on surface
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Mars atmosphere
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1% as dense as Earth, carbbon dioxide, cold temps of -193F, polar caps of water ice, extensive dust storms with very fast winds
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Mars surface
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numerous large volcanoes, less abundant impact craters, tectonically dead, several canyons, "stream drainage" patterns
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Mons Olympus
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largest volcanor located on Mars
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Valles Mirineris
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laregst canyon located on Mars
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Jupiter
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largest planet, 2.5 more massive than combined Mass of the planets, rapid rotation, one day = 10 hours, multicolored because of wond systems
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Great Red Spot
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in Jupiter's Southern Hemisphere, counterclock roatating cyclonic storm
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Jupiters Moons
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28 moons, 4 largest (Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io) discovered by Galilieo
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Callisto
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outermost Galilean moon, one of jupiters largest moons
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Europa
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smallest of the Galilean Moons
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Ganymede
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largest Jovian satellite
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Io
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inermost moon, volcanically active because of the gravitaional feild
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Saturn
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similar to Jupiter, dynamic atmosphere, large cyclonic storms, 31 moons
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Saturn's rings
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most prominent feature, discovered by Galileo, complex, composed of small particles - moonlets that orbit the planet, origin still being debated
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Titan
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Saturn's largest moon, second largest moon in solar system, has a substantial atmosphere
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Uranus
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nearly twins with Neptune, rotates on its side, rings, large moons varied terrains
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Neptune
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dynamic atmosphere, one of windiest places in solar system, Great Dark Spot, white cirrus, 8 satellites, moon Triton
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Triton
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largest neptune moon, orbit opposite direction of all planets, temperature of -391F, atmosphere of mostly nitrogen with methane, volcanic-like activity, composed of water ice
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Pluto
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dwarf planet in 2007, not visible, 1930, hihgly elongated orbit, travels inside of Neptune's orbit, moon Charon, -210C, kuiper belt object
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Charon
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Pluto's moon discovered in 1978
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asteroids
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lies b/n mars & jupiter, 260 miles in diameter, smaller bodies/ microplanets, some have ecentric orbits, irregular shapes, origin certain
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comets
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"dirty snowball", composistion frozen gases, rocky & metallic materials, frozen gases vaporize when near the Sun, forms at a distance from the sun,
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coma
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when a comet produces a glowing head
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Halley's comet
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most famouos short peroid comet, 76 year period, potato-shaped nucleus
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meteroids
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when they are still in outer space
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meteors
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whe it enters Earth's atmospher
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meteor shower
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occurs when Earth encounters a swarm of meteoroids associted with a comet's path
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meteroites
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what meteroids are referred to when found on Earth
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Irons
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a type of composistion of meteoroids, mostly iron, 5-20% nickel
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stony
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a type of composistion of meteoroids, silicate minerals with inclusions of others
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stony-irons
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a type of composistion of meteoroids, mixtures
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carbonaceous chondrites
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a type of composistion of meteoroids, rare, simple amino acids and other organic material
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composistion on tail of a comet
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ionized gases and dust
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hydrogen and helium
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the jovian planets contain a large percentage of the gases...
