Astrophysics Test – Flashcards

99% of the mass of the solar system made mostly of H/He gas (plasma) converts 4 million tons

Made out of metal and rock, large iron core cratered, desolate, long, tall, steep cliffs

Earth's twin because size surface hidden by clouds 1 day Venus 243 days earth hellish conditions due to an extreme greenhouse effect

an oasis of life the only planet with liqup d water in surface in SS a surprisingly large moon (luna)

looks almost earth like giant volcanoes, a huge canyon, polar caps water flowed in distant past, could there have been life? curiosity rover landed in August 2012

largest planet in SS mostly H/He, no solid surface 300 times more massive than earth many moons (4 Galilean) failed star much farther from sun than inner planets Ganymede is bigger than earth (1 of the Galilean moons) moons are as interesting as planet's

giant and gaseous spectacular rings rings are not solid, made out of small rocks and ice chunks each orbiting like a tiny moon Cassini probe arrived July 2004 (started in 1997)

smaller than Jupiter/Saturn extreme axis tilt (sideways) moons and rings

similar to Uranus except axis tilt has a storm 14 moons not always 8th planet because its orbit is veey circle and Pluto more elliptic

Pluto, Eros and more much smaller than major planet's Pluto has a moon that has almost its size (charon) has 5 moons it's orbit is more than 200 earth years orbit perihelion 49,5 AU aphelion 29 AU no atmosphere reclassified in 2006

be in orbit around sun have enough mass so gravity makes them round have cleared their orbit of similar objects if they don't have these three points they are not a real planet

Pluto Ceres Eros Haumea Makemake