Solar System E-Book

Using the formula, where would you expect to find Neptune?

38.8 AU

Which is the first event that occurs during solar system formation?

A large (100,000 AU), gas and dust-filled interstellar cloud forms

You're sitting outside on a clear night when all of a sudden you see a bright streak in the sky that quickly disappears. What most likely caused it?

A meteor

What other features do Jovian planets have that terrestrial planets lack? Check all that apply.

A system of rings and many moons

Objects in the Solar System have been battered and impacted by all types of smaller bodies. Based on this statement, which of the following conclusions is valid?

All of the planets, including the gas giants, were probably battered.

Which objects are found primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter?

Asteroids

What can you deduce about the orbit of a comet? Check all that apply.

Based on the shape of its orbit, the orbital period of a comet is probably long and comets probably originate at the edge of the Solar System because of the shape of their orbits.

What characteristics do comets and asteroids share?

Both contain rocky material

The meteorites we find on Earth could have been which of the following? Check all that apply.

Broken off piece of an asteroid, part of a terrestrial planet or the Moon, debris trail from a comet, or material left over from when the Solar System formed

Which objects have highly eccentric orbits that bring them close to the Sun?

Comets

Which objects originate in the outer Solar System?

Comets

Which of the following are characteristics of a comet's motion? Check all that apply.

Comets speed up during the course of their orbit when they are closer to the Sun, a comet's tail is always pointing away from the Sun, and as the comet moves along its orbital path away from the Sun, its tail diminishes.

What could possibly have formed craters this large? Check all that apply.

Comets, meteors, and asteroids

What evidence about the planets does the modern nebular theory explain? Check all that apply.

Composition of the planets and planetary orbits

Which of the following do you think were necessary in order to accept or refute the nebular theory as Laplace proposed it? Check all that apply.

Computer modeling of solar system formation, increased technology for observation of the planets and Sun, increased knowledge of physics and chemistry, and increased knowledge of the composition of the planets

Which of the following planet-like characteristics describe Earth's Moon? Check all that apply.

Cratering, high density, and rocky surface

What characteristic do all of the satellites orbiting planets in our Solar System share (excluding manmade satellites, of course)?

Craters

Looking at the images in the slide show, what are some of the features they all share? Check all that apply.

Craters on the surface and solid, rocky surface

Which of the following best explains why the terrestrial planets are found in the inner Solar System and the Jovian planets are found in the outer Solar System? Check all that apply.

Elements with a greater mass, such as iron, nickel, and silicon, cooled first. The strong gravitational influence of the Sun kept these elements concentrated in the inner Solar System and allowed the terrestrial planets to form and most of the lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium, as well as methane and ammonia gases, were blown to the outer Solar System by solar winds. Because there is less gravitational influence on these lighter gases, they remained in the outer Solar System and formed the Jovian planets.

Our understanding of Earth's place in the Solar System is NOT due to ________________.

Established dogma and bias easing the way for new discoveries

Which moons have evidence of liquid water? Check all that apply.

Europa and Enceladas

Why do a few of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn capture the interest of scientists? Check all that apply.

Evidence suggests the presence of hydrocarbons and evidence suggests the presence of liquid water

All meteorites are comets.

False

Comets form close to Earth on an irregular basis.

False

Which of the following are characteristics of a meteorite? Check all that apply.

Found on Earth's surface after partially burning up in the atmosphere, composition can be rocky or metallic, and a smaller piece of another body

The orbital path of a comet is most influenced by __________________.

Gravitational forces of larger bodies

Which of the following characteristics apply specifically to terrestrial planets? Check all that apply. You may use the table to the left or go back to the slide shows earlier in this Science Object if you need help.

High density and rotation period of an Earth-day or longer

What happened to the distance between the Sun and Earth as the Earth-Moon-Sun angle got larger? (Hint: Look at the difference in the angles shown on Slide 2 and Slide 3.)

It decreased

How do we think we know the age of the Solar System?

It isn't possible

What is the significance of intermediate bodies like Plutinos and other Kuiper-type objects? Check all that apply.

It shows that we have a lot of material in our Solar System to contribute to the objects that formed, these bodies contain valuable clues to the early days in the formation of the Solar System, and it explains where some of the moons might have originated.

How did seeing the movement of Jupiter's four moons help Galileo? Check all that apply.

It supported the idea of the Copernican model of the universe, it provided direct evidence of another planet with moons that orbit it, and it questioned the belief that all objects in the Universe orbit Earth.

Which planets have some type of ring system? Check all that apply.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

Which planets do NOT show evidence of ancient craters from meteors impacting the surface? Check all that apply.

Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus

Which planets have a thick, gaseous atmosphere and no solid surface? Check all that apply.

Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus

Which planet is closest to the Sun and has no moons?

Mercury

Which planets have solid surfaces? Check all that apply.

Mercury, Venus, Mars

Which objects are found on Earth's surface after having survived a trip through the atmosphere?

Meteorites

Which are small objects that typically form from the remnants of other bodies?

Meteoroids

Which of the following provide direct evidence that Earth goes around the Sun?

None of these provide direct evidence because early astronomers did not have direct evidence.

Which of the following are characteristics of an asteroid? Check all that apply.

Often found between Mars and Jupiter and composition is similar to that of terrestrial planets

Which of the following are characteristics of a comet? Check all that apply.

Often found in the outer Solar System, have erratic orbits that bring them near the Sun, and has an icy cover made of gases also found in the gas giant planets

Earth is

One of the eight planets that orbit the sun

Since we know early astronomers finally settled on a heliocentric "Universe," how can retrograde motion be explained without using a complex system of spheres as modeled by Ptolemy?

Planets closer to the Sun take less time to orbit, so as Earth passes planets farther out, they appear to change direction.

Which of the following characteristics apply specifically to Jovian planets? Check all that apply. You may use the table to the left or go back to the slide shows earlier in this Science Object if you need help.

Rings, no discernable surface, and large number of moons

Which planets in the slide show you just viewed seem to have some similar characteristics? Check all that apply.

Saturn and Jupiter and Mars and Mercury

A few years ago, we learned that a meteorite discovered in the Antarctic was from Mars. Which of the following statements might be evidence that would help scientists determine this relationship? Check all that apply.

Scientists know the composition of Mars' rocks and this meteorite had that same composition and meteorites contain pockets of air that contain an atmospheric signature of the environment in which they formed. The gases in this meteorite matched Mars' atmospheric readings.

What observations did you notice as you watched the animation? Check all that apply.

Several points of light moved independently of all the others and some points of light were grouped in patterns as they moved.

How would you describe the orbital path of an asteroid? Check all that apply.

Some asteroids orbit in such a way as to bring them close to Earth's orbit, some asteroids orbit in the same path as Jupiter, some asteroids have a defined orbit between Mars and Jupiter, and asteroids typically orbit in the same direction that the planets orbit.

What are some of the ways that we have discovered and learned about the planets? Check all that apply.

Technology, observations, and various telescopes

Imagine a new planet is discovered around a nearby star. Enough information is gathered from telescopes to be able to classify the planet. The planet is the second of six planets located 0.8 AU from the star. It has a rocky surface, an iron core and is about six times the size of Earth. Its rotational period is 49 hours. Which type of planet is it?

Terrestrial

At certain times of the month, it is possible to see the Sun and the Moon together in the daytime sky. Why did Aristarchus choose to use the days when half of the Moon (in either the 1st or 3rd quarter phase) was visible as the basis for his calculations? Check all that apply.

The Moon shines due to reflected sunlight, and the angle between the Moon, Earth, and the Sun determines the phase of the Moon and this position would create a right angle between the Sun, Earth, and the Moon.

Which of the following objects is furthest from the Sun?

The Oort Cloud

The Earth-Moon-Sun angle is greater than originally thought, which means that the Sun is farther away from Earth than the Moon. What does this tell us about the size of the Sun?

The Sun is much larger than the Moon.

What evidence do we have to determine when the Solar System formed?

The age and composition of meteorites and other primitive material

Some stars don't have planets. What factor would have the greatest influence on whether planets would form or not?

The amount of dusty material in the cloud

What might you predict about the formation of asteroids, meteorites, and comets? Check all that apply.

They formed at the same time as the planets, they contain the same material that formed the planets, and some of them could be the oldest bodies in the Solar System.

How did telescopes improve our understanding of the Solar System? Check all that apply.

They helped determine where Venus and Mercury orbit in relation to the Sun and Earth, they showed moons orbiting planets other than Earth, and they allowed undiscovered planets and other bodies to be seen and their movement to be tracked.

In discovering hundreds of extrasolar planets, scientists have identified plenty of Jovian-like planets but few terrestrial-like planets. What is the most likely reason so few terrestrial-like planets have been detected thus far?

They likely form closer to stars than Jovian planets so they may be difficult to detect.

What can you deduce about the origin of the moons of Mars and some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn which have similar structure? Check all that apply.

They may be asteroids captured by the planet's gravitational force and They are more similar in shape to an asteroid than are moons around other planets.

Which pieces of evidence explain how we know that most comets have such long orbits? Check all that apply.

They originate in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud and their icy structure shows they must have come from a region colder than the inner Solar System.

Based on the images in the slide show, what characteristics do the Jovian planets share? Check all that apply.

Thick atmosphere and complex cloud motions

Comets are balls of dirty ice left over from the formation of our Solar System.

True

Comets have a defined periodic orbit.

True

Meteor showers can contain hundreds of thousands of individual meteoroids.

True

Which planet is tilted on its axis so that it revolves around the Sun on its side?

Uranus

Which of the following exceptions can be explained by collisions happening as part of their evolution? Check all that apply.

Uranus's axial tilt and the orbits of the moons

Which planets have significant atmospheres? Check all that apply.

Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

Which planets show evidence of tectonic activity in the form of volcanoes (active or inactive), mountains, and lava flows? Check all that apply.

Venus, Earth, and Mars

What is the best piece of evidence that the Solar System formed from a gaseous nebula from recycled stellar material?

We can see the same processes of formation occurring in other solar systems.

How does the discovery of new planets help us understand our Solar System?

We've learned that planets orbiting a star are not unique to our Solar System and similar processes may be at work.

Which of the following illustrates retrograde motion? Check all that apply.

When an object travels in a pattern different from the movement of background stars and appears to stop and reverse its path in the sky and as Earth and Mars are orbiting the Sun, Earth moves past Mars due to Earth's closer orbit around the Sun.

Which of the following conditions would help you determine that the distance to the Sun is greater than the distance to the Moon? Check all that apply.

When the Moon eclipses the Sun, when the Sun-Earth-Moon angle is 90 degrees, and when the Sun is visible at the same time as the Moon appears half-lit (in its first or third quarter moon phase)

The anomalies in the structure of the Solar System pose a problem. Can they be reconciled to our model?

Yes, but there needs to be further study and other processes incorporated.

Debris from a comet or asteroid that is found on Earth's surface after it did not burn up completely as it fell through the atmosphere is called a _____________.

meteorite

Which of the following characteristics are shared by comets, asteroids, and meteorites? Check all that apply.

They all contain some rocky material and they are made from material that dates to the formation of the Solar System.

What happens to meteors as they fall through Earth's atmosphere?

They burn up due to friction as they move through the atmosphere at high speeds.

Why is it important to use space-based telescopes or spacecraft to extend our ability to observe the Solar System? Check all that apply.

They can be designed to collect data and images in different wavelengths, optical clarity is improved, they are able to focus on the same region of space for a longer continuous period of time, and they are able to gather more information from a closer vantage point.

The different characteristics and features of the inner and outer planets can be attributed to which of the following?

The gravitational influence on material of varying mass

What conclusions might you draw from what you observed? Check all that apply.

The majority of the points of light all move together as though on a sphere, there are points of light that look like stars, but may be different objects, and more than one pattern of motion can be observed in the night sky from Earth.

Which of the following must be considered when demonstrating a scale-model of our Solar System? Check all that apply.

The size of the Sun, planets, and other bodies, the distance between the bodies, and the amount of space required

As we move farther out into the Solar System, the number of moons orbiting the planets increases. Why might this be the case?

The strong gravity of the larger outer planets captured material that gradually gathered (accreted) to form the moons around them.