What would the solar system look like to your naked eye if you could view it from beyond the orbit of Neptune?
To naked eye, you wouldn't see much because the next closest thing (Uranus) would be so, so far away.
Briefly describe the overall layout of the solar system.
Planets orbiting the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Then the Keiper belt, then the Oort cloud.
-tells us 4 main things: First, large bodies in the solar system have orderly motions; second, planets fall into two major
How do astronomers measure the following planetary properties:
A. Mass
B. Rotation rate
C. Temperature
Astronomers measure _____ by:
a. Mass: using gravity and the orbital period of something orbiting around the object you're looking for the mass of. The heavier the planet, the stronger it attracts the moon and faster the moon moves around it. Over a long
What is the most abundant element in the Solar System? What is the second most abundant?
The most abundant element in the Solar System is hydrogen (about 75%), next is helium (about 25%). Oxygen is third. Then, neon, nitrogen, carbon, silicon, magnesium, iron, and sulfur.
Notice the relationship between distance from the Sun and surface temperature. Describe the trend, explain why it exists, and explain any notable exceptions to the trend.
Obviously, planets that are farther away from the Sun will be cooler than those much closer in orbit. The exceptions include that mercury has two very different surface temperatures based on day/night, the fact that Venus is 40K hotter than Mercury is (b/
The text says that planets can be classified as either terrestrial or jovian, with Pluto fitting neither category. Describe in general how the columns for density, composition, and distance from the Sun support this classification.
Terrestrial Planets are small in mass and size, close to the Sun, made of metal and rock, and have few moons and no rings. Jovian planets have large mass and size, far from the Sun, made of H, He, and hydrogen compounds, and rings and many moons. Pluto do
Describe the trend you see in orbital periods of planets around the sun and explain the trend in terms of Kepler's third law.
The orbital period of the planets gets significantly longer depending on the planet's distance from the Sun. Kepler's third law explained this by saying that things that are farther away from the Sun move much, much slower (and also they move slower when
Which planet has the shortest days? Do you see any notable differences in the length of a day for the different types of planets? Explain.
Jupiter has the shortest days because its rotational period is 9.93 hours (in relation, ours is 23.93 hours). In general, the terrestrial planets have longer (some very long) rotation period (days) than the jovian periods (hours).
the Longest day is Venus
Which planets should not have seasons? Why?
Mercury should not have seasons at all and Jupiter should hardly- because the axis tilt is very low. (M=0.0 degrees and J=3.1 degrees). Venus doesn't have seasons really because its axis tilt is 180 degrees which is still perpendicular, but just spins the
Which column tells you how much a planet's orbit deviates from a perfect circle? Based on that column, are there any planets for which you would expect the surface temperature to vary significantly over its orbit? Explain.
Although it's not in the table, orbital eccentricity is what tells you how much a planet's orbit deviates from a perfect circle. Mercury is the planet that would deviate in surface temperature the most during its orbit because it's orbital eccentricity is
What are the four major features of our solar system that provide clues to how it formed? Describe each one briefly.
a. Patterns of motion among large bodies- Sun, planets, large moons rotate in an organized way- (co-planar)
b. Two major types of planets- terrestrial vs. jovian planets
c. Asteroids and comets- locations, orbits, and compositions follow distinct patterns
What are the basic differences between the terrestrial and jovian planets? Which planets fall into each group?
Terrestrial Planets are small in mass and size, close to the Sun, made of metal and rock, and have few moons and no rings. Jovian planets have large mass and size, far from the Sun, made of H, He, and hydrogen compounds, and rings and many moons. T= Mercu
Which terrestrial planets have had volcanic activity at some point in their histories?
Mercury has had ancient lava flows that created plains and tall, steep cliffs that are very huge; Venus also has shown past/present volcanic activity; Earth obviously; and Mars has HUGE ancient volcanoes (much larger than those on Earth).
-Jupiter's moon
What do we mean by hydrogen compounds? In what kinds of planets and/or small bodies are they major ingredients?
Hydrogen compounds are compounds that include water such as water (H20), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3). They are found in the jovian planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
What are asteroids? Where do we find most asteroids in our solar system?
Asteroids are rocky bodies that orbit the Sun much like planets, but are much smaller. (the largest asteroids are dwarfed by our Moon). Only two asteroids are round: Siri and Vespa. Most are found within the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Ju
What are comets? How do they differ from asteroids?
Comets are small objects that orbit the Sun as well, but they are made largely of ices (water ice, ammonia ice, and methane ice) mixed with rock. (Sometimes visible to naked eye as light with long, beautiful tails). Found in two main locations call the Ku
What is the difference between a planet, a dwarf planet and most asteroids and Kuiper Belt Objects?
A planet is large and orbits the sun. Dwarf planets include Pluto and Eris, which don't count as planets because of their lack of identifiable characteristics of either Terrestrial or Jovian planets. Asteroids, although they orbit the sun are much, much s
What is the Kuiper belt? What is the Oort cloud? How do the orbits of comets differ in the two regions?
The Kuiper belt is a donut-shaped region beyond the orbit of Neptune (at 50 AUs away). It contains at least 100,000 icy objects (including the largest two Pluto and Eris). These objects orbit the Sun in the same direction as the planets, but have a large
Describe at least two "exceptions to the rules" that we find in our solar system.
2 Exceptions:
-Earth has one of the largest moons in the solar system, despite the fact that it is a terrestrial planet (which usually have either no moons or very tiny ones).
-While most planets rotate in the same direction they orbit, Uranus rotates nea
Make sense? Pluto orbits the Sun in the opposite direction of all the other planets.
Pluto does not orbit the Sun in the opposite direction of all the other planets. When the forces collided into each other, the planets all began to form in the same circular(ish) orbit. It's orbit is more elliptical and comes closer to Neptune and is more
Make sense? If Pluto were as large as the planet Mercury, we would classify it as a terrestrial planet.
If Pluto were as large as the planet Mercury, I still don't think we would classify it as a terrestrial planet- mainly because of its composition. It is made half of ice and rock-similar to a comet. Also, since it is located so far from the Sun, basically
Make sense? Comets in the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud have long, beautiful tails that we can see when we look through telescopes.
Comet tails are caused by the ice vaporizing from the iceyness of when it gets too close the the Sun. You need heat to vaporize the tails so...
Make sense? Our Moon is about the same size as moons of the other terrestrial planets.
Our Moon is very large in comparison to the Earth. It is roughly � as large in diameter (but 1/80th the mass). However, it is only large in comparison to it's planet. It is not the largest Moon in the solar system.
***But it is definitely the largest of t
Make sense? On average, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system-even hotter than Mercury.
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system at 740K on average- even surpassing the temperature of the closest planet Mercury which is 700K or 100K depending on day or night. Happens b/c of the greenhouse effect (CO2- 96% of it's atmosphere)
Make sense? The weather conditions on Mars today are much different than they were in the distant past.
The weather conditions on Mars today are indeed much different than they were in the distant past. We know this because although Mars is frozen today, dried-up riverbeds, rock-strewn floodplains, and minerals formed in water offer clear evidence that Mars
Make sense? Moons cannot have atmospheres, active volcanoes, or liquid water.
Moons can have atmospheres and active volcanoes. For example, Saturn's moon Enceladus has ice fountains spraying out and Titan has a thick atmosphere. Another example is that Jupiter's moon Io has active volcanoes (actually the most volcanically active bo
Make sense? Saturn is the only planet in the solar system with rings.
No, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune also have rings along with Saturn.