Astronomy Test

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Number of planets in our solar system

8

Dwarf planets

A mass in space that does not fit the classification of a planet or a moon. Cerus, Pluto, hamuea, makemake, Eris

Meteorite

A meteorite or asteroid that passes through earth's atmosphere and lands on earth's surface

Solar system

A star and everything that revolve around it

Supernova

A stellar explosion that formed our solar system. A cloud of spinning dust and gas contracted due to gravity forming the sun in the center.

Mass

Amount of matter of the object compared to the earths matter

Period of revolution

Amount of time to move around the sun one time

Period of rotation

Amount of time to spin one time

Comet

An object made of ice and rock fragments that revolves around the sun usually in a highly eccentric orbit. Most of these originate in the kuiper belt which is past the orbit of Neptune. When this approaches the sun, the icy surface evaporated and caused the dusts and gases to glow as a bright tail. The solar wind pushes the tail away from the sun

Planet

Any object that directly revolves around a star, has a nearly round shape, and has its own orbital zone

Mean distance from the sun

Average distance in millions of kilometers from the sun

Which planet has the greatest density

Earth

Uranus

First planet discovered with a telescope in 1781. Has a rotational axis tilted to nearly 90° so it seems to spin on its side. Has at least 27 moons

Asteroids

Irregularly shaped rock that is smaller than a planet and occupies in orbit around the sun. Found in the asteroid belt between the orbits of mars and Jupiter

Which planet has the greatest equatorial diameter

Jupiter (142,984 KM)

Which planet has the greatest mass

Jupiter (317.83)

Which planet has the shortest period of rotation

Jupiter (9 hours, 50 minutes, 30 seconds)

Jupiter

Largest planet in the solar system. Made largely of hydrogen and helium gas. Giant red spot visible in the surface is a huge storm that lasted 300 years. Has at least 63 moons. four major moons, were discovered by Galileo and provided evidence that not all objects move around earth

Which planet has a period of revolution twice the earths period of revolution

Mars

Which planet has a period of rotation closest to the period of rotation for earth

Mars

Which planet is approximately half the size of earth

Mars

Which planet has the greatest eccentricity

Mercury

Which planet has the smallest mass

Mercury

Which planet has the smallest equatorial diameter

Mercury (4,879 km

Which planet is closest to the sun

Mercury (57.9 million km)

Which planet has the shortest period of revolution

Mercury (88 Days)

Planet criteria

Must orbit the sun, must have a nearly round shape, must have its own orbital zone (cause of Pluto no longer being a planet and being classified as a dwarf planet)

Which plant has the longest period of revolution

Neptune (164.8 years)

Which planet is farthest from the sun

Neptune (4.498.3 million km)

Venus

Often called Earth's "sister" planet because it is similar in size but is extremely hot and has clouds made of sulfuric acid. After earths moon, it is the brightest object in the night sky. Had no moons and has the roundest shaped orbit

Earth

Only planet known to have liquid water and life, largest and densest terrestrial planet, has one moon

Jovian planet

Outer four planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Large diameters and low densities

Meteoroids

Particles of rock and metal in space ranging in size from a grain of sand to a large boulder. Always smaller than asteroids (less than 1km in diameter)

Mars

Red colored planet because of iron dioxide is prevalent on the surface. Conditions are closest to the favorable conditions of life. Has surface features that were likely formed by running water in the past, but there is currently no liquid water on the Martian surface. Has two moons

Terrestrial planets

Rocky, small, high density, and Earth like planets. Inner four planets: mercury, Venus, earth, mars

Which planet has the lowest density

Saturn

Which planet is approximately 10 times farther from the sun than the earth is from the sun

Saturn

Saturn

Second largest planet in the solar system. Has rings that can be seen from Earth using binoculars. Has the lowest density of all the planets. Has at least 62 moons

Neptune

Second planet discovered with a telescope. Was predicted to exist using mathematical calculation before it was actually seen with a telescope in 1846. Has at least 14 moons. Has completed less than one orbit of the sun in the last 100 years

Eccentricity of orbit

Shape of the orbit around the sun

Greenhouse effect

Short wave visible light enters through the greenhouse glass, the surface absorbs the light and heats up. The long wave infrared heat released by the surface gets trapped by carbon dioxide. The planets temperature increases

Equatorial diameter

Size of the planet at the equator

Meteor

Streak of light produced when a meteoroid enters earth's atmosphere and burns due to friction of gas molecules. Commonly known as a shooting star

Our ___ is the center of the solar system

Sun

Density

The amount of matter in the given space of the object

Planetesimals

The dust and gas left outside clumped together to form this. They collided and formed planets

Retrograde motion

The motion exhibited by planets when they appear to move backward for a time in comparison to the stars caused by differences in revolution around the sun

Mercury

Travel through our sky and around the sun so quickly. Closest planet to the sun. Has no atmosphere and no moons. Has the most elliptical (oval) shaped orbit

List of Jovian planets in order of increasing mass

Uranus, Neptune, saturn, Jupiter

Which planet has the lowest eccentricity

Venus

Which planet has the longest period of rotation

Venus (243 days)

Planet with the highest surface temperature and why

Venus is the hottest planet due to the greenhouse effect. Venus' atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas

Impact crater

When very large meteorites strike earth's surface, they form circular depression in the ground


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