Astronomy Quiz 7
Astronomers have decided that, rather than being a planet, Pluto is really just a large member of
Kuiper Belt
All the planets (without exception)
revolve around the Sun in the same direction
Besides the Sun where is most of the mass of the solar system?
Jupiter
besides the earth which of these planets was known to ancient people
All of the above
Which of these objects have we sent a probe to land on the surface of?
All of the above Mars, Venus, The Moon
The smaller objects in the solar system made of rock and metal are called
Asteroids
How do asteroids differ from comets?
Asteroids are rocky bodies and are denser than the comets, which are made of icy material.
The smaller objects in the solar system composed mainly of ices that usually orbit far from the Sun are called
Comets
Which of these is a way to date a planetary surface?
Counting the craters
One piece of evidence that can help astronomers sort out how the planets in our solar system formed is
Finding circumstellar disks of material around nearby stars
Which of the following ways that Jovian (giant) planets differ from the terrestrial planets is NOT correct?
Jovians rotate significantly more slowly than terrestrials
If you were to look at the four giant planets the most common element you would find would be?
Hydrogen
In studying the surfaces of solid bodies in the solar system, astronomers have learned that the number of craters (per unit area):
Is roughly proportional to the age of the surface we are examining
A planet in our solar system whose competition resembles that of the Sun is:
Jupiter
Which planet, other than Earth, has visible water ice on it?
Mars
The most metal rich planet?
Mercury
Which planet is closest to the sun?
Mercury
Which planet was discovered using mathematics before it was seen in a telescope?
Neptune
What is the primary reason why a Pluto flyby mission would be cheaper than a Pluto orbiter?
The fuel needed for an orbiter to slow down when it reaches Pluto adds a lot of weight to the spacecraft.
Which planet in the solar system has not been examined by spacecraft instruments that have either flown by or orbited them?
Planet X
The first trans-Neptunian object astronomers found (in 1930) is called
Pluto
Which of the following is farthest from the Sun?
Pluto
Our best evidence and theoretical calculations indicate that the solar system began with a giant spinning system of gas and dust called:
The Solar Nebula
Which of these would be considered the coldest location?
The moons of Neptune
Which of the following observations indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past?
There is liquid water as well as a significant number of dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the outer planets?
They have very few, if any, satellites.
Of the following which do NOT have satellites?
Venus
Radioactive dating techniques have revealed that our Earth and Moon are approximately how old?
about 4.5 billion years
The inner planets are made mostly of rock and metal because
it was so hot where the inner planets formed that the lighter materials evaporated
Which of the following is not an exception to the general patterns in the solar system?
the rings of Saturn
