Earth/Space Sections 23.3 and 23.4
Which Jovian planets have rings?
All of them
What kind of atmosphere does Jupiter have?
Hydrogen-helium
What is similar between Saturn's moon Titan and Neptune's moon Triton?
Only moons in solar system to have substantial atmospheres/dense gaseous covers
Where do long-period comets come from?
Oort Cloud
What is Neptune's Great Dark Spot?
Rotating storm
What is a dwarf planet?
Round object orbiting the sun that hasn't cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
What are Jupiter's rings made of?
Smoke like particles and fragments from moons
How fast are the winds on Saturn?
Up to 1500 miles per hour
Where do comets rarely go?
inner solar system
What are comets?
small bodies made up of rocky and metallic pieces held together by frozen gases
What kind of core does Jupiter have?
Metallic/rocky
What is special about Uranus's axis?
Nearly parallel with plane of orbit (looks like it's rolling)
What is Jupiter's Great Spot?
Cyclonic storm
What causes the bands on Jupiter?
Different elements and wind
Where do short-period comets come from?
Kuiper Belt
What is a meteorite?
any portion of a meteoroid that reaches Earth's surface
What kind of orbits do most Kuiper belt comets have?
circular orbits that are roughly in the same plane as the planets
What is the largest asteroid?
dwarf planet Ceres
What is a meteor?
luminous phenomenon observed when a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up (shooting star)
What can be detected with a coma?
small glowing nucleus with a small diameter
How many moons does Neptune have?
13
What is the largest moon is the solar system (which is one of Jupiter's moons)?
Ganymede
What causes planets to not clear the area around their orbits?
Gravity is too weak to attract debris
Which of Jupiter's moons is volcanic?
Io
How many moons does Pluto have?
1 (Charon)
What are the two categories of ring densities?
Faint rings composed of fine particles that are widely dispersed and thicker, or tightly packed rings that contain moonlets ranging in size
How much bigger is the mass of Jupiter than all the other planets and moons combined?
2.5 times
What are the orbital periods of asteroids?
3 to 6 years
How many moons does Saturn have?
56
How many moons does Jupiter have?
63
How long is Halley's Comet's orbit?
76 years
What would cause Uranus's special axis?
Altered by giant meteoric impact
What is the most prominent feature of Saturn?
Complex rings
Why isn't Pluto a planet?
Doesn't clear neighborhood around orbit
Where does Pluto occasionally travel?
Inside orbit of Neptune
Name 4 of Jupiter's moons.
Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto
What are moonlets?
Particles of ice and rock that collide frequently
What is Saturn's largest moon?
Titan
Which moon has retrograde motion?
Triton
How fast are the winds on Neptune?
Up to 1000 kilometers per hour
Which space craft discovered Jupiter's moons?
Voyager 1
Where are most asteroids located?
between orbits of Mars and Jupiter
Where did asteroids probably originate?
from larger bodies (planets)
What is a coma?
fuzzy, gaseous component of a comet's head
Where do most meteoroids originate form?
interplanetary debris that was not swept up by planets, material form the asteroid belt, or solid remains of comets that were once near Earth
What is Halley's comet?
most famous short-period comet
What is an asteroid?
small, rocky body that orbits the sun and whose diameter is greater than 10 meters
What is a meteoroid?
small, solid particle that travels though space
What is the Oort cloud?
spherical shell around the solar system
What do comets revolve around?
sun (in elongated orbits)
What do some comets develop?
tails made of ionized gases and dust
Where do tails of comets point and why?
tails point away from the sun because of solar wind and radiation pressure
