Astronomy quiz 15 – Flashcards
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What is the name of the theory that is currently used to describe the formation of the solar system?
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Nebular theory
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What is the role of irregularities in the solar system in terms of theories of its origin?
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They introduce a need for flexibility in theories of the solar system's origin.
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What might have made the original solar nebula begin to contract?
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the shock wave from a nearby exploding star
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Planetary orbits
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are almost circular, with low eccentricities.
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What is true about solar system densities?
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The denser planets lie closer to the Sun.
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The jovian planets
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all have rings around their equators.
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What happens when a solar nebula contracts?
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all of these
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What is the process of accretion?
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growth of an object by the accumulation of matter
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Dust is an important part of the nebular theory of solar system formation because dust is needed to explain
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how the inner planets came to be rocky bodies.
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What was the primary role of dust in the formation of the solar system?
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Dust acted as condensation nuclei; platforms to which other particles could attach and form larger particles of matter.
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In terms of composition
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the jovian planets are more like the Sun than are the terrestrials.
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Why are the jovian planets so large?
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They formed from the largest protoplanets which swept gas from the solar nebula.
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What is a distinguishing characteristic of planetesimals which was critical to planetary formation?
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They were large enough so that their gravity could attract more material and grow still larger.
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How did Mercury's location in the solar system affect its composition?
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Mercury is rich in metals because only metallic grains could survive the high temperatures so near the Sun.
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The concept that Jupiter and the other jovians formed farther out than their present orbits is called
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planetary migration.
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With rapid collapse from icy planetesimals, what theory would have the jovians growing quickly into giants?
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core-accretion
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As the terrestrial protoplanets grew in size, their strengthening gravitational fields produced many high-speed collisions between planetsimals and protoplanets which led to what process?
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fragmentation
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The most distant objects in our solar system are
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in the Oort Cloud.
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The Kuiper Belt is
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a collection of asteroid-sized icy bodies located outside the orbit of Neptune.
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The chief reason the asteroid belt formed is because
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the gravitational perturbation of Jupiter disrupting stable orbits there.
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Why did a major planet not form out in the Kuiper Belt?
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Some may have, but they have since migrated to orbits nearer the Sun.
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So far, beyond the solar system the extrasolar planets found have been mostly
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large jovians with terrestrial-type orbits.
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Most of the extrasolar planets found so far were detected by
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noting the Doppler shifts of the star as the planet orbits it from side to side.
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According to the Solar Nebula theory, planets
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should be a common result of star formation.
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In comparing our own solar system with others found to date, we find:
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all of these
