Short Answer Question

What are the sources for the secondary terrestrial planets' atmospheres?

- Accretion (original gases located in the interior) - Volcanism (later released the gases from the interior) - Huge number of impacts of comets and asteroids from the cold outer solar system

Where are most of Earth's volcanoes found?

- Hot spots and plate boundaries

Describe the volcanism on Earth and the other terrestrial planets and the Moon.

- Mercury: no large volacaneous, but many smoot flat plains with few craters. Theorists wonder is its caused by ancient volcanos erupting due to internal heat or simple melting associated with impact processes. New data shows that the volcano theory is supported. - Moon: many volcanic features on surface. Dark maria are deposits of basalt, a volcanic rock. Take up approximately 20% of moon surface. - Mars: volcaneous are largest mountains in solar system and are shield volcaneous. - Venus: largest amount of volcanoes, theorists think because venus sulfuric acid in atmosphere conrtibue to volcano

Describe the tectonism on Earth and the other terrestrial planets.

- Mercury: surface shrank after it cooled, leaving cliffs which are hundreds of miles long and 2 miles high - Moon: fault valleys from fractures in crust - Mars: extensive tectonism, massive chiasm called valles marineris - Venus: different form of tectonism with melting and overturning of crust

Describe the formation of Earth's Moon.

- Moon formed in large collision between earth and the protoplanet Theia. The material blasted into the orbit and calloedtec to form the moon. - Lighter gray cratered regions are lunar highlands, dark gray regions are lunar maria. Dark maria are large impact basins which have filled with basalt lavas

1. Describe the two energy sources for Earth's tectonics?

1. Two sources 1) like other planets, the earth formed by accretion and collisions of moon size protoplanets. These collisions heated the earth. 2) radioactive decay - potassium, uranium, and thorium high amounts as unstable isotopes. The decay of these elements keeps outer core molten and mantle flowing.

What is the runaway icehouse effect? What is the runaway greenhouse effect? Explain the role played by the greenhouse gases on the Earth's surface temperature.

A runaway greenhouse effect occurs when a planet's atmosphere contains greenhouse gas in an amount sufficient to block thermal radiation from leaving the planet, preventing the planet from cooling and from having liquid water on its surface. Runaway icehouse effect - amount of co2 reduces, the temperature dropping and causing more water vapor to condense and fall on the surface taking some more co2

What are "shepherd moons"?

A shepherd moon (also herder moon or watcher moon) is a small natural satellite that clears a gap in planetary-ring material or keeps particles within a ring contained.

Explain how the atmosphere of Venus has evolved over the age of the solar system.

Atmosphere originated from outgassing of volcanos. It's believed that Venus may have been a temperate planet hosting liquid water for 2 to 3 billion years before a massive resurfacing event about 700 million years ago triggered a runaway greenhouse effect, which caused the planet's atmosphere to become incredibly dense and hot. increasing temperature, together with increasing solar intensity, started vaporizing venus' oceans

What may happen to Mars' moon Phobos in the future?

Because Phobos orbits so close to Mars, gravity is continually pulling it closer to the planet. It is believed that it will one day crash into Mars, possibly in as little as 10 million years.

Describe the "visible surfaces" for each of the Giant planets. Why are there "belts and zones" on Jupiter?

Belts are the darker bands in the atmosphere of Jupiter. They are at a lower altitude in the atmosphere. Zones are the lighter bands present in the atmosphere of the gas giants. They are present at higher altitudes and are regions of high pressure.

What happens to a moon that crosses the planet's Roche limit?

Closer to the Roche limit, the body is deformed by tidal forces. Within the Roche limit, the mass' own gravity can no longer withstand the tidal forces, and the body disintegrates.

What is "cryovolcanism"?

Cryovolcanism is a volcanic phenomenon that occurs in environments with extremely low temperature. There, instead of molten silicates, cryovolcanoes erupt liquid water, methane, ammonia, or sulfur dioxide onto the icy surface of a planet or satellite.

1. Explain why the inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid even though inner core is at a higher temperature than the outer core.

If the temperature at a given region is lower than the melting point of the material in that region, then that region is solid.

Describe the impact cratering on the terrestrial planets and our Moon.

Impact cratering results from material falling from space onto a planet's moon surface. The Moon and all terrestrial planets experienced impact cratering. Mercury: covered Venus: relatively few Earth: relatively few Mars: craters once suggest once wetter Moon: covered

List five features than differentiate the Inner planets from the Outer planets.

Inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) - relatively small (earth largest) - low mass (earth heaviest) - high densities - composed of primarily rocky materials with solid surface - close to sun Outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) - large diameters - high mass - low densities - composed primarily of hydrogen and helium without a solid surface - far from sun

What is the cause of Io's active volcanoes?

Io's remarkable activity is the result of a tug-of-war between Jupiter's powerful gravity and smaller but precisely timed pulls from two neighboring moons that orbit farther from Jupiter - Europa and Ganymede.

Describe the ring system A) of Jupiter. B) of Uranus. C) of Neptune.

Jupiter - Jupiter's rings are intermediate brightness and rich in silicates, like the inner moons. - Jupiter's rings are formed from dust particles hurled up by micro-meteor impacts on Jupiter's small inner moons and captured into orbit. - The rings must constantly be replenished with new dust from the moons to exist. Uranus and Neptune's rings are dark and mostly radiation darkened organic materials and ices. Uranus has two sets of rings. The inner system of nine rings consists mostly of narrow, dark grey rings. There are two outer rings: the innermost one is reddish like dusty rings elsewhere in the solar system, and the outer ring is blue like Saturn's E ring. Neptune has five rings: Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago, and Adams

Compare the amounts of Hydrogen, Helium, and "heavy elements" in the atmospheres of the Giant planets.

Jupiter - due to larger mass, Jupiter accumulated more hydrogen and helium when it formed than the other planets did Saturn - contains more heavy elements and less hydrogen and helium than Jupiter Heavy elements are significant components in Uranus and Neptune. Methane is important in atmospheres of 2 planets, giving them their characteristic blue-green color.

Why are Jupiter and Saturn called "Gas Giants"?

Jupiter and Saturn are substantially larger than Uranus and Neptune - composed mainly of hydrogen and helium - jupiter 5.2 au away from sun - saturn 9.6 au from sun

In what sense are Jupiter's moons like a miniature solar system?

Jupiter's other moons are much smaller, and most are probably asteroids that were captured by the giant planet's strong gravitational field. With so many natural satellites, the Jovian system nearly represents a miniature solar system.

List the Jovian planets in their order from the Sun.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Explain how the atmosphere of Mars has evolved over the age of the solar system.

Mars originally had a similar thick atmosphere and a liquid water ocean like early Earth. Because Mars is small, it cooled early in its history and volcanic activity came to an end. Any depletion of carbon dioxide due to rainwater was permanent, since there was no replenishment from volcanic outgassing. This weakened the greenhouse effect and caused the temperature to drop. A lower temperature caused more water to vapor to condense to surface, carrying more co2 away. this reduced the temperature causing a runway icehouse effect on mars, opposite of the runaway green house effect on venus.

Describe the present atmospheres of the terrestrial planets and Moon.

Mercury - essentially no atmosphere (loss of magnetic field became less protected from solar wind, eroding away any atmosphere that may been present) - Combination of high temperatures and low escape velocity means any atmosphere lost Moon - essentially no atmosphere (loss of magnetic field became less protected from solar wind, eroding away any atmosphere that may been present) - Combination of high temperatures and low escape velocity means any atmosphere lost Able to hold onto significant secondary atmospheres Important distinction: surface gravity (Venus and earth able to keep more gasses than mars) Venus - hot, dense atmosphere completely cloud covered. thick atmosphere means nearly uniform temperature over planet. Earth - The air in Earth's atmosphere is made up of approximately 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen Mars - very thin atmosphere which is evident through haze and clouds covering planet. pretty cold.

What is the current composition of the Earth's third atmosphere?

Mesosphere - an atmosphere containing enough oxygen for animals, including ourselves, to evolve. 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, and 0.1 percent other gases

What may be a solution to the mystery of the moon Iapetus?

NASA's Spitzer space telescope was able to spot the band of saturn ring because it sees infrared light, or heat radiation from objects. even though ring cold, it still give off heat.

What was the composition of the primary terrestrial planets atmospheres?

New planets formed primary atmospheres by sweeping up gas (H and He) in accretion disk. The terrestrial planets and the Moon could not hold onto the gas - it escaped into space. The primary atmosphere for every terrestrial world was composed mostly of light gases that accreted during initial formation.

What is unusual about the Pluto - Charon system?

Pluto-Charon is our solar system's only known double planetary system. The same surfaces of Charon and Pluto always face each other, a phenomenon called mutual tidal locking

What is special about Saturn's moon Titan?

Saturn's largest moon is probably active This mammoth moon is the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, and it's the only world besides Earth that has standing bodies of liquid, including rivers, lakes and seas, on its surface.

What are Saturn's rings made of?

Saturn's rings are thought to be pieces of comets, asteroids, or shattered moons that broke up before they reached the planet, torn apart by Saturn's powerful gravity. They are made of billions of small chunks of ice and rock coated with other materials such as dust.

What processes erase these craters?

Tectonism and erosion.

Compare the temperature, atmospheric pressure and composition for the terrestrial planets and our Moon.

Terrestrial planets are planets that have a compact, rocky surface. The terrestrial planets include: Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars.

What is Io's "plasma torus" and "flux tube"?

The Io plasma torus is a ring-shaped cloud of ions and electrons surrounding the planet Jupiter. flux tube = It connects Io to the upper atmosphere of Jupiter

What are the lakes and seas on Titan filled with?

The lakes of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, are bodies of liquid ethane and methane

How thick are the rings of Saturn when compared to their diameter?

The largest ring spans 7,000 times the diameter of the planet

What is the correlation between the number of craters on an object's surface and its age?

The number of craters indicates the surface's age. More craters signify an older surface and minimal geologic activity and vice versa.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The process by which gases hold heat in the atmosphere Example: the sun's energy passes thru car windshield. the energy (heat) trapped inside car and can't pass back thru windshield, causing inside of car to warm up.

Explain the term "escape velocity".

The speed that an object needs to be traveling to break free of a planet or moon's gravity well and leave it without further propulsion.

1. What are P-waves, S-waves and surface waves? What is the difference between P-wave and S-wave? How do we know so much about the Earth's interior structure?

Three types of seismic waves produced by earthquakes. · P-waves (primary waves): travel thru fluids solids & longitudainl - meaning they transfer their energy thru compression, like slinky. Fastest. Oscillations are parallel to the direction of motion of wave · S-waves: travel only thru solids, transverse energy perperndicular to direction of wave (rope shaken up and down) slower than p wave · Surface waves: rolling motion people feel near epicenter, only travel over earth's surfaces · Geologists learn basic properties of Earth's interior (temperature, density, solid or liquid) by studying earthquakes and the seismic waves that they produce. These waves are detected by sensitive seismographs.

Describe the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Explain how and why the temperature changes in these regions.

Troposphere = 10-15 km altitude/ temperature and pressure decline with altitude. Stratosphere = 15-50 km/ temperature rises with altitude Mesosphere = 50-90 km/ no ozone, temperature declines with altitude Thermosphere = >90 km/ultraviolet radiation and solar wind ionize atoms/hot

How was Uranus discovered? How was Neptune discovered?

Uranus couldn't be discerned from eyes. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1781 by accident. Neptune was found because Uranus was straying from its predicted orbit.

What is the "Great Dark Spot" on Neptune?

a huge spinning storm in the southern atmosphere of Neptune which was about the size of the entire Earth

Compare and contrast the winds in the atmospheres of the Giant planets.

alternating east-west winds make banded clouds on jupiter most extreme equatorial winds on saturn and neptune

1. Explain asthenosphere, lithosphere, subduction zone and evidence for plate tectonics.

asthenosphere the upper layer of the earth's mantle, below the lithosphere, in which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur. lithosphere the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle. subduction zone where Earth's tectonic plates dive back into the mantle, at rates of a few to several centimeters per year. Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together the discovery of long mountain ranges on the ocean floor (mid-alantic ridge) supported theory of plate tectonics,

What gases can prevent a planet from being permanently frozen?

co2 and other gases

What is interesting about Jupiter's moon Europa?

complex geologic activity. Europa is a frozen, icy world and is a unique object in the solar system - scientists believe that beneath the frozen layer of ice on Europa's surface, there is a salt-water ocean in contact with a rocky seafloor.

1. Describe, in detail, each layer of the Earth's interior.

crust - everything we see and study directly. thinest layer of earth. 2 types : continental and oceanic. mantle - thickest layer of earth. rich in iron and magnesium. melting point greater than mantle temperature; thus, mantle solid. upper levels are able to flow slowly - aka plastic. outer core - temperature is greater than melting point of iron at that pressure. therefore, outer region is molten. inner core - pressure very high, therefore, melting point of iron is greater than the temperature of the region. inner region of core solid.

Explain the "differential rotation" on Jupiter and Saturn.

differential rotation: equatorial regions rotate faster than polar region Jupiter - the equatorial region rotates at 9 hours 50 mintutes - the polar region rotates at 9 hours 55 minutes Saturn - the equatorial region rotates 10 hours 13 minutes - the polar region rotates 10 hours 38 minutes

Describe how our solar system is different from other exoplanetary systems.

exoplanets come in many types that are not like out solar system. hot Jupiters orbit up to half an au from their stair.

How do "orbital resonances" create gaps in Saturn's rings?

gaps in rings due to "resonance" between orbital period of ring particle and period of a moon of saturn

Describe the seasons on each of the Giant planets due to their axial tilts.

giant planets have different tilts. the intensity of a planet's seasons is determined by the tilt of its axis. jupiter - with a tilt of 3 degrees, Jupiter has almost no seasons. saturn - slightly larger than earth (e= 23.5; sat. 27). cause moderate but well-defined seasons. uranus - spins on axis, which nearly lies in plane of its orbit. 98 degrees. seasons extreme neptune - slightly larger than earth (e=23.5;nep=28). cause moderate but well-defined seasons

What is the meaning of "regular moons"?

having a circular prograde orbit around the equatorial plane of a planet.

What is the meaning of "irregular moons"?

highly inclined (and even retrograde), typically eccentric and long period orbits around their host planet.

Compare and contrast the magnetic fields of the Gas Giants and the Ice Giants.

ice giants - orientation is at an angle to the rotation axis and not orientated at the center

What are the Galilean moons? Describe they differ from each other.

io, europa, Ganymede, Callisto Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system (larger than the planet Mercury), and is the only moon known to have its own internally generated magnetic field. Europa's surface is mostly water ice, and the icy crust is believed to cover a global water ocean. Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system Jupiter's largest moons are Ganymede and Callisto, both low-density objects that are composed of more than half water ice. Callisto has an ancient cratered surface, while Ganymede shows evidence of extensive tectonic and volcanic activity, persisting until perhaps a billion years ago. Io and Europa are denser and smaller, each about the size of our Moon. Io is the most volcanically active object in the solar system. Various lines of evidence indicate that Europa has a global ocean of liquid water under a thick ice crust. Many scientists think that Europa may offer the most favorable environment in the solar system to search for life.

Compare and contrast the interior layers of the Giant planets.

jupiter - core is rocky/metallic. core surround by liquid ices. gases are compressed so much they liquefy uranaus & neptune - smaller and less pressure than saturn and Jupiter. more water and ices. saturn - similar to Jupiter; core makes up larger fraction of volume and its liquid hydrogen mantle is shallower than Jupiters - gases are compressed so much they liquefy

What is the "Great Red Spot" on Jupiter?

long-lasting giant storm on Jupiter almost 3x size of earth rotates counter clockwise with period of 6 days - winds on north flow westward - winds on south flow eastward spot made of clouds at high altitude - high pressure system

What creates the strong magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn?

rotational motion of liquid metallic hydrogen

Why are Uranus and Neptune called "Ice Giants"?

smaller and have much more water, water ice, and other ices - uranus is 19.2 au away from sun - neptune is 30 au from sun

Compare and contrast the temperature and composition of the cloud layers in the atmospheres of the Giant planets.

the clouds on Jupiter and saturn are colored by impurities - sulfur and phosphorus. uv light creates "smog" gas giants similar cloud layers temperature and pressure increase downward cloud layers have different heights the highest clouds on Uranus and neptune are methane ice. they are bluish because asorbtion of red/organge in sunlight by methane

Describe the effect the fast rotation rates have on the shape of each of the Giant planets.

the giant planets rotate rapidly, so their days are short and their shapes are distorted from perfectly spherical to oblate - they bulge and their equators and have overall flattened appearance. all giants have rapid rotation and therefore different amounts of flatness.

What is the magnetosphere? What does the magnetosphere protect Earth from?

the region around a planet dominated by the planet's magnetic field The magnetosphere shields our home planet from solar and cosmic particle radiation, as well as erosion of the atmosphere by the solar wind - the constant flow of charged particles streaming off the sun.

What is the magnetosphere? What do the energetic solar particles create on Earth as well as on Jupiter and Saturn?

the region surrounding the earth or another astronomical body in which its magnetic field is the predominant effective magnetic field. strong magnetospheres concentrate charged particles in radiation belts. they produce special type of radio waves known as synchrotron and radiation.

What object has the most mass in the entire solar system? What percentage do the Giant planets have of the non-solar mass of the solar system?

the sun 99.5%

What are the "visible surfaces" of the Giant planets?

the visible surfaces of Jupiter and saturn are the tops of their clouds.

1. Explain chemical differentiation.

· Gravity causing the densor iron to sink, forcing less dense material (silicon, etc) to rise to the surface.

1. What is plate tectonics? What are plates? Where do most earthquakes and volcanoes occur? How many plates does the Earth's crust have presently? How do the plates move?

· Plate tectonics: theory that explains how major landforms are created by earths movements. · Plates: slab of solid rock · Occur: most occur around plate boundries, because of these motionrs · 7 · Heat flows from the hot core to cool the crust through convection currents. The upper layer of mantle, the asthenosphere, is warm and soft enough to allow plastic flow.

Describe radioactive dating for rocks. What is the "half-life"?

· Rocks can be dated by comparing the radioactive elements (parent element) in them against amount of decay products (daughter protect). · Half-life: half of the parent element decays to the daughter product (e.g., after one half-life of time passes, half of parent has decayed)

1. Describe and explain the energy sources behind the constant change that we see in Earth's ocean/atmosphere and surface.

· Sun · Tidal effects due to Moon & Sun · Earth's own internal heat