Astronomy Midterm #3

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Olympus Mons:

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*located on the planet Mars,
is by far the tallest volcano in the solar system, rising higher than three Mount Everests and spanning the width of the entire Hawaiian island chain. It is the largest of the major Tharsis volcanoes, rising 15.5 miles (25 km) and stretching over nearly 340 miles (550 km) east-west.

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Valles Mariners:

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A large system of canyons on Mars, centred at about -11 ° lat., 60 ° W long. It is the largest canyon in the Solar System, 3800 km long, up to 500 km wide, and over 4 km deep in places.

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Jovian

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Giant gaseous planets similar in overall composition to Jupiter.

adjectival form of the god Jupiter (mythology)

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Satellite

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Any object orbiting another body

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Tidal (flexing) Heating

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Jupiters moons (I.O.) gravitational pull when close distorts body creating heat. when not close becomes normal shape.

90ft title bulge of rock because of tidal flex

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photometer

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an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces

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photometry

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the measurement of the brightness of stars and other celestial objects

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occultation

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an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer

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Schepherd moons

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Shepherd moons are small moons that orbit close to the outer edges of planetary rings or within gaps that lie within the rings themselves. The gravitational forces of shepherd moons serve to maintain a sharply defined edge to the ring. These forces cause material that drifts close to a shepherd moon’s orbit to be deflected back into the body of the ring, ejected from the system, or accreted by the moon.

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Roche limit

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- all planetary rings lie within the planet's Roche limit
-The min distance between a planet and a large satellite (moon) before tidal forces break up the satellite
-Ring particles cannot collect into a satellite within the Roche limit due to tidal forces

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asteroid

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Relatively small and rocky object that orbits a star, officially considered "small solar system bodies"

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asteroid belt

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Region of solar system between the orbits of mars and jupiter in which asteroids are heavily concentrated

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meteoroid

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Object in space that has not yet entered atmosphere

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meteor

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A flash of light caused when a particle from space burns up in our atmosphere.

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meteorite

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A rock from space that lands on earth (Large enough to hit earth)

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comet (move slowly, Icy)

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small ICY object that orbits a star, like asteroids they are officially considered "small solar system bodies"

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comet nucleus (Dirty Snowball)

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How it looks far from sun
without tail (Frozen)
10-60 mi in diam.

composition: Water ice, carbon dioxide, "Dirty snowball"

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Dust tail

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as the comet orbits it leaves a trail of dust debris.
shines by reflected sunlight

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plasma tail

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-Ionized gas swept back by solar wind
-points away from sun -1 AU long

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Halley's comet

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Edmond Halley 1656-1742
• First to realize comets orbit the Sun
• Identified a comet that had been seen every 76 years
• Predicted the the comet would return in 1758
• The comet returned in 1758 and now bears his name
• Halley's comet will return again in 2061

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meteor shower

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dust from comet tail entering atmosphere

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radiant

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(Comes from particular location)

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Oort Cloud

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spherical space where comets are distributed at varying distances somewhat random distribution,

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Kuiper belt

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-Region in the solar system where comets live, outside neptune, icy bodies live

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long period/short period comets

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Short Period Comets
– Periods shorter than 200 years
– Orbit in the same direction as the planets
– Orbit in nearly the same plane as the planets – Most originated in the Kuiper Belt

• Long Period Comets
– Periods longer than 200 years
– Do not orbit in the same direction as the planets – Orbits have random orientation to the ecliptic
– Originated in the Oort Cloud

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Sun

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Is a star
• Largest member of the solar system • Made of
• ~75% hydrogen
• ~25% helium
• Tremendous energy output

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fission

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process by which one atomic nucleus breaks into two smaller nuclei.

It releases energy into the two smaller nuclei together are less massive than the original nucleus (nuclear energy on earth)

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fusion

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process by which two atomic nuclei fuse together and make a single, more massive nucleus.

It releases energy if the final nucleus is less massive than the original two nuclei that went into reaction.

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suns core

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• Core
– Where fusion happens
– Temperature is 27 million degrees F

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photosphere

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Visible surface of the Sun
• Where energy is released (photons) – 10,000o F
• Sunspots
– Dark, cooler regions (7,000o F) – Strong magnetic field
• Granulation
– Blotchy appearance – Convection cells

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chromosphere

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The transparent layer just above the photosphere, temp rises to over 10,000 K.

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corona

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White layer above the chromosphere
• Only visible during eclipses – Solar wind

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Solar wind

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Gas at the top of the corona us so hot that it emits X-rays and some of it escapes the sun in an outward flow of charged particles known as solar wind.

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grandulation

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The bubbling pattern visible in the photosphere, produced by the underlying convection

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Solar prominence

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Vaulted loops of hot gas that rise above the suns surface and follow magnetic field lines

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Solar flare (Violent, explosive outbursts, short lived)

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Huge and sudden releases of energy on the solar surface, cause by energy stored in magnetic fields is suddenly released.

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sunspot

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Blotches on the surface of the sun that appear darker than the surrounding regions.

magnetic field keeps sunspots cooler than other regions.

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differential rotation

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the Sun rotates every 25 days at the equator and takes progressively longer to rotate at higher latitudes, up to 35 days at the poles. This is known as differential rotation.

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Planets in order from the sun

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MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE

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Relative size of planets

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MERCURY, MARS, VENUS, EARTH, NEPTUNE, URANUS, SATURN, JUPITER.

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Mars Features:

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•Cratering (Southern hemisphere:Numerous large craters, Northern hemisphere: Few craters)

• Volcanism (largest volcanoes in the solar system, Single large volcanoes are evidence no plate tectonics has occurred on Mars, Evidence of recent activity ~ 180 million years ago, estimated by crater count)

• Tectonics ( Valles Marineris is the largest canyon in the solar system,Tectonic stress related to past volcanic activity, No plate tectonics)

• Erosion (Dominated by strong winds and blowing sand,Landslides erode canyon walls, Little or no erosion by flowing (liquid) (water gullies)

• Atmosphere (1/100 that of Earth’s atmospheric pressure,Water can exist only as solid or a gas at the surface, Lacks Ozone, No protection from UV radiation, No Aurora,Soil on Mars is red from iron oxide (rust) – Oxidized by the atmosphere)

•Climate (Vast amounts of water is frozen in the top 3 feet of soil, Glaciers, clouds, frost and most of the polar ice caps are composed of water ice, Occasional warm days the frost evaporates)

Mars and Earth are the only planets known to have had liquid water on their surfaces

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Jupiter Features:

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• Structure & Dynamics
– Biggest planet in the Solar System
– Mostly hydrogen and helium – Similar to the Sun
– Magnetic field (Massive) stunning aurora
– Core: rock, metas, & hydrogen


• Weather
– Layers of colorful clouds – Belts and Zones
– High winds 400mph, Storms (Great red spot), Storms last for centuries, lightening
– Internal heat source

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Saturn Features:

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Internal Structure:
Core: Heavy Element, Liquid metallic hydrogen, Liquid hydrogen, Gaseous hydrogen, Cloud layers (methane).

Structure & Dynamics
– Mostly hydrogen and helium
– Least dense planet (would float)

• Weather
– Belts and storms form below a layer of haze
– Very high winds (900mph)
– Aurora


• Unknown energy source, Least dense planet

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Uranus Features:

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Mostly hydrogen and helium
• Blue color due to thick methane fog in the upper atmosphere
• Slushy mantle of ice and rock – Weak magnetic field

Strange orbit
--Lays on its side! 84 yrs to orbit, extreme seasons 21 yrs long, 98 deg F.
-Axial tilt of 97.9 deg
• Voyager 2 1986
– Features blue disk
– No visible belt structures
• Recent Images (HST)
– Show visible storms raging in the cloud tops

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Neptune Features:

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Mostly hydrogen and helium
• Blue color due to thick methane fog in the upper atmosphere
• Slushy mantle of ice and rock – Weak magnetic field

The great dark spot
-Giant storm, comes and goes
• Belt structures and storms visible in cloud tops
• Very high winds (1,000 mph)
– Unknown heat source

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Impact hazard to earth from comets and asteroids.

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Apophis

comes close to earth april 2029, and if put on the right track this time around may come into orbit with earth next time around

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Meteor showers:

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Dust from comet tail entering atmosphere
Happen annually, predictable

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planets that have magnetic field and arura:

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Mercury, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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Planets that have rings:

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All four gas giants: jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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Pluto: (DWARF PLANET)

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35% Ice, 65% Rock
Thin nitrogen atmosphere at times (when warm / near sun)
Orbit: extremely elliptical, crosses Neptune's orbit
Tilted 17deg (typical of kuiper belt comet)

-Based on composition & density does not classify as either terrestrial or Jovian, Similar to other large comet (Kuiper belt)

5 large dwarf planets: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Makemake, Nakima

(New horizon mission took high res pics of pluto)

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three types of meteorites:

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Stone (Majority 94%)
Iron (5%)
Stony Iron (1%)

Most meteorites that land on earth are microscopic

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Where meteorites are located:

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a rock from space that lands on Earth.

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Suns Magnetic cycle:

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Switches polarity every 11 years
N polarity 11 yrs, S polarity 11 yrs
Each complete cycle 22 years

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Suns internal layers:

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3 Layers of the Sun’s Interior

• Core
– Where fusion happens
– Temperature is 27 million degrees F

• Radiation Zone
– 1 million years for photon to pass through

• Convection Zone – Transports energy

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Sun's atmospheric layers:

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3 Layers: Photosphere, Chromosphere ,corona

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Sunspot cycle:

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11 year cycle (from peak to peak)

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What powers the sun:

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Nuclear reactions make energy

Nuclear fusion
-4H to 1He
-Mass of 4H > Mass of 1He
-Mass is lost turned into energy
-E (energy)=M (mass)C (speed of light)squared
-Fusion combining of atoms (stars & Sun)

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Uranus and Neptune single moons:

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URANUS moon Miranda:
cliffs and valleys, tremendous tectonic features, Giant cliff, few craters

-NEPTUNE moon TRITON:
Orbits neptune backwards, captured moon (kuiper belt), geologic active, Nitrogen atmosphere, Ice volcanoes, Nitrogen ice, create dark streaks in atmosphere, Tidal heating, High altitude winds

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Jupiters moons

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JUPITERS moons:

-I.O. (closest to Jupiter)
Most volcanic body in solar system, (Heat caused by "tidal flexing"), 1 Day orbit

-EUROPA
Icy surface, liquid water 200m below surface, Ocean beneath, convecting ice surface, young surface.

-GANYMEDE
Largest moon in solar system (larger then mercury), Liquid ocean, Icy surface.

-CALLISTO
most cratered body in solar system, Icy, Biggest crater in solar system, no volcanic or tectonics

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Saturns moons

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SATURN'S moons:

-TITAN:
Ice geysers (Volcanoes) ammonia & water, channels of flowing methane, dense nitrogen atmosphere

-ENCECADUS
Icy, cracks, crators, sub surface ocean, Ice volcanoes (cryo volcanoes) amonya and water create Saturn's rings, Huge water -ice geysers

-MIMAS (looks like death star):