Solar System
Explain what makes a planet a planet.
A planet has to be in orbit around the sun. Has to have a sufficient mass to assume a nearly round shape. Can't be a satellite (moon). And lastly has as cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
Describe the structure of a comet and be able to label a diagram.
COMETS - A comet is made of rocky and metallic materials that are held together with ice - water, ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Describe and identify the physical features on the surface of the sun.
Some features of the sun are sunspots, prominences, and solar flares.
Classify the planets in our solar system as Jovian or terrestrial.
Terrestrial- Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Jovian- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto
Describe the distinguishing characteristics of each Jovian planet.
Jupiter- Stormy planet, 2.5 x's larger than all of the planets combined, made of gas and liquid has no solid surface, core is liquid hydrogen Temperatures found on Jupiter-200⁰F to 35,000⁰F. Jupiter Radiates more energy than it receives from the sun. The red spot on Jupiter's surface is a massive storm that over time has changed in size Key to Earth's survival = gravity from Jupiter deflects many asteroids and/or celestial debris - it is thought to protect earth Jupiter has 63+ moons Europa is thought to be covered with more water than there is on Earth Scientist think there may be life there Jupiter studied by: Pioneer 70's, Galileo 1995 (orbiter 8 years), Voyager I, II 70's Juno - to arrive July 2016 Other interesting facts - Voyager I discovered that Jupiter had a ring system - made of dust-like fragments Hydrogen (90%) -helium (10%) atmosphere Colored layers of atmosphere Magnetic field 14(4 ?) x's stronger than ours 3rd brightest object in the sky Named for Roman King of the Gods Made up of gas and liquid and has a solid rocky core Rotates every 10 hours on its axis Planet would have to be 80 x's larger more massive to become a star Core is bigger - 10-15 x's earth's Saturn- Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun. It is 9x's the mass of Earth. Saturn has lots of moon, rings of rock and ice, its core is made of ice surrounded by liquid metallic hydrogen with an outer layer of hydrogen, helium and traces of water, methane and ammonia. It has no definable surface. The rings of Saturn are thought to be made of millions of tiny particles, water ice and rock, size of a car to the size of dust...remnants of an ancient moon that somehow crumbled 21,000˚F = core temperature to -245˚F in the atmosphere 900 million miles from the sun 29.5 years to orbit the sun Cloudy atmosphere, atmospheric pressure so great that it squeezes gases into liquids, layers of atmosphere Saturn has over 60+ moons. Titan is the size of Mercury, has a significant atmosphere possibly similar to that of a young earth. Has lakes of liquid methane Cassini discovered Saturn's ring, still operational Probe carried by Cassini that landed on Titan - took photos of the moon, determined there were lakes of liquid methane Uranus- Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun. Uranus - Made of gas, has no solid surface - a gas and ice giant, appears as a solid blue ball Uranus is the 3rd largest planet and is 4 x's the mass of Earth. A day on Uranus is 18 hours long and it takes 84 years for the planet to travel around the sun. The equator runs from north to south, rings run from North to South as well Voyager II only space craft to visit - studied, rings, position of the axis...photographed Other interesting facts - Seasonal storms with winds up to 300 mph, can cover an area the size of North America Core could contain diamonds Could have an ocean of liquid water with methane The methane absorbs red light and that is why the planet appears to be blue -350˚ F year round Axis is tipped possible because an asteroid impact and some of the rings are made up of water, rocks and ice Not recognized as a planet until 1781 Named for the father of Saturn 27 moons Has 90% of earth's gravity Pluto- Smallest planet in the solar system - closest to the sunhttps://sites.google.com/a/thewilliamsschool.net/mrs-bird-s-solar-system-folder/the-jovian-planets/PIA16853mercury.jpg?attredirects=0 Barely larger than our moon Temp. ranges from 880o F to -300o below 0 48 million miles from Earth 88 day to orbit (revolve around) the sun 1 day = 59 Earth Days 2nd most dense planet, Earth being the most 2/3's metallic and 1/3rd rock (silica), solid iron core 42% of Mercury's mass Weak atmosphere if any, no weather, no gases, no magnetosphere to protect from space debris = deep craters Erosion by heat but there is thought to be water (ice) in the shaded areas of the poles Mariner 10, 1974 visited and photographed 1/2 of the planet. NASA Messenger, 2008 to present - high resolution photos, now is a satellite to Mercury
Explain the possible origins for a meteoroid.
1. interplanetary debris that was not caught in the gravitational pull of a larger object during the formation of our solar system. 2. material from the asteroid belt 3. comet remains that once traveled near Earth's orbit
Explain how a refracting, reflecting and radio telescopes work.
A refracting telescope works by bending light with its lenses. It gathers and focuses the light by using the objective lens to make a small image of the object and using the eyepiece lens to magnify the image. A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is an optical telescope which uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The surface of radio telescopes concentrate the faint radio waves from outer space onto small antennas like those on radios.
Explain the structure of the sun and be able to label a diagram of the sun.
Along with your explanation, be sure to include a labeled diagram of the structure of our sun. The sun can be divided into for parts: the solar interior, the visible surface, or photoshpere; and two atmospheric layers, the chromosphere and corona.
List, in order of wavelength, the visible light spectrum.
Gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet rays, visible light, infrared rays. microwaves and radar waves, and then television and radio waves.
Explain what Blue-shift and Red-shift are describing
In astronomy, the Doppler effect is used to determine whether a star or other body in space is moving away from or toward Earth.
Identify the location of all of the planets, the asteroid belt and the sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto. The asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter. The sun is located before all the planets.
Describe the distinguishing characteristics of each terrestrial planet.
Mercury- Smallest planet in the solar system - closest to the sunhttps: Barely larger than our moon Temp. ranges from 880o F to -300o below 0 48 million miles from Earth 88 day to orbit (revolve around) the sun 1 day = 59 Earth Days 2nd most dense planet, Earth being the most 2/3's metallic and 1/3rd rock (silica), solid iron core 42% of Mercury's mass Weak atmosphere if any, no weather, no gases, no magnetosphere to protect from space debris = deep craters Erosion by heat but there is thought to be water (ice) in the shaded areas of the poles Mariner 10, 1974 visited and photographed 1/2 of the planet. NASA Messenger, 2008 to present - high resolution photos, now is a satellite to Mercury Venus- Second planet from the sun - called the morning/evening star Closest planet to Earth Similar to size, gravity and composition of Earth Deadly planet - Surface temp 900o F - has run away greenhouse effect Sulfuric acid clouds with hurricane force winds Corrosive atmosphere - meteors incinerated before they can reach the surface Desert-like landscape, dense cloud cover, sand dunes, lots of geological activity (100,000+ volcanoes) Core Iron with a molten mantle, similar to earth's Days are longer than a year on Venus 1970 Russian Space probe landed-lasted 23 minutes on Venus' surface Presently, Venus Express was launched in 2006 and is still transmitting back data - proved Venus still had geological activity. Earth- Earth (ground, soil) - much life - largest terrestrial planet Formed from space debris, just like the other planets, as the sun cooled 5th largest planet in the solar system 4.6 billion years old moon its only natural satellite - 239,000 miles away Core - inner is solid iron, outer is liquid, the layer is the mantel which is melted rock. On top of the mantle there is a rocky crust that is made out of plates. Earth has geological activity - earthquakes, volcanoes Atmosphere is held in place by gravity - Nitrogen 78%, Oxygen 21%, ePs shorter Polarity switches from N to S -precession Water key to life - 74% of Earth's surface is water; freshwater, oceans, groundwater, water vapor, ice caps Impact of man - global warming may be contributing to the greenhouse effect as a result of more greenhouse gases being added to the atmosphere CO2 Mars- 4th planet from the sun Known as the Red planet, gets its coloring form iron rich rock that has rusted. Rolling plains, mountain ranges, canyons, valleys with a surface covered with volcanic rock Highest mountain in the solar system - Olympus Mons - 340 miles wide and 6.7 miles high - volcanic mountain that is still growing Biggest canyon in the solar system - Valles Marineris - 2500 miles long (NY to LA) and 125 miles wide no plate tectonics but there is volcanic activity Mars is 1/2 the size of earth and it has an eccentric orbit around the sun Atmosphere Winter temps can go as low as -220oF and summertime temps are 60oF Has a tilted axis but seasons are uneven due to the eccentric orbit of the planet Mostly CO2 Has weather with winds - global dust storms Has two small, irregularly shaped moons Polar ice caps contain all of the water - frozen or in a gas - water does not exist as a liquid on Mars Scientist believe that there may have been, and may be life on Mars - microscopic life that is Core made of Nickel, Iron and Sulfur - the planet does not have a very strong magnetic field which probably means the planet's core is solid Many satellites in Mars orbit and probes on the surface - exploration by humans within the next 25 years.
Explain how the solar system was formed-Nebular Theory.
Nebula - a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter. Nebular Theory - explains the origin of our solar system. The sun and planets formed from a rotating disk of dusk and gases. when the speed of rotation increased, the center of the disk began to flatten out and matter became more concentrated in the center, which is where the sun formed. A. Our Solar System began as a cloud of dust and gases. Nebular TheoryB. The cloud (nebula) began to spin and collapse in forming our Sun. C. Cooling of the nebula caused rocky, metallic particles to form. D. Particles collided to form asteroid size objects. E. Asteroids combined together to form the inner, terrestrial planets and the lighter materials formed the outer, Jovian, gas giant
Describe the waves that compose the electromagnetic spectrum
Other Test!!! The electromagnetic spectrum includes gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.
List the major differences between the terrestrial and Jovian planets
Terrestrial- The orbits are closer together, smaller diameter, more dense, rotate slower, thin/no atmosphere, composed of mostly rock and metallic substances, with some gases and ices. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars all are small and made of rocky metallic substances with minor amounts of gases and ices. The terrestrial planets have thin atmospheres. Terrestrial planets have densities that are greater than 5x's that of water's density. Terrestrial planets are closer to the sun and therefore their orbits are shorter so it takes them less time to revolve around the sun. Jovian- Orbits are far apart, larger diameter, less dense, rotate faster, thick atmosphere, and is mostly made of gases, liquids and ices but there are some rocky and metallic materials in their core. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are all large and have very thick atmospheres with gases and ices present - hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane, water. The density of the Jovian planets is less than that of the terrestrial planets about 1.5 x's the density of water. Jovian planets are farther away from the sun and their orbital paths are much longer so it takes them more time to revolve around the sun although their rotations are faster than that of the inner, terrestrial planets. Because of their massive size, Jovian planets have thick atmospheres because of their mass and temperature. The bigger the mass, the greater the gravitational pull, so more gases are retained in the atmosphere.
Explain how the Doppler effect is applied to the motion of stars in relation to motion.
The Doppler effect refers to the perceived change in wavelength of a wave that is emitted from a source that is moving away or toward an object. It takes time for the wave to be emitted. If the source is moving away from you, the beginning of the wave is emitted nearer to you than the end. From the listener's perspective the wave appears to be stretched. The opposite is true for a wave moving toward you.
Explain the advantages that a space telescope has over an Earth-based telescope.
The advantage of using a telescope in space is that you don't have to look through the Earth's atmosphere. For very detailed observations the atmosphere is pretty murky and horrible so it's a real advantage to get above that.
Explain how the sun produces energy
The process is called nuclear fusion. During nuclear fusion, energy is released because some matter is actually converted to energ
Describe what the different types of spectra reveal about stars.
The studying of a stars spectra can tell us what elements are in the star, which can tell us its luminosity, mass and age. It is one of the most important tools for giving us this information.
Explain why Pluto is not considered a planet.
Until 2006, Pluto was considered one of the nine planets. But in August 2006, the IAU redefined the word planet in a way that excluded Pluto. Pluto is not considered a planet, because it has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto is a dwarf planet.
