Solar System Final (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Asteroids, Jupiter & Saturn, Uranus & Neptune,, Comets

(Unit 1 - Our Planetary Neighborhood) What is a dwarf planet? Name two objects currently in this category.

-?? -Pluto and Ceres

(Unit 1 - Our Planetary Neighborhood) About how many times bigger in radius is the Sun than Earth? How many times bigger in mass?

-??1000 times - ??

Scarp

-A cliff produced by vertical movement of a section of the crust of a planet or satellite -Scarps in Mercury's crust suggest that... core has shrunk as it has cooled -Scarps are one kind of wrinkle

(Inner Planets: Unit 40- Mercury) What are scarps? How might they have formed?

-A cliff produced by vertical movement of a section of the crust of a planet satellite (40.1) -

(Unit 35 - The Origin of the Solar System) What is the difference between condensation & accretion? What are planetesimals?

-Accretion is the addition of matter to a body. Examples are gas falling onto a star and asteroids colliding and sticking together. Whereas condensation is conversion of free gas atoms or molecules into a liquid or solid. A snowflake forms in our atmosphere when water vapor condenses into ice. -Planetesimals one of the numerous small, solid bodies that, when gathered together by gravity, form a planet.

Martians moons

-All that is true about the Martian moons: · They are only a few tens of kilometers across. · They are named Phobos and Deimos. · Their surfaces have craters and dust -Mars has two small moons that may captured asteroids or debris from a....Collision like the one that created our Moon. -Statements that are true about Mars's moons: · They have craters on their surfaces. · They are likely to be captured asteroids. · They are not spherical. -True or false: A moon that orbits a planet faster than the planet rotates will rise in the west and set in the east, if both are moving counterclockwise as seen from above. · True (Reason: This is true of Phobos, one of Mars' moons).

Features on Mars

-All the features that are evidence of past geologic activity on Mars... Giant volcanic mountains such as Olympus Mons · Giant rifts such as the Valles Marineris -Mars has huge volcanoes and a long chasm that may have...Opened up as the result of internal tectonic or geological activity. -Water-ice is present under the surface in...Many regions and is kilometers thick at the poles

(Inner Planets: Unit 41- Venus) What gas dominates Venus's atmosphere? How is this known?

-CO2 -

Earth and Mars

-Comparisons of the Earth and Mars... · Both planets have four seasons. · Temperatures are sometimes above 0° C. · The length of a solar day is similar (Reason: Mars's day is only 40 minutes longer than Earth's). -In Mars's surface conditions, rotation period, and axis tilt, Mars is more similar to Earth than any other planet in our Solar System. -The dream of many science fiction stories is that it might be possible to "terraform" Mars (to make it more like Earth) so that its environment would be suitable for humans. How might this be done? Seeing if there is seepage underground to find a resource of water to live on Mars.

Mercury's orbital period, rotational period, solar day, year, etc.

-How long does it take from sunrise to sunrise on Mercury? Two orbital periods, a total of 176 Earth days (Reason: The combination of Mercury's 58.7 Earth day rotation period and its 88 Earth day revolution period results in a two-orbit solar day). -One year on Mercury is... 88 Earth days; shorter than a solar day on Mercury -One day on Mercury is 176 Earth days, longer than its rotation period -T/F: Mercury's solar day is twice as long as its year. True or false: As a result, sometimes the Sun travels backwards across the sky during the dayTrue (Reason: The Sun moves backwards near perihelion, when the orbital motion changes the Sun's position faster than the rotation). -Mercury's orbital period is 88 Earth days. Its rotational period is 58.6 Earth days. From this and the figure, we can infer that... Tidal interactions between the Sun and Mercury have been important; The solar day (noon to noon) is 176 days; Mercury spins three times for every two orbits.

Mercury's interior

-Layers of Mercury's interior... Iron-nickel core (and perhaps sulfur), Silicate mantle, & Silicate crust -The silicate skin on a large iron-nickel core is due to Mercury's density & gravitational field -A rotating liquid core of iron & sulfur could explain Mercury's properties, such as, wobbles on it's axis and has a magnetic field. ---due to Mercury's liquid (molten) core is why Mercury wobbles a bit on its axis & has a magnetic field

Mar's surface

-Mars once had large bodies of water on its surface, what observations support this? · Compounds that form in water have been detected using spectra. · Images show features that appear to be dried-up river channels or lakes. · Substantial ice is currently present in the polar caps and under the surface. · Mars -What materials besides water ice might explain the Hydrogen detected on Mars's surface by the Odyssey spacecraft? Would these be likely? Mars probably had extensive liquid water on its surface when it was young. -Surface features imply that Mars once had bodies of...Liquid water, flowing streams, and deposited layers of sedimentary rock. -Today we think that liquid water cannot exist on Mars due to the low atmospheric pressure. Evidence that ice is present at or near the surface: · Ground-penetrating radar found the polar caps are mostly water ice. · Landers have excavated ice (Reason: The Phoenix lander dug up ice in 2008).

Mar's atmosphere

-Mars' atmosphere has a percentage of carbon dioxide that is much higher than Earth's and about the same as Venus'. -Possible explanations for how Mars has lost so much of its atmosphere.... · Low gravity allows gas to escape. · The weak magnetic field allows the solar wind to strip gas. · Major asteroid impacts disrupted the atmosphere -Mars's thinning atmosphere, several billion years ago allowed... the surface to cool to below the freezing temperature of water. -The atmosphere is now too thin for liquid water to remain the surface of Mars, but....There may be seepage from underground -Match the property of Mars to how it affects the density of Mars's atmosphere over time: · Small mass — A low escape velocity means molecules in the atmosphere can escape · Weak magnetic field —The solar wind can directly interact with the upper atmosphere, stripping it · No recent volcanic activity —The atmospheric gases are not replenished regularly. · No plant life or rain —Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere. -About how dense is Mars's atmosphere, compared to the Earths? · 1% (Reason: Mars likely had more atmosphere in the distant past, but with a weak magnetic field and a small mass, it easily loses gas to space).

Mar's interior

-Mars' interior is most similar to... Earth and Venus (Reason: Mars has a partially molten core about half the radius of the planet, composed mainly of iron and surrounded by a rocky mantle and a silicate rock crust). -The interior of Mars appears to have...Cooled, but volcanic activity may still have occurred in the last few hundred million years.

Mercury's volcanic activity

-Mercury has had more volcanic activity than the Moon. -Mercury has more volcanic activity than the Moon due to... it's magnetic field and rotational wobble implying the interior is still molten. -Astronomers believe pits or hollows on Mercury's surface is due to volcanic activity or volcanic venting, which might have been indirectly caused by impacts altering the crust -

Mercury's surface

-Mercury's surface experiences extremes of hot and cold because... It is so close to the Sun and has such a long night -Surface features you might find on Mercury: Craters,(Solidified) Lava floods, Scarps, Volcanic vents, Surface stretching & wrinkling -On Mercury's surface... Large impact crater occurred first, then lava flow, and then small crater -Where did the ice seen on Mercury come from? Comets carrying water that struck the surface and vaporized, would try to escape to space, but would be slowed down by Mercury's gravity; Which then may result in the vapor drifting toward Mercury's cold polar regions and cause them to freeze. Or, from volcanic outgassing where gases are released which includes water vapor, and water vapor is destined to escape to space. But the water vapor from the gases would be slowed to down due to Mercury's gravity hanging onto them, which may result in them drifting towards Mercury's cold polar regions, causing them to freeze there. And over billions of years, the frost deposits (frozen water vapors from comets or volcanic outgases) may have built up the ice.

(Inner Planets: Unit 40- Mercury) Why does Mercury have no atmosphere? How does this affect Mercury's temperature?

-Mercury's temperature is very high & it's mass is very low -Mercury's no atmosphere is affected by its high temperature because ....

Seasons on Mars

-Seasonal changes on Mars.... Dust storms are more common during the southern summer. · Laminated terrain forms near the poles. · The polar caps shrink in the summer. -Causes Mars's seasonal changes: · Orbital shape (Reason: Mars's distance to the Sun changes 20% over its orbit) · Axial tilt of 25 -The warmest temperatures on Mars are about 10°C (283 K or 50°F), chilly but comfortable (Reason: During a warm time of year, the temperature at the Martian equator is quite reasonable. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is still only about 1% as dense as Earth's). -Winds occasionally raise global dust storms that have covered the entire planet with red dust.

Carol Basin

-The largest impact crater region yet seen on Mercury. -The Caloris Basin is a huge impact feature that is somewhat like a.... Lunar mare. -Its circular shape and the presence of odd terrain on the opposite side of the planet from it indicates that the Caloris Basin on Mercury was likely caused by... A massive impact (Reason: The circular shape indicates the impact, and the global effect shows is was massive).

(Inner Planets: Unit 41- Venus) How is Venus's rotation unusual? What might have caused this?

-Venus has a rotational period of 243 days and an orbital period of 225 days. It also spins backwards (retrograde) compared to the orbital motion · The Sun rises in the west · The solar day is shorter than the rotation period. · The stars that rise, rise in the west.

(Unit 1 - Our Planetary Neighborhood) What are the eight planets in order of distance from the Sun?

1. Mercury (0.4 AU) [closest to the Sun] 2. Venus (0.7 AU) 3. Earth (1.0 AU) 4. Mars (1.5 AU) 5. Jupiter (5.2 AU) 6. Saturn (9.5 AU) 7. Uranus (19 AU) 8. Neptune (30 AU) [farthest from the Sun]

(Unit 1 - Our Planetary Neighborhood) Which planets are most similar to Earth?

??Venus and Mars

(Unit 1 - Our Planetary Neighborhood) Besides the Sun and planets, what other kinds of objects are members of the Solar System?

?Asteroids, comets,

Valles Marineris

A canyon feature on Mars stretching thousands of kilometers.

Tharsis bulge

A large volcanic region on Mars rising about 10 km above surrounding regions.

Olympus Mons

A volcano on Mars, the largest volcanic peak in the Solar System.

Laminated terrain

Alternating layers of ice and dust seen in the ice caps of Mars. The layers appear to reflect climate changes caused by long-term orbital variations.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite— A continent-like highland region on the planet Venus.

(Inner Planets: Unit 42- Mars) Why is it impossible for Mars to have liquid water on its surface today?

Due to.. · Low gravity allows gas to escape. · The weak magnetic field allows the solar wind to strip gas. · Major asteroid impacts disrupted the atmosphere

Fault

Fault—In geology, a crack or break in the crust of a planet along which slippage or movement can take place.

Greenhouse gas (definition and results)

Greenhouse gas— A molecule, such as carbon dioxide, methane, or water vapor, that efficiently absorbs infrared radiation. Results of Venus's greenhouse effect include: —Little change in temperature from day to night; and —Surface temperatures much hotter than can be explained by Venus's distance from the Sun.

Would it be possible to make Venus a habitable place for humans if we could somehow block enough of the Sun's light so that Venus received an amount similar to what Earth receives?

I do not think so unless there is a way to create 50% of oxygen and reduce the CO2 (carbon dioxide)

Ishstar

Ishstar—A continent-like highland region on Venus.

(Inner Planets: Unit 42- Mars) What is the Martian atmosphere like?

Mars' atmosphere has a percentage of carbon dioxide that is much higher than Earth's and about the same as Venus'.

Maxwell Montes

Maxwell Montes— A set of mountains on Venus, including the tallest volcano; one of the first features detected by radar imaging.

(Inner Planets: Unit 40- Mercury) How can Mercury's day be longer than its year?

Mercury rotates very slowly, spinning three times for every two orbits, making its day longer than its year

Mercury's surface resembles the Moon in being...

Mercury's surface resembles the Moon in being heavily cratered, having large ancient lava flows, and lacking an atmosphere.

Deimos

One of the two small moons of Mars, probably a captured asteroid.

Phobos

One of the two small moons of Mars, thought to be a captured asteroid. Its close orbit will cause it eventually to spiral into the planet.

If astronauts were to someday explore the surface of Venus, what kind of protection would they need?

Oxygen tanks, protection from the Sun, proper gear to climb mountains and walk and move on extremely hot surfaces and rocky areas, and lots of water.

Pancake dome

Pancake domes—Unusual surface feature on Venus , they appear as "blisters" of uplifted rock that may be produced by volcanic activity.

Photodissociation

Photodissociation— the breaking apart of a molecule by intense radiation.

Radar imaging

Radar imaging— is done through radio wavelengths, which Venus thick clouds do not stop radio waves.

Retrograde spin

Retrograde spin— A spin backward from the unusual orbital direction. For example, seen from above their north poles, most of the planets orbit and spin in a counterclockwise direction; however, a few have a retrograde spin. True, Venus rotates backwards slowly because of a major collision when it formed and is why 1 day for Venus is half the length of its year. —Venus was struck late in the formation process by a large planetesimal. —Venus retrograde spin is a result of tidal interactions with the Sun, Earth and other planets (Reason: Interaction with the Sun alone would not explain it, but detailed modeling shows once nearly tidally locked to the Sun, other planets could nudge Venus into the rotation observed). False, Tidal braking with the Sun is NOT sufficient to explain Venus' retrograde rotation. Consequences of the retrograde motion: —The Sun rises in the west; —The solar day is shorter than the rotation period; and —Stars that rise, rise in the west.

Runaway greenhouse effect

Runaway greenhouse effect— An uncontrollable process in which the heating of a planet leads to an increase in its atmospheric greenhouse effect and thus to further heating. The process significantly alters the composition of the planet's atmosphere and the temperature of its surface. The runaway greenhouse effect is why Venus's atmosphere is extremely hot and dense.

Similar properties of the Earth and Venus and differences.

Similarities: —A core made of iron-nickel and a mantle of rocky silicates —Total mass of about 1 M⊕ Venus is similar to Earth in size, density, and equatorial radius. Differences: —Grids of narrow cracks and Pancake domes are not found on Earth as they are on Venus. Venus's atmosphere is very different from Earth's by: —Atmospheric density; —Surface temperature; and —Atmospheric composition (it is almost entirely carbon dioxide).

(Unit 34 - Structure of the Solar System) What properties distinguish the terrestrial from the Jovian planets?

Terrestrial planets have... ?? while Jovian planets have high temperatures, large bodies,... ?

Perihelion

The point in a planet's orbit where it is closest to the Sun.

(Unit 35 - The Origin of the Solar System) What is the Solar Nebula? What shape does it have, and why?

The rotating disk of gas & dust from which the Sun & planets formed. Shape?

If comets carrying enough water to create an ocean collided with Mercury, what do you suppose would happen?

They would turn into ice by either the water trucking mercury's surface and vaporizing, drifting toward Mercury's cold polar regions and freeze or wo

Methods

Venus undergoes resurfacing by what method? —Periodic Major Resurfacing Events (Reason: The internal heat of Venus builds until it is released in a major event) Methods astronomers used to observe Venus's surface: · Spacecraft Landers to photograph the surface (Reason: Soviet Venera missions between the late 1960s to the early 1980s obtained radar and a few photographic images of the surface) and; · Radar Mapping (Reason: The US orbiter Magellan, as well as ground-based telescopes on Earth, have used radar to penetrate the clouds and map the geology of the surface). —We have mapped the surface of Venus by bouncing radar off the surface from satellites and Earth (reason: Venus's clouds are thick but do not block radio waves). True, Several Soviet spacecraft successfully transmitted images of the surface of Venus before succumbing to the intense heat and pressure of the Venusian surface. (Reason: Even though each only survived for a few hours, between 1970 and 1981, several Venera landers made it to the surface and transmitted pictures).

Venus's atmosphere

Venus's atmosphere: —Temperature hotter than Mercury's near the surface; —Clouds of sulfuric acid; and —More than 90% CO2. The CO2 (carbon dioxide) atmosphere has created conditions for a runaway greenhouse effect, making Venus hotter than Mercury even though Mercury is closer to the Sun than Venus! In Venus's atmosphere and weather: · Lightning occurs in the sky; and · The surface temperature is in excess of 700 K. —H2O rises to the top and is broken up by ultraviolet light, which is a process called photodissociation. —Atoms do not re-form into water because the freed Hydrogen atoms are too light for Venus's gravity to hang on to, and many escape to space, and Oxygen eventually combines with Carbon (Reason: The hydrogen and oxygen that remain may eventually become part of sulfur compounds).

Venus's internal heating

Venus's internal heat affects its surface by: —Rising plumes of melted rock stretch the surface and crack it and Domes, uplifted regions, and faults result; —The crust is too thick to break into plates and move, but convection in the mantle causes bulges, volcanoes, and wrinkles in the crust; and —Heat builds in Venus's interior, melting the underside of the crust, periodically, breaks occur and massive lava floods renew the surface. Radar images show volcanoes and crustal bulges from internal heating (but it is unclear when volcanic activity last occurred)

Venus's thick crust may prevent..

Venus's thick crust may prevent tectonic activity, like tectonic plates, and possibly impact craters if there is geological activity happening to erase them.

How would a Mercury-mass planet at Earth's distance from the Sun, be different from Mercury?

Would have crustal plate tectonics because of internal heat and having enough of it, which Mercury does not have.

(Unit 38 - Earth's Atmosphere & Hydrosphere) What are the major layers of Earth's atmosphere, and what are the major features of each layer?

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(Unit 1 - Our Planetary Neighborhood) Astronomical unit (AU)

a distance unit based on the average distance of Earth from the Sun

(Unit 35 - The Origin of the Solar System) What is differentiation? Why is it more likely to have occurred in the larger bodies in the Solar System?

the separation of previously mixed material inside a planet or other object. An example of differentiation is the separation that occurs when a dense material, like iron, settles to the planet's core, leaving lighter material on the surface. Differentiation is more likely to have occurred in the larger bodies in the Solar System because ...?

(Inner Planets: Unit 41- Venus) How does Venus compare with Earth in mass & radius?

· A core made of iron-nickel and a mantle of rocky silicates Total mass of about 1 M

(Inner Planets: Unit 41- Venus) How does Venus's surface differ from Earth's? How have astronomers determined what the surface of Venus is like?

· Atmospheric density · Surface temperature · Atmospheric composition · Grids of narrow cracks (feature on Venus) · Pancake domes (feature on Venus) · Volcanic mountains (feature on Venus) · Pancake domes (feature on Venus) · Continent-like masses (feature on Venus)

(Inner Planets: Unit 42- Mars) What is the evidence that Mars once had running water on its surface? Is there evidence for water in any form today?

· Compounds that form in water have been detected using spectra. · Images show features that appear to be dried-up river channels or lakes. · Substantial ice is currently present in the polar caps and under the surface. · Mars no.

Missions in Mars

· Curiosity rover — Climbed Mt. Sharp, a water- and wind- eroded sedimentary mound inside a crater. · Opportunity rover — Studied martian "blueberries", which are hematite nodules that form in water. · Spirit rover — Found minerals in layered rock outcrops that appeared to be formed through sedimentary processes. · Phoenix lander — Scooped up and chemically analyzed surface rock, exposing sub-surface ice. · Sojourner rover (Pathfinder lander) — Demonstrated we could operate a robotic rover on Mars Viking 1 and 2 — First successful landers, took pictures in 1976 · Pathfinder — Launched the Sojourner rover to explore a dead flood plain · Mars Odyssey — Orbiter that mapped hydrogen (interpreted as being in H2O) under the surface · Spirit & Opportunity — Rovers that explored valleys, plains, and craters, analyzing rocks and soil -The Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity successfully found evidence that... liquid water was once present on the surface of Mars. (Reason: The Rovers found evidence liquid water was present on the surface in the past). · Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter — Orbiter capable of taking high-resolution images of the surface showing few meter-sized features

(Inner Planets: Unit 42- Mars) What evidence indicates that Mars was once geologically very active but has been geologically inactive for hundreds of millions or billions of years?

· Giant volcanic mountains such as Olympus Mons · Giant rifts such as the Valles Marineris

Venus's rotation:

—It is retrograde compared to its orbit; —It causes the solar day to be shorter than the rotation period and; —One 360° turn versus the stars takes longer than a 360° orbit. Venus has a rotational period of 243 days, and an orbital period of 225 days.

The water on Venus

—Venus's water evaporated in the heat. —Molecules drifted to the upper atmosphere and were split by ultraviolet light. —The hydrogen escaped to space. Liquid water may once have been present, but it boiled away, and sunlight broke down the H2O (photodissociation) allowing the hydrogen to escape.

Venus's features

—Volcanic mountains —Pancake (or lava) domes —Continent-like masses Two small continents: Aphrodite & Ishstar. The unusual circular features found on Venus's surface are called pancake (or lava) domes. True, the surface has been mapped by radar, showing two small "continents" (Aphrodite & Ishstar) and smooth low-lying lava plains cover most of the surface.