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114 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Which feature of Jupiter was found last? |
the magnetic field
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The visible surface features of Jupiter owe their structures mostly to what form of heat transfer?
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convection
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Which natural features do Earth and Jupiter have in common?
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rocky moons, spherical shapes, and water
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T/F Coorbital moons are common in the solar system.
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FALSE
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In addition to the distance from the planet, what else determines the orbital velocity of a moon?
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its planet's mass
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Is it reasonable to believe that there are no more moons that remain undiscovered in our solar system.
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No
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Spacecraft do not break apart in orbit because:
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They are held together by molecular forces.
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Compared to low density bodies, high density bodies of equal mass have:
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a smaller Roche Limit
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Within the Roche limit, bodies with a density less than water (1 g/cm3):
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break apart within two Saturn radii from Saturn
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What do the brown and white bands in Jupiter's atmosphere indicate?
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Different pressure zones
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What process creates circulation in Jupiter's atmosphere?
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The rising of heated air from the lower atmosphere
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Rank the Galilean satellites of Jupiter from largest to smallest
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Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa
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Rank the Galilean satellites of Jupiter in order of increasing density
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Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, Io
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Rank the Galilean satellites of Jupiter in order from closest to farthest
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Io, Europa, Ganymede, Europa
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What does it mean when a planet is "oblate?"
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Its equatorial diameter is longer than its polar axis. • It bulges around the equator.
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Why is Jupiter more oblate than Earth?
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Because its outer layers are not solid. • Because it rotates quickly.
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Would you expect the other Jovian planets to be more oblate than Earth as well?
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Yes. None of them are solid and they all rotate quickly.
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What is a belt?
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a dark band of clouds in a Jovian planet's atmosphere
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What is a zone?
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a bright band of clouds in a Jovian planet's atmosphere
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If Jupiter had a satellite the size of our own Moon orbiting outside the orbit of Callisto, what would you predict for its density?
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It should have a low density, less than 2 g/cm3.
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How can you be certain that Jupiter's ring does not date from the formation of the planet?
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Dust similar to that in the ring is seen spiraling into Jupiter's atmosphere.
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Why are the belts and zones on Saturn less distinct than those on Jupiter?
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They are deeper inside Saturn's atmosphere.
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What is the reason that the belts and zones on Saturn are less distinct than those on Jupiter?
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Saturn is cooler than Jupiter.
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If Saturn had no moons, what do you suppose its rings would look like?
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There would be no rings • Without moons, there would be no material available to be part of the ring system.
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How did Titan keep an atmosphere when larger Ganymede did not?
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It is twice as far from the sun as Ganymede, so the gases are slower-moving and easier to trap.
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If you piloted a spacecraft to Saturn's moons and wanted to look for a geologically active surface, what factors would you look for?
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both smooth and grooved areas and volcanic features
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If you piloted a spacecraft to Saturn's moons and wanted to look for a geologically active surface, what factors would you avoid?
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old, cratered areas
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What are the leading and trailing sides of a satellite?
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The sides that always face forward and backward to the direction of its orbit around the planet.
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How do the appearance of the leading and trailing sides of some satellites differ?
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Leading sides tend to be darker, and trailing sides brighter.
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What evidence do we have that Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium rather than rock?
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Jupiter has hydrogen and helium lines in its spectrum. • The density of Jupiter is 1.3 grams per cubic centimeter. • Jupiter's equatorial diameter is about 6% larger than its polar diameter. • Jupiter has hydrogen and helium lines in its spectrum and the density of Jupiter is 1.3 grams per cubic centimeter.
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What energy source drives the weather that we see on Jupiter?
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Thermal energy escaping from JupiterÂs interior that is still hot from formation.
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What evidence do we have that Jupiter has a very hot interior?
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It emits 70% more energy at infrared wavelengths than it receives from the sun.
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In the 1950s radio telescopes first detected synchrotron radiation from Jupiter. What did this discovery tell us about Jupiter?
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Jupiter has a strong magnetic field.
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Why are Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto necessary for the continued heating of Io?
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These moons periodically tug on Io and keep its orbit elliptical.
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Why is the metallic hydrogen zone for Saturn smaller than Jupiter's metallic hydrogen zone?
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Jupiter has more mass and thus greater gravitational compression at a depth.
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What gives Saturn's rings their beautiful structure?
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The gravitational influence of Saturn's moons on the ring particles.
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Which of the following is true about Uranus's magnetic field?
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The axes for the magnetic field and its rotation are in different directions.
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Where is Uranus's magnetic field centered?
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offset from the center of the planet
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A section of Pluto's orbit lies within the orbit of what other planet?
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Neptune
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What is unusual about the tilt of Pluto's orbit?
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It is tilted more than any other planet
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How long is Pluto inside Neptune's orbit?
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20 years
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Rank the four Jovian planets by decreasing size (greatest > least)
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Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
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Rank the four Jovian planets by increasing mass (least > greatest)
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Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter
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Rank the four Jovian planets by decreasing density (greatest > leasT)
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Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn
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Rank the four Jovian planets by increasing surface gravity (least > greatest)
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Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter
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Why is belt-zone circulation difficult to detect on Uranus?
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Uranus is so cold.
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What is the origin of the rings of Uranus?
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They are made of debris from impacts on Uranus' moons.
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What is the evidence of the origin of the rings of Uranus?
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Uranus' rings are trapped among the orbits of small moons. • Uranus' moons show evidence of having been impacted.
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What is the origin of the rings of Neptune?
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They are made of debris from impacts on Neptune's moons.
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What is the the evidence of origin of the rings of Neptune?
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Neptune's rings are trapped among the orbits of small moons. • Neptune's moons show evidence of having been impacted.
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The cores of Uranus and Neptune are believed to be _
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They are solid.
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The mantles of Uranus and Neptune are believed to be
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liquid
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If the cores of Uranus and Neptune are solid, how can they have magnetic fields?
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Their magnetic fields are believed to be generated by convection in the liquid mantle.
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What color do Uranus and Neptune appear to be?
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blue-green
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What does the color of Uranus and Neptune tell you about their composition?
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There is an abundance of methane in their atmospheres.
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How can small worlds like Triton and Neptune have atmospheres, when larger objects like Ganymede have none?
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arther from the sun, it is colder and easier to retain gases. • Most of the atmospheric gases sublimate from ice on the surfaces of the objects.
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What evidence is there that Neptune's moon Triton is geologically active?
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There are few craters • There are cracks in the ice
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If Triton is geologically active, what is it's energy source?
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radioactive decay in its interior • sunlight
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What evidence is there that Pluto and Charon are made of rock and ice?
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their densities
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Most of the composition of Pluto and Charon is
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rock
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What is the Kuiper belt?
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a population of small rocky/icy objects mostly beyond the orbit of Neptune
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Why do some astronomers think Pluto is a member of the Kuiper belt rather than a planet?
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it's location, size and mass, and composition
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How do the seasons on Uranus differ from the seasons on Earth? (84 year orbit)
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Seasons on Uranus are 84 times longer and more extreme than on Earth.
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What is our current best hypothesis as to how the whole Uranian system came to have such a large inclination?
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A large impact during the latter stages of planet building tipped Uranus on its side.
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How do we get an accurate measurement of the rotational period of Uranus?
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We measure the period of the cyclic fluctuation in the synchrotron radiation emitted by Uranus.
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Which interior zone of Uranus and Neptune do we suspect contains the electrically conducting fluid that is responsible for planetary magnetic fields?
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the liquid outer iron core
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In what way is Uranus different than the other Jovian planets?
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Uranus has little remaining heat of formation.
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Why is there no liquid metallic hydrogen zone in the interiors of Uranus or Neptune?
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The pressure is too low for hydrogen to be metallic.
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What keeps small shepherd moons from breaking apart within the Roche limit of a planet?
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The moons must be structurally strong (which means that they are kept from breaking apart by the electrostatic bonds of the moon's material).
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the gas giants are
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Jupiter and Saturn
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the ice giants are
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Neptune and Uranus
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What is peculiar about the orbits of Neptune's moons Triton and Nereid?
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Triton's orbit is in the retrograde direction, and Nereid's orbit is large and very elliptical.
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How might the appearance of a comet differ if it were orbiting a cold body instead of a live star?
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It wouldn't be readily observable in visible light.
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Which of these is true of a comet's tail?
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It always points away from the Sun.
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T/F All particles shed by the comet's nucleus are equally impacted by the magnetic field of the solar wind.
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FALSE
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Regarding the rate of impacts of various sizes:
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Large impacts have occurred much less frequently than small ones in all timeframes.
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T/F The Earth has many fewer large impact craters than the Moon because most meteors burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
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FALSE
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T/F The Earth will definitely experience an impact by a life-threatening asteroid in its future.
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FALSE
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The perihelion of the comet is closest to which celestial body?
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the sun
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What direction does the comet's tail point when near the Sun?
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Away from the Sun
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What happens when heat by the Sun vaporizes the comet's underlying ice layer?
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The comet sprays gases and dust into space
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What is the name of the process that explains why asteroids have different layers?
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differentiation
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Iron-rich asteroids and meteoroids come from which part of the original differentiated planetesimal?
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The core
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What is a possible explanation for asteroids with highly elliptical orbits in the inner solar system?
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Gravitational resonance with Jupiter has altered their orbits over time
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What is the major source of meteor shower meteoroids?
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comets • Why? Observation of where meteoroids appear to come from has been traced back to the orbits of comets
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What is the origin of most meteors?
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comets • why? Most meteoroids from comets are very small, and burn up quickly when they enter the atmosphere and become meteors.
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What is the origin of most meteorites?
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asteroids • why? Meteorites must have been larger to survive long enough to hit the ground, so they probably did not come from comets.
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Which describes a possible origin for the Oort cloud?
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Icy objects ejected into the distant reaches of the solar system by Uranus and Neptune.
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Which describes a possible origin for the Kuiper belt?
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Icy objects kept closer to the solar system's planets by falling into resonance with Neptune.
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What type of meteorite is the most common at about 80% of all falls?
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chondrites
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If most falls are stony meteorites, why are most finds iron meteorites?
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Stony meteorites are less weather-resistant and look more like Earth rocks
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How do observations of meteor showers reveal one of the sources of meteoroids?
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Meteor showers occur at locations where the Earth crosses the debris trail of comets.
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What evidence do we have that some meteorites originated inside large bodies?
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The Widmanstatten patterns in iron meteorites indicate very slow cooling.
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Which type of meteorite is rich in volatiles and thus provides the best samples of the solar nebula?
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carbonaceous chondrites
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What do we suspect was the heat source that melted planetesimals that were as small as 20 km in diameter?
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short-lived radioactive isotopes such as aluminum-26
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What causes the Kirkwood gaps of the asteroid belt?
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orbital resonances with Jupiter
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What is the most likely source of the Apollo-Amor objects?
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They are asteroids that were ejected from the Kirkwood gaps.
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How do the different types of meteorites match up to the main asteroid classes?
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The C-type asteroids match the carbonaceous chondrites. The S-type asteroids match the most common stony meteorites. The M-type asteroids match the iron meteorites.
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What statement is consistent with the Drake Equation prediction obtained by setting all the values at their minimum, or most pessimistic values?
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It's unlikely that intelligent life exists beyond Earth.
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What's the name of the period when fish first appeared?
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Devonian, about 400 million years ago.
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Dinosaurs disappear at the end of what period?
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Cretaceous, about 75 million years ago.
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Rank the factors in the Drake equation in order of how certainly we know them (most certain > least)
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(a) the number of stars in our galaxy, (b) the fraction of stars with planets (c) the fraction of life forms that evolve intelligence (d) the fraction of a star's life during which a technological society survives
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How does the DNA molecule produce a copy of itself?
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It splits in half down the middle.
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Which is not considered a condition for a planet to be suitable for life?
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the presence of liquid water • moderate temperatures
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Which kinds of stars are least likely to have planets that could harbor life?
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upper-main-sequence stars
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What is the water hole?
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The water hole is a band of frequencies in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lie between the 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen and the 18-cm line of OH.
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Which element is the physical basis for life chemistry on Earth?
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carbon
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On Earth why is carbon-based life more successful than silicon-based life?
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Carbon molecule chains are stronger and more stable.
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How are the instructions for life stored in DNA molecules?
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as a sequence of base pairs
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When a cell divides, how does a DNA molecule duplicate its stored information for the two new cells?
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The DNA molecule divides along the long dimension of the ladder, splitting the base pairs. Corresponding new bases attach to each half to form two new identical DNA molecules.
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Why must the DNA instructions change for a species to survive?
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To adapt to changes in the environment.
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How do the instructions stored in a DNA molecule at the nucleus of a cell get out to where they are needed to conduct the business of life?
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The instructions are copied and transported by RNA molecules.
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What was the significance of the Miller-Urey experiment?
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It showed that complex organic molecules can form naturally.
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Why do SETI programs only observe at wavelengths between 1 and 30 centimeters? |
At wavelengths longer than 30 cm, our galaxy emits a lot of interference, and at wavelengths less than 1 cm, our atmosphere is opaque. |
