Astronomy exam 2

Mars, Venus, and Earth are much less heavily cratered than Mercury and the Moon. This is explained by the fact that

Mars, Venus, and Earth were geologically active for a longer period of time than Mercury and the Moon

What causes the distinct bluish tint of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune?

Methane in their atmospheres preferentially absorbs the red component of the Suns light and reemits the blue part, giving bluish tint

Which of the giant planets was predicted to exist mathematically before it was ever seen through a telescope?

Neptune

Which planet receives the least amount of energy from the Sun?

Neptune

___________ in our atmosphere is a direct consequence of the emergence of life.

Oxygen

Which method can be used to determine the radius of Jupiter?

Stellar Occultation

A radiowave photon has a frequency of 1.5MHz and an ultraviolet photon has a frequency of 4.5MHz. The energy of the ultraviolet photon is ___________ the energy of the red photon.

3 times larger than

The Great Red Spot, Jupiters most prominent storm system, has a diameter that is _____ times Earths diameter.

5

Why are auroras produced only near the northern and southern magnetic poles of a planet?

Charged particles are forces to flow along Earths magnetic field lines, which come out of Earth's poles.

What is the reason Mercury has so little gas in its atmosphere? A. Its mass is small. B. It has a high temperature. C. It is close to the Sun. D. Its escape velocity is low. E. All of the above

E. (All of the above)

Which of the following lists different types of elec- tromagnetic radiation in order from the shortest wavelength to the longest wavelength?

Gamma rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, radio waves

The fact that Jupiter's radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm per year results in:

Jupiter radiating more heat than it receives from the Sun.

** Why did the terrestrial planets lose their primary atmospheres?

The planets have too little mass and therefore too little gravitational force to keep in the hot light gase that were present in the protoplanetary disk.

(e.c.)*** If Saturns orbital period is 30 years and the obliquity is 26 degrees, how long is it from the first day of spring to the first day of autumn on Saturn?

The tilt of Saturns orbital axis is similar to that of Earths, so it should have seasonal changes similar to Earths as well. This means that the time between the vernal and autumnal equinoxes on Saturn will be about half the orbital period of Saturn (that is, 15 years), just as they are approximately half of Earths orbit (6 months) apart on Earth.

** Why are winds on the giant planets far faster than those on Earth?

Their surfaces are rotating far faster, creating a much stronger Coriolis effect.

Which of the giant planets was discovered by accident by William Herschel?

Uranus

What is a protostar?

a large ball of gas not yet hot enough at its core to be a star

When an electron moves from a higher energy level in an atom to a lower energy level,

a photon is emitted.

Magnetosphere refers to:

a region of magnetic field around Earth

Secondary craters are

craters formed by ejecta from initial impact.

Uranus and Neptune do not have bands as distinct as those on Jupiter and Saturn because Uranus and Neptune-

have wind speeds that vary more smoothly from the equator to the poles.

When you push your palms together and rub them back and forth, you are demonstrating one way of converting ________ energy into ________ energy.

kinetic; thermal

Suppose an earthquake occurs on an imaginary planet. Scientists on the other side of the planet detect primary waves but not secondary waves after the quake occurs. This suggests that:

part of planets interior is liquid

Of the following methods, the age of the Solar System can be determined most accurately by

radioactive dating of rocks retrieved from the Moon.

A prism is able to spread white light out into a spectrum of colors based on the property of:

refraction

Southern Hemisphere Hurricanes ____________ compared to hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere because of the Coriolis effect.

rotate in the opposite direction

What is a habitable zone?

the distance from a star where liquid water can exist

Temperature variations on Earth driven by the Milankovitch cycle differ from those driven by the anthropogenic greenhouse effect in that:

they occur over much longer time scales (thousands of years.)

In the absence of a greenhouse effect, what would happen to Earths oceans?

they would freeze over.

Winds are generated on Earth primarily because of:

uneven heating of the surface and rotation of the planet.