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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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occupied by a diversity of objects, but shows an underlying order in the dynamics of their movements |
the solar system |
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-a star whose output is generated by high temperatures nuclear reactions in its core. -99.9% of the mass of the solar system holds object in our solar system in place. |
the sun |
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-the orbit of planets, almost circular lying in nearly the same plane -all planets travel counterclockwise around the Sun -most rotate in the same rotation |
planetary orbits |
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-mercury, venus, earth, and mars -small rocky objects with thin or no atmospheres -earth is the biggest -all crowded together |
terrestrial planets |
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-jupiter, saturn, uranus, and neptune -larger than terrestial planets -more gaseous, liquid, or icy -solid inside -5-10 in distance -interior made up of rock, metal and ice |
jovian planets |
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-pluto and other small planets -did not fit because they have inclined orbits & are very small, icy and not clear of their own orbit of debris -no atmosphere |
dwarf planets |
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-rocky or metallic bodies that orbit in the asteroid belt -similar to terrestrial planets |
asteroids |
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-icy bodies that can grow very long tails of gas & dust as they get closer to the Sun -vaporized by its heat -orbit in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud -simliar to jovian planets |
comets |
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-all objects in the solar system formed nearly the same time, out of the same original cloud of gas & dust. -radioactive dating of rocks from earth, moon, and some asteroids suggest an age of about 4.5 billion years |
age (origin of the solar system) |
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-triggered by a collision with another cloud, nearby exploding star, and rotation of a nebula forces clouds to gravitational collapse into a rotating disk. -million years pass or a cloud to collapse into a rotating disk with a bulge in the center |
gravitational collapse (nebula theory) |
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-small things rotate or revolve faster than big things |
conservation of angular momentum (conservation laws) |
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-solar nebula heats up as it collapses -gravitational potential energy s converted into thermal energy |
conservation of energy (conservation laws) |
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-generates highest mass -1 million k |
formation of the sun |
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-temperatures in the center of forming solar system would eventually reach temperatures necessary for the onset of nuclear fusion & the formation of a star (the sun) |
formation of the sun |
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-tiny particles to stick together into bigger pieces -forms planetesimals & eventually formed planets, moons, and other orbiting objects |
accretion |
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-inner solar nebula were rocky-iron composites, making terrestial planets, -outer solar nebula were icy-rocky-iron composites, forming jovian planets |
planetesimals |
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-atmospheres were the last planet-forming process -outer planets gravitionally captured their atmospheres from the solar nebula -inner planets created their atmosphere by volcanic activity &from comets & asteroids that vaporized on impact |
formation of atmosphere |
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-venus rotates backwards -uranus tips over -uranus 90 degrees tilt |
important exceptions to the rule |
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-formation of the universe 14 billion years ago |
big bang theory |
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-stars form from debris of other stars -collapsed, rotation -energy always conserved on earth -rotates faster -hot, spinning gas |
nebular theory of the solar system formation |
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-always conservated -mass x velocity x radius -radius increases, velocity decreases -radius decreases, velocity increases |
momentum |
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-crust, mantle, core -different by density |
earth interior |
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-____________process not only builds the planets it also creates heat that allows for the planet to become different by density |
accretionary |
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-________ in a planet interior drives geological activity -mantle convection> (plate tectonics) -outer core convection (magnetic field) |
heat |
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1. remnant heat from the formation of the planet 2. convection of the planet 3. differentiation by density 4.radio activity:decay of radioactive elements that releases heat into a planets interior |
sources of heat for a tess. planet |
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-plate tectonics allows for a planets surface to be recycled by creating new crust and destroying old crust |
mantle convection drives plate tectonics |
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-magnectic field protects a planet's atmosphere from the erosive power of the solar wind because magnetism deflects charged particles |
outer core convection drives the magnetic field |
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understanding the current state of the air of terrestrial planets |
surface clues |
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planet has remained the same since they early days of the solar system |
extensive impact cranking |
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ocean basins, mouuntains, fractures, volcanos etc. |
plate tectonics |
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obvious evidence that a planets interior is still hot and the planet is geologically active |
volcanism |
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heat from the sun dries the water cycle, which erodes the surface of a planet if that planet has a atmosphere -example: river channels, river valleys U-shaped |
erosion |
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-gravity pulls high density material to center, & lower density material rises to surface -core: highest density metal -mantle: moderate density rock -crust:lowest density rock |
differentiation by density into crust/mantle/core (earth interior) |
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-convection in the mantle drives plate tectonics and reshapes the surface -radioactivity, remaing heat from accretion of earth, & convection |
heat/convection (earth's interior) |
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-remnant heat from the accretion of the earth -differentiation -radioactivity -convection |
sources of internal heat |
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-magnetic field generated in its metallic core that deflected charged particles from the sun |
earth's magnetic field |
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-happened soon after the solar system was formed, & saw no craters from early earth |
impact cratering |
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-earth surface is constantly "recycling" due to tectonics, which explains the geological phenomena such as: earth quakes, mountain belts, continental drift, & volcanoes |
tectonics |
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-happens when molten rock finds a path through to the surface |
volcanism |
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-any weather driven process that break down or transport rock -glaciers -rivers -wind |
erosion |
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-made of meta & rock -large iron core -very hot & cold 425 degrees C (day) & 170C (night) |
mercury |
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-"red" planet:CO2 atmosphere, 2 small moons -giant volcanoes, past oceans basins, polar ice caps -water flowed in the past Mars vs. Earth -50% earth's radius, 10% earth's mass -thin atmosphere -evidence for flowing water in the past |
mars |
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-has not widespread surface water for 3 billion years -when interior of _____cooled, its magnetic field was no longer able to protect the atmosphere & oceans from the solar wind |
climate change on mars |
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-nearly identaical n size & mass to earth -hellish conditions due to an extreme green house effect -hotter then mercury 470 degrees day & night -has volcanoes & fractures indicating tectonic activity -runaway greenhouse effect: thick carbon dioxide atmosphere produces strong greenhouse effect, which traps heat in a planet's atmosphere |
venus |
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-oasis of life -only surface liquid water in the solar system -source of water: water may have come to earth by way of icy comets from the outer solar system & from degassing water vapor after the crust cooled |
earth |
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-mass & radius affect interior temperature -deterines the level of tectonic activity -low mass, small radius planets will be cooler inside & hence less active than larger planets -observed with mercury (least active), then mars, then venus/earth |
what makes a planet active in size and mass |
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-earth is habitable because it is large enough to remain geologically active, & it is at the right distance from the sun so oceans can form |
what makes earth habitable |
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-jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, the core are all similar in size but the total mass and radius of the planets differ greatly -juptier & saturn: mostly H and He gas -uranus & neptune: mostly hydrogen compounds: water (H20), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) -some H, He |
jovian planet comparison |
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-beyond the frost line, the jovian planets could acumulate ICE (hydrogen compounds) -hydro. compounds are most abundant than rok/metal so jovian planets got bigger & aquired dense H/He atmospheres -jovian cores are very similar; mass of 10 earths |
differences in jovian planets formation |
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-jovian planets differ in the amount of H/He gas accumulated -timing: the planet that forms earliest captures the most hydrogen & helium gas -location: the planet that forms in a denser par of the nebula forms its core first |
dfferences in jovian planets formation |
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-adding mass to a jovian planet compresses the underlying gas layers -jupiter is more massive, but same size as saturn -high pressure inside the inner jovian planets cause the phase of hydrogen to change with depth |
jovian interiors |
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-uniform surfaces: perfect pressure belts (unlike earth) -cloud colors correspond to freezing points of different hydrogen compounds -blue light reflects off methane clouds, making uranus & neptune look blue |
jovian atmospheres |
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--small moons (300 km) *no geological activity *more numerous & not spherical -medium moons (300-1500 km) *geological activity in past -large moons (>1500 km) -ongoing geological activity -enough self gravity to be spherical -formed in orbit around jovian planets - - |
jovian moons |
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-4 largest of 67 total -Io:active volcanoes all over -Europa: possible subsurface ocean -ganymede: largest moon in solar system -callisto:a large, cratered "ice ball" -squished & stretched as they orbit jupiter which heats the moon |
the galilean moons of jupiter |
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-only moon in the solar system that has a thick nitrogen rich atmosphere |
saturn's titan |
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-saturn's rings are made up of numerous, tiny individual particles which orbit over saturn's equator |
jovian rings |
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-moons cannot form within a certain radius determined by the planets mass & size, and this distance is the roche limit -all four jovian planets have rings systems -others have ring particles that are smaller & darker then saturn's |
the roche limit/raduis |
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- rocky leftovers of terrestrial planet formation -largest asteriod is ceres, diameter: 100 km (dwarf planet -asteroids between mars and jupiter did not accrete into a planet because juptier's gravity stirred up their orbits |
asteroids |
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-icy counterparts to asteroids that form in the outer solar system -nucleus of a comet is like a "dirty snowball" *only comets that enter the inner solar system grow tails |
comets |
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-kuiper belt:on orderly, inclined orbits -oort cloud:on random orbits -asteroid belt |
comet belts |
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-the bright trail let behind as an object travels through our atmosphere -the object that falls to the surface (typically iron rich) -_____ showers: earth experiences a "meteor shower" when we pass through a debris rich part of our part |
meteors & meteorites` |
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-large, icy object all have irreualr, inclined orbits -pluto: much smaller than other planets -icy, comet-like composition wit 40 K surface conditions -in 2006, the international astronomical union decided to call pluto and objects like it "dwarf planets |
kuiper belt object |
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what does the magnetic field of earth do |
it delfects the solar window |
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which terrestrial planet has the hottest surface conditions |
venus |
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what is the smallest terrestrial planet |
mercury |
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what is jupiter the largest jovian planet |
it formed closest to the center of the early solar system |
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why dont we wsee the impact craters from the earliest part of earths history |
plate tectonics has repaved the surface |
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- a meteor of debris burning up n the earth atmosphere |
falling star |
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who made the decision to demote pluto to a dwarf planet in 2006 |
the international astronomical union |
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where odes the debris in meteor shower come from |
comets that have deteriorated in the inner solar system |
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what is the largest dwarf planet |
eris |
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-planets orbit in the same direction & in the same plane -rocky inner planets & gaseous/liquid/icy outer planets -all solar bodies appears to be less than 4.5 billion years old -structure of asteroids, cratering planetary surface, detailed chemical composition of surface rocks & atmosphere |
clues to the formation theory |
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-triggered by collision with another cloud or nearby exploding star, the rotation of a nebula forces clouds to _______ into a rotating disk. -few million years passed & the cloud collapsed into the rotation disk with a bulge in the center |
gravitational collapse |
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-rocky iron composites (forming terrestrial planets) while the iouter solar nebula were icy ,rocky iron composties (forming j0vian planets) |
planetesimals |
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-mars has not had widespread surface water for about 3 billion years -when interior of mars cooled, its magnetic field filed was no longer able to protect the atmosphere & oceans form the solar wind |
climate change on mars |
