Planetary science

What is angular motion

Amount of spin, L = mvr, L is total momentum and is constant so if one of mvr decreases the others have to increase

Why don't we see eclipses every month?

Eclipses occur when the sun, moon and earth are all perfectly inline. The moon orbits on a 5 degree angle making the perfect alignment rare

What is the Nebular Hypothesis?

Theory that explains the formation of the solar system from a giant cloud of gas and dust, which collapsed under gravity, forming the sun and planets.

What is accretion

The coming together of matter under the influence of gravitation to form larger bodies

What makes Earth Habitable

• Its in the habitable zone

• It contains water

• It is the correct distance away from the sun

• Magnetic field shields us from solar winds

What are properties of inner planets

• High density

• terrestrial and rocky

• Small radius

• fewer moons

• Made out of heavy metals and minerals

What are properties of outer planets

• Low density

• Mostly gas and ice

• large radius

• Made out of helium, hydrogen and methane

Explain Aphelion, Perihelion, Perigee and Apogee

Aphelion - Most distant position of earth from the sun in its orbit

Perihelion - Closest position of earth from the sun in its orbit

Perigee - Closest position of a moon from planet in its orbit

Apogee - Furthest position of moon from planet in its orbit

What does the curvature of space do

Space and tie is distorted by mass. A higher mass planet will have a larger impact on the curve while a lower mass planet will have less of an impact. This curvature affects the motion of objects, causing them to follow curved paths instead of straight lines.

Who proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system where the planets orbit in ellipses

Kepler

Determined the Law of Universal Gravitation to describe how the planets moved through the solar system

Newton

Discovered that the curvature of spacetime is influenced by mass and energy

Einstein

Was a proponent of geocentrism where the the sun and moon orbit Earth, but all other bodies orbit the sun.

Braha

Proposed that the planets orbited earth on 27 "celestial spheres"

Eudoxus of Cnidus

Proposed a heliocentric solar system with perfectly circular orbits

Copernicus

Explained retrograde motion of planets using "epicycles" and "deferents"

Ptolemy

Who discovered 55 spheres at different velocity

Aristole

How do planets move through the solar system

• They orbit a star

• All orbits are elliptical shaped but can very

• All have varying orbital periods and radius’s

Explain a lunar eclipse

Earth passes between the sun and moon, blocks sunlight from reaching the moon. Happens when the moon is in the full moon phase

Explain solar eclipse

Moon is between the sun and earth, blocks sunlight from reaching earth . Happens when the moon is in full new phase

What does it mean for a moon to be waning and waxing

Waning - Decreasing amount of light reaching the surface of the moon and being reflected back ( Decreasing in size)

Waxing - Increasing amount of light is reaching the surface of the moon and being reflected back (Growing in size)

What is a Gibbous and Cresent moon

Gibbus - More then half but less than full illuminated

Cresent - Less then half but not invisible

what is the first quarter and third quarter of a moon phase

First Quarter - Half of the moon's surface is illuminated, progressing towards a full moon. Third Quarter - Half of the moon's surface is illuminated again, but decreasing towards a new moon.

What is the Umbra sectio of a shadow

The darkest section of the shadow, all light from the sun is blocked

What is the Penumbra section of a shadow

The lightest section of the shadow, Most light is blocked but not all

3 Nasa space missions

Viking 1 - Mission was to take pictures of Mars and analyse the surrounding areas, soil, weather and find any evidence of life

DragonFly - Set to launch in July 2028 to explore Saturn's moon Titan, using a drone to investigate its surface and atmosphere.

SkyLab - the United States' first space station, launched in 1973, used for scientific research and experiments in microgravity.

How does the Keplers telescope help us find exoplanets

It uses the transit method to detect exoplanets. The can study the light dip from stars when planets pass in front of them, allowing measurement of their size and orbital period.

Close, small and fast will be small thin dip

Large, close and fast will be deep but thin

Far small and slow will be wide and a smaller dip

4 methods of exploring exoplanets

Radiative velocity - measures changes in a star's spectrum to detect the gravitational pull of orbiting planets, causing shifts in the star's light. Causes a wobble

Transit - By studying brightness we can see dips in a star's light when a planet passes in front of it, indicating its size and orbit.

Direct imaging - We can take pictures of the planets by blocking out the star's light, allowing us to see the planets directly.

Gravitational microfilming - As a planet orbits it distort spacetime due to gravity This bends light from the sun causing a magnifying effect that makes distant objects appear brighter.

Keplers 3 Laws

1 Planets travel around a star in a elliptical path, sun is it one of its foci points

2 Planets speed up and slow down while in orbit, they always travel the same distance from the sun in equal time intervals.

3 The square of a planets orbital period is proportional to the cubed of the orbital radius

What is the Goldilocks or habitable zone

Region around a star where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet ( not to hot , not to cold)

Common characteristics of habitable zone

• Temp allows water to stay liquid

• A stable orbit

• Size and mass similar to earth

• Rocky surface

Formation of solar system using solar nebula

Giant molecular cloud collapsed under its own gravityto form a rotating disk, leading to the formation of the Sun and planets.

Explain one way both PHYSICS and CHEMISTRY impacted the formation, organization or composition of the solar system.

Physics influenced gravitational forces affecting the orbits and stability of celestial bodies, while chemistry determined the elemental composition of planets and the formation of compounds necessary for early planetary development.

How does accretion theory explain the formation of gas giant planets in the outer solar system. refer to the frost line

Accretion theory explains that beyond the frost line, temperatures were low enough for volatile compounds like water, ammonia, and methane to condense into solid ice particles, which combined with rock and gas to form the larger cores of gas giant planets. These cores then attracted vast amounts of hydrogen and helium from the surrounding solar nebula.

What causes spacetime to curve and distort

the presence of mass and energy, according to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

Compare and contrast planets to asteroids and comets

Planets are large celestial bodies that orbit stars, are spherical in shape, and have cleared their orbit of debris, while asteroids and comets are smaller, irregularly shaped objects that do not have enough mass to become spherical and often share their orbits with other debris.

Explain neap and spring tide

Spring tide is when the moon, sun and earth are in line so the gravity pulls the water on earth causing high or low tides.

Neap tide is when the moon is at a right angle to the sun and earth, resulting in lower high tides and higher low tides.

explain King tide

When the moon is closest to earth and earth is closest to the sun so gravity is so strong it pulls the water causing exceptionally high tides.

Explain the great filter

The Great Filter is a concept in the context of the Fermi Paradox that suggests there is some stage in the evolution of life that is highly unlikely for civilizations to pass, which might explain the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life.

What are jupitors 4 moons

Europa - smallest,icy with icy surface

Io- Third largest, volcanic

Ganymede - Largest moon even bigger then Mercury and Venus

Callisted - Second largest