Chapter 28 - Our Solar System
Point in a planet's orbit when it is closest to the Sun
perihelion
Solid bodies hundreds of km in diameter that merged to form the planets
planetesmisals
Point in a planet's orbit when it is farthest from the Sun.
retrograde
Jupiter spins on its axis in a little less than
10 hours
Observations of Mercury suggest that it was originally much larger and similar to:
Earth
Believed to be the first large planet to develop
Jupiter
The closest planet to the Sun is:
Mercury
The brightest planet in Earth's nighttime sky is:
Venus
What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot?
an atmospheric storm
Point in a planet's orbit when it is farthest from the Sun.
aphelion
Unit of measure that is the average distance between the Sun and Earth
astronomical unit
Low, warm, dark-colored, sinking clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere are known as:
belts
Model of the solar system where the planets revolve around the Earth
geocentric
Venus's spin is an example of:
retrograde rotation
In the 1960's radar measurements showed that the surface of Venus is very hot and that it is:
rotating slowly
the ringlets and open gaps in saturn's rings are caused by the gravitational effects of
saturn's moons
Mars's atmosphere is similar to Venus and has a strong greenhouse effect.
false
he southern hemisphere of Mars is dominated by sparsely cratered plains
false
Saturn's average density is lower than that of:
water
One day on Venus is equal to how many days on Earth
243
How many times bigger than Mercury is Earth
3 times
Galileo discovered Jupiter's:
4 major satelites
What percentage of all planetary matter in the solar system is in Jupiter's mass?
70%
which of Jupier's moons are completely molten inside
Io
elements of the Jovian atmosphere remain in which state
both gas and liquid
The atmosphere of Venus is mostly:
carbon dioxide and nitrogen
Many astronomers hypothesize that Saturn's rings were formed from
debris leftover when a moon was destroyed by a collision
Elliptical ratio of the distance between the foci and the max. length of axis
eccentricity
A meteor is a meteoroid that bypasses the Earth's atmosphere
false
Asteroids orbit the Sun and range from a few kilometers to about 100 km in diameter.
false
Earth's atmosphere is moderately dense and it is composed of 78% oxygen and 21% nitrogen
false
Solar system model when the Sun is the center and planets revolve around the Sun
heliocentric
Jupiter's 4 moons are composed of
ice and rock
Lacking in satellites due to it proximity to the Sun
inner planets
Gas and dust from which stars and planets form
interstellar clouds
The form of hydrogen that has properties of both a liquid and a metal is:
liquid metallic hydrogen
Rotating disk of dust and gas that formed the Sun and planets
solar nebular
The four inner planets of our solar system are
terrestrial plants
The surface of Mercury is similar to the surface of:
the Moon
saturn's largest moon is named
titan
A large meteorite will cause an impact when it collides with Earth
true
A meteoroid is a broken fragment of an asteroid or other interplanetary material
true
Asteroids are thought to be planetesimals that never formed planets
true
Earth's allows water in solid, liquid and gas form
true
Mars is referred to as the red planet as a result of its high iron content and red appearance.
true
Most asteroid are located between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt.
true
The wobble in Earth's rotational axis is called precession.
true
One of the first elements to condense in the early solar system
tungsten