Astronomy 1040 UVU Dr Powell Exam 3 – Flashcards
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Which spacecraft was the first to orbit Jupiter (rather than merely pass by)?
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Galileo
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Which spacecraft was the first to orbit Saturn (rather than just merely pass by)?
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Cassini
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Which spacecraft is the only one so far to pass close to Uranus and Neptune?
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Voyager 2
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Jupiter is ____.
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far from being a star.
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Which planet has the least density (less than water)?
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Saturn
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Which planet has the shortest day?
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Jupiter
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Which planet has the second shortest day?
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Saturn
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Which planet is thought to have liquid metallic hydrogen?
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Saturn AND Jupiter
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Why do storms like the Great Red Spot last so long?
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No salt surface.
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Given its color, should the GRS be high or low altitude?
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High
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What are the 3 cloud layers of Jupiter and Saturn from top (highest) to bottom (deepest)?
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Ammonia ice, sulfer, water
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Who discovered Saturn's rings?
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Galileo
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Who identified Saturn's rings as rings?
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Huygens
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What's the order of Saturn's rings?
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DCB Cassini AFGE
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In which major ring are the two named gaps?
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A ring
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has larger than Pluto.
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Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Io, Moon, Europa, Triton, Pluto
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has larger than Mercury.
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None
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the largest in the solar system.
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Ganymede
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the second largest.
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Titan
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the thickest atmosphere.
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Titan
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the most volcanically active.
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Io
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the most heavily cratered.
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Callisto
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the most reflective.
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Enceladus
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has two-faced.
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Iapetus
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the most likely to have life.
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Europa
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has in Encke's gap.
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Pan
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has in Keeler's gap.
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Daphnis
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has the cause of Cassini's Division.
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Mimas
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Identify which moon(s) is/are/has a shepherding moon.
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Prometheus and Pandora.
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We're within Roche's limit so why aren't we ripped apart?
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We are not held together by gravity.
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What are the U and N mostly made of? What's the source of their B-fields?
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Water and ammonia; Currents in mantle
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Why aren't U and N normal in having B-field axis lined up close to spin axis and B-field center located at planet's center?
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Assymetrical currents
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Uranus' spin tilt is _____ and should be ____.
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98°; 20-30°
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Uranus' energy out/in is ____ and should be ____.
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.9; about 2
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Uranus' mass is ____ and should be ____.
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15XMXEarth; 20-30 mass of earth
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Uranus' spin rate is ____ and should be ____.
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17 hours; between 11-16 hours.
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Which planet has the Great Dark Spot? What happened?
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Neptune; Disappeared from view.
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What's wrong with calling Barringer Crater: Meteor Crater?
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If it hits the earth, then it's a meteorite / it sounds better
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Indicate who discovered it and whether the world was discovered by chance, brute force, or theoretical prediction: Uranus
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Who: Herschel How: Chance
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Indicate who discovered it and whether the world was discovered by chance, brute force, or theoretical prediction: Neptune.
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Who: Leverriers & Adams How: Prediction
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Indicate who discovered it and whether the world was discovered by chance, brute force, or theoretical prediction: Pluto.
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Who: Tombaugh How: Force
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Indicate who discovered it and whether the world was discovered by chance, brute force, or theoretical prediction: Charon.
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Who: Christy How: Chance
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Indicate who discovered it and whether the world was discovered by chance, brute force, or theoretical prediction: Ceres.
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Who: Piazzi How: Prediction (Bodes rule)
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Which comes closer to Jupiter: Earth or Saturn (Hint: Use Bode's rule).
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Earth
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Where are most rocky asteroids located?
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Asteroid belt, Greeks, Trojans
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Where are most icy comets located?
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Oort cloud, then Kyper belt
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From what kind of bodies do most meteors come from?
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Icy
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From what kind of bodies do most meteorites come from?
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Rocky
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In which continent did the dinosaur killer asteroid hit?
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North America/America
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What was the source of iron implements before iron ore processing was invented?
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Iron Meteorites
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What pattern is helpful to discriminate a meteorite from a "meteor wrong"?
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The Widmanstatten pattern
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Where would a large asteroid do the most damage hitting if it didn't directly hit a populated area?
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Doesn't make much difference.
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Which planet was hit by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9?
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Jupiter
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Scientists expected to eventually discover exoplanets. Why?
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Not unique.
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By which method were most of the planets in OUR solar system discovered?
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Visible reflection of the planet.
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By which method have most exoplanets been discovered?
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Visible transit of planet in front of (blocking) the star.
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By which method were the first exoplanets discovered?
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Pulsar timing.
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By which method were most exoplanets discovered early on?
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Doppler shift of star's spectral lines.
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Which method did the Kepler spacecraft use?
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Visible transit of planet in front of (blocking) the star.
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Which two methods will the Gaia spacecraft use?
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Visible transit of planet in front of (blocking) the star, and Astrometric wobble of star.
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By which method is the radius of the exoplanet determined?
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Visible transit of planet in front of (blocking) the star
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By which method can we currently image exoplanets?
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Infrared emission of the planet.
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What two elements is the Sun mostly composed of?
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Hydrogen & Helium
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Which has more gold: the Sun or the earth?
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Sun
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What are the three interior layers of the Sun, inner to outer?
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Core, radiative, convective
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What are the four atmospheric layers, inner to outer?
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Photosphere, chromosphere, corona, heliosphere
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The red coloring of the solar chromosphere is due to the electrons in hydrogen dropping from level ____ to level ____.
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4; 2
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Which atmospheric level is the brightest?
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Photosphere
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Which atmospheric layer is the hottest?
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Corona
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What 2 balance principles are used to create a model of the interior of the sun?
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Hydrostatic and thermal
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What happens to the gamma rays produced in the fusion?
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They take 100,000 years to finally reach the surface gradually reducing in energy per particle and then 8 minutes to reach Earth.
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What happens to the neutrinos produced in the fusion?
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They take 2 seconds to reach the surface and then 8 minutes to reach Earth, some switching types.
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What happens to the positrons produced in the fusion?
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They quickly annihilate with a nearby electron.
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What's the solar neutrino problem?
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Less detected than expected.
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What's the solution to the solar neutrino problem?
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Neutrino switched type.
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Sunspots are ____ and ____ regions of the Sun while solar flares are ____ and ____ regions.
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darker; cooler; brighter; hotter
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Sunspots and flares are explained as resulting from ____ field lines getting wrapped around the Sun.
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magnetic
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The sunspot number cycle is ____ years while the solar magnetic cycle is ____ years.
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11; 22
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If you see a sunspot group today at the center of the face of the Sun then about how long would it take for the group to reach the Sun's limb (edge)?
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A week
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(T/F) Changes in the solar luminosity is sufficient to explain recent global warming.
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False.
