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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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List the three layers of the sun's interior, starting from the center.
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The core, the radiation zone, the convection zone.
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Where is the sun's energy produced?
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The suns energy is produced in the core.
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Compare how energy moves through the radiation zone and the convection zone.
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Energy oves throughout the radiation zone slowly because the radiation zone is very dense. The energy moves in waves because of electromagnet radiation. Energy moves through the convection zone because cool gases sink, so they form loops of gas that move energy toward the sun's surface.
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What three layers make up the sun's atmosphere?
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The photosphere; the inner layer of the atmosphere, the chromosphere; the middle layer of the atmosphere, and the corona; the outer layer of the atmosphere that looks like a halo around the sun.
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Which of the sun's layers produces its visable light?
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photosphere
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Why is it usually impossible to see the sun's corona from Earth?
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Because the only time you can see the corona is when there is a total solar eclipse.
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Describe three features found on or just above the sun's surface.
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One feature is a sunspot, which are areas of gas on the sun's surface that are cooler than the gases around them. Another feature is a solar flare. A solar flare is the eruption of gas from the sun's surface that occurs when the loops in sunspot regions suddenly connect. One more feature is a solar wind. A solar wind is a stream of electrically charged particles that spread out from the sun's corona.
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Why do sunspots look darker than the rest of the sun's photosphere?
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Because they are areas of gas that are cooler than the ones around them.
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List the 4 inner planets in order of size, from smallest to largest.
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Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth.
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Describe an important characteristic of each inner planet.
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Earth has life. Venus is the hottest planet. Mercury is closest to the sun. Mars is very red.
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Compare the atmospheres of the 4 inner planets.
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Earth's atmosphere has an atmosphere that is rich in oxygen and can hold onto most gases. A livable atmosphere. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere because high daytime temperatures cause gas particles to move so fast that they escape into space. Venus's atmosphere is so thick that it is always cloudy. Atmosphere is heavy. Mars' atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide. Thinner than venus's atmosphere. Transparent. Few clouds like Earth.
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Venus is much farther from the sun than Mercury is. Yet average temperatures on Venus's surface are much higher than those on Mercury. Explain.
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Because Mercury has virtually no atmosphere, at night its heat escapes into space. Venus has so many clouds that it traps the heat from the sun.
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How are the gas giants similar to one another?
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Large and made up of gas (hence the name). Composed of hydrogen and helium. Thick atmosphere sp gravity can keep gases from excaping. Cold on these planets.
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List the outer planets in order of size, from smallest to largest.
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Pluto (even though it is not considered a planet anymore), Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter.
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Compare the structure of a typical terrestial planet with that of a gas giant.
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Gas Giants: Massive, stronger gravitational force, made up of a liquid hydrogen and helium. Outer layers are extremely cold because of the great distance from the sun.
Terrestrial planets: Dense and small with rocky surfaces. Warmer cause they are closer to the sun. |
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Describe an inportant characteristic of each outer planet that helps distinguish it from the other outer planets.
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Jupiter is VERY big. It has 64 moons. It also has a great big red spot that is also an everlasting hurricane. Saturn is the 2nd biggest planet. It has the most amount of rings then any other planet. The average density is less than that of water. Uranus is a blue-green color.Has a tilted axis. Is rotating from top to bottom rather than side to side. Neptune is a very cold blue planet.Scientists think that Neptune is slowly shrinking causing it to heat up. It looks like a Uranus twin.
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How is Pluto different from the other gas giants?
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Pluto has a solid surface and is much smaller and denser. Pluto is even smaller than Earth's moon.
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Why did astronomers reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet?
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Astronomers found many icy objects beyond Neptune similar to Pluto with its size. Even some were bigger than Pluto. So astronomers made a new class of objects called dwarf planets.
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What is a comet?
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A comet is a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles which have orbits that are narrow ellipses.
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What are the different parts of a comet?
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Comet head and comet tail.
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How does a comet's appearance change as it approaches the sun? Why do these changes occur?
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The energy of the sun turns the ice to gas releasing gas and dust.Clouds of gas and dust from a coma.
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What is an asteroid?
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Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be planets.
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Where are most asteroids found?
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asteroid belt- the region of the solar system inbetween the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where many asteroids are found.
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How did the asteroids form?
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Leftover pieces of the solar system that never came together to form a planet.
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What is a meteoroid?
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A chunk of rock or dust in space that came from comets or asteroids..
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What are the main sources of meteoroids?
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Comets and asteroids.
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What are the differences between meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites?
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Meteoroids are chunks of rock and dust that originated from comets or asteroids. A meteor is a streak of light caused by a burning meteoroid that entered Earth's atmosphere. A meteorite is a meteoroid that passed by Earth's atmosphere and hits Earth's surface.
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