Astronomy

Quiz 2

Terrestrial planet

A type of planet that is primarily composed of rock and metal, having a solid surface and lacking rings. Examples include Earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

Giant Planet

A large planet that is predominantly composed of gases, lacking a definitive solid surface. Examples include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

-large diameter high mass, low density

Mercury

No atmosphere leading to temperature swings

shrinking planet, due to its contracting Iron core  

no moon

Venus 

runaway greenhouse effect, and hottest planet. appears to rotate backwards, and has volcanic plains 

no moon

Earth 

has liquid water, and a protective magnetic field.

active plate tectonics 

only known planet, capable of supporting life 

one moon

Mars

core of iron oxide dust,

has the largest volcano in the solar system

jupiter 

largest planet, with composition most similar to the sun. 91 moons 

saturn

complex ring system

with a density less than water; has the moon titan, <145 others

Uranus

discovered in 1781, rotating on a side tilt, blue in color, coldest atmosphere

Neptune 

found by calculations not observations, fastest wind speeds in the solar systems, emits more heat than receives from the sun 

Asteroids

lie within the asteroid belt, orbiting Mars and Jupiter

Kuiper belt object

compostion of water ice and rock, included pluto and other dwarf plantes

comets were most likely to originate here

Solar nebula 

hot inner disk —> cold outer disk. near the sun = higher temp : only metal and rock survives

lower temp: ice and gas remain frozen

Planetesimals

small grains sticking toigether like comets and asteroids 

protoplanets

expand by pulling in material, the impacts of the material make them hot and molten

Moon formation theory

1) fission theory

2) capture theory

3) co-creation theory

4) collisional ejection theory : formed as a result of earth being hit

Asteroid composition 

iron and silicon 

materials most abundant in the outer disk of the solar nebula

water ice, methane, amonia, helium, hydrogen

Center of mass

distance of earch start proportional to the inverse mass of the start. Center of mass will be closer to the more massive star

NON Binary observation system

a star does not rotate with respect to us. (Blueshift — moving towards shorter wavelengths

binary system

the star moves around the C.O.M — creating a redshift — larger wavelengths

Radial Velocity

when a star is orbiting away from us it is at its largest radial velocity; at its highest radial velocity the star is moving away from us.

Geological Processes

1) Impact cratering by meteorites

2) plate tectonics

3) volcanoes

4) erosion

Plate tectonics

subduction zones: movement of the plate

creates new crust, anf then the internal heat rises, driving the creation of plate tectonics

volcanoes

produce: ash, gas, lava

Moon/mercury: formed by cosmic impact

venus/earth/mars: created by magma from mantle

erosion

wind and water smooths the surface

venus = thick atmosphere —> strong winds

mars = active winds and dust devils

Titan = atmosphere of nitrogen and methane creating erosion

Planets with Magnetic fields 

Earth

Jupiter 

Saturn

Uranus 

Neptune 

heat needed for magnetic fields

formation heat, radioactive decay, tidal heating

Suns layers

core,radiative zone, prominence, convection zone, corona, photosphere, sunspot, chromosphere, coronal hole

Core 

Energy is produced in the core 

energy is lost and passes through the radiative zone, the through the convection zone to the atmosphere 

sunspots

dark features on the surface of the sun

chromosphere

thin transport layer, appearing red because of the hydrogen line

corona 

hottest part of the solar atmosphere 

prominence

loops of plasma, extending along magnetic fields

solar flares

releases a bright flash of energy photons, associated with coronal mass ejections

suns dynamo 

generates its magnetic fields converting motion into electricity 

differential rotation

states that the speed of the suns rotation varies according to our latitude

Einstein Revolution

determined mass and energy are equivalent E= MC²

fission 

splitting a larger atom into two or more smaller ones

fusion

combing two or more small atoms into a larger one

Nuclear Particles

each partical of normal matter has a antimatter twin

electron - positron

proton-antiproton

neutron - antineutron

Leptons 

neutrinos — no charge and no mass 

muons 

tau  

consequence of the suns high temperature

results in a ionized gas “plasma”

solar pulsations

sun waves vibrate, these ossilations have a period of 5 min

Helioseismology 

astronomers probe conditions inside the sun 

Solar Neutrinos

were undetectable because they oscillate between different types in earths atmosphere

note: discovered by Raymond Davis Jr.

solution to neutrino detection problem

1) discovery of the three types (electron, moun, tau)

2) Sudbury: detecting all three types, finding neutrinos to have a small non-zero mass.