Astronomy honors solar system review – Flashcards
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The (blank) have larger radii than the (blank) planets
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1)jovian 2)terrestrial
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A (blank) theory of the formation of the solar system uses sudden events that drastically alter the form of the early solar system.
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catastrophic
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the dirty snowball model is used as a model for the physical structure of (blank)
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comets
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the largest volcano found on one of the terrestrial planets is (blank)
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olympus mons
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the atmosphere of (blank) contains acid compounds including sulfuric and hydrochloric acid.
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venus
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the largest satellite orbiting a terrestrial planet is
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earths moon
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the terrestrial planet with the oldest surface is
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mercury
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the terrestrial planet with the most moons is
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mars
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the terrestrial planet with the most effective greenhouse effect is
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venus
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Besides earth, which of the terrestrial planets show evidence for the possible existence of liquid water flowing on its surface in the past?
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mars
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the largest satellites of jupiter are known as the (blank) satellites
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galilean
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volcanism is apparent on many objects in the solar system, however, volcanic activity is known to be currently occurring on earth and (blank)
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Io
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the one object in the solar system besides earth suspected of currently having a liquid on its surface is
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Titan
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a (blank) occurs when a bit of material enter earths atmosphere and becomes incandescent due to friction with the atmosphere.
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meteor
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long period comets are believed to originate in the
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oort cloud
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a (blank) is produced when earth passes through the debris left by a comet as it passed through the inner solar system.
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meteor shower
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the average distance from the earth to the sun is one
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astronomical unit
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light takes about 8 minutes to travel from the sun to earth and about 40 minutes to travel from the sun to jupiter. jupiter is about (blank) au from the sun.
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5
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the distance to the star nearest the sun is approximately 4.2
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light years
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the oldest objects found,so far, in our solar system are earth rocks that are 3.9 billion years old (true/false)
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false
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the jovian planets have lower average densities than the terrestrial planets
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true
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the original cloud, from which the sun and planets formed, had a composition rich in hydrogen and helium
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true
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the present motions of the planets were inherited from the rotation of the solar nebula
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true
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the condensation sequence cannot explain he composition of the terrestrial and jovian planets
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false
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when particles in the solar nebula grew large enough, they stopped growing by accretion and began growing by condensation
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false
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heterogeneous accretion means that all of the particles that formed a planet had the same composition
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false
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the pressure of sunlight was one of the forces that cleared the solar nebula
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true
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we know mercury must have a large metal core because it has a high density
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true
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jupiter radiates less heat than it absorbs from the sun
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false
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jupiters interior is mostly liquid helium
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false
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both jupiter and saturn contain liquid metallic hydrogen
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true
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jupiter ring is composed of particles about the size of tennis balls
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false
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saturns belts and zones are obscured by haze high in its atmosphere
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true
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saturns rings composed of icy particles
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false
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meteorites seem to be primarily composed of material very similar to the material in comets
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false
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the meteors in meteor showers are believed to be the debris left behind in comet orbits
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true
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jupiter was probably influential in preventing the formation of a planet at the present location of the asteroid belt
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true
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some asteroids show evidence of surface activity such as lava flows
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true
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the type 2 tail of a comet always points towards the sun
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false
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the dirty snowball theory suggests that the head of a comet is composed of ices
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true
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the kuiper belt is predicted to be the place where most of the short period comets formed
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true
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the existence of the oort cloud cannot be confirmed observationally from earth because the objects are too small
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true
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the average distance from earth to the sun is 1 AU
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true
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the nearest star is 1 light year from the solar system
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false
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a light year is the distance light travels in one year
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true
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a kilometer contains 1 million meters
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false
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the sun is a star in the milky way galaxy
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true
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an astronomical unit is larger than a light year
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false
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how do the motions of the sun and the planets reflect the disk shape of the solar nebula?
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as the initial dust and gas cam together, the gas and dust began to spin faster and flatten out. the solar system maintains the same rotation, the planets are all found on the same plane as the flattened disk.
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how does the solar nebula theory explain the present densities and chemical compositions of the planets?
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the more dense material will form near the central buldge. lighter materials will form further out. leftover, debris will be furthest out since they were "blown" out by the intitial radiation pressure of the new sun.
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describe four effects that helped to clear the solar nebula.
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gravitational collapse- spinning and fattening of the solar nebula- accreation- radiation pressure-
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what factors determine the rate of the loss of gases from a planets atmosphere?
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to reach escape velocity! low mass, high temperature, shear volume(amount of matter) (less volume escapes faster)
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how does the dirty snowball theory explain the observed characteristics of comets?
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nucleus of ice and dust just like you made it from the plowed up street snow. tails of vapor and dust caused as the dirty snowball "melts". directions of tail is in the same direction as solar wind. Coma caused by density difference directly above the nucleus
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why do we measure some distances in astronomy in light-years and some in astronomical units?
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for the same reason we don't measure the distance traveled across Nazareth in inches *define light year and AU*
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light year
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the distance light travels in a vacuum in one year
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astronomical unit
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the semi-major axis of earth's orbit; the average distance between the earth and the sun
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nucleus of ice and dust just like you made it from the plowed up street snow. tails of vapor and dust caused as the dirty snowball "melts". directions of tail is in the solar wind. coma caused by density difference directly above the nucleus
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how does the dirty snowball theory explain the observed characteristics of comets?
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what is the most important effect in clearing the solar nebula?
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T Tauri wind
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chondrules are round bits of glass. where are they from?
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inside the stellar nursery(the cloud of gas and dust while the solar system was first forming)
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how rapidly a planet loses its atmosphere depends on the planet's....?
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gravity and how heavy or light the gases are
