Interplanetary Space Debris Test Review

What is the typical size of the most known asteroids?

A few kilometers

What is the defining property of the Trojan asteroids?

They have orbits at the distance of Jupiter and 60° ahead of or behind it

The three largest asteroids are?

Ceres, Pallas, and Vestas

The Trojan asteroids have orbits that lie where?

60° a head of or behind Jupiter

The Apollo and Aten asteroids have orbits that?

Cross the orbit of earth at perihelion.

The orbits of most comets lie where?

Lie almost entirely beyond the orbit of Neptune

What are comets made of?

Silicates and rocky dust, metallic dust particles, dark colored complex hydrocarbons, methane, ammonia, and water ice

The Oort cloud is thought to be?

The spherical cloud of comets, and some larger icy bodies surrounding the outer solar system

The nucleus, or main solid body, of a comet has a typical size of?

A few kilometers

Long period comets are thought to reside mainly in the?

Oort cloud

Haleys comet last past Earth in 1986. It will be due back in?

2061

The Kuiper belt objects have orbits that stay where?

They lie just beyond Neptune and close to the ecliptic

From its orbit, we now recognize Pluto as the largest member of the?

Kuiper belt

The largest Kuiper belt body is?

Eris

Most famous asteroid impact scar on earth is located in?

Arizona

The body which wiped out the dinosaurs was about…

As big as one of mars moons

The major impact in the Yucatán wiped out the dinosaurs about…

65 million years ago

What is the name of the theory that is currently used to describe the formation of the solar system?

Nebular theory

The Kuiper belt is found where in the solar system?

Beyond the orbit of Neptune

What is the role of irregularities in the solar system in terms of theories of its origin?

They introduce a need for flexibility, in theories of the solar systems origin

What might have made the original solar nebula begin to contract?

The shockwave from a nearby exploding Star

The meteorites that strike earth are how old?

4\.6 billion years old.

What is true about solar system densities

The denser planets lie closer to the sun

The Jovian planets all have _____ around their equator.

rings

What happens when a solar nebula contracts?

It heats up, spins faster, flattens out.

In light of modern solar system theory, why do the orbits of the planets all lie in the same plane?

The early solar nebula flattened into a disk

What is the process of accretion?

Growth of an object by the accumulation of matter

Conservation of angular momentum means that the spinning body tends to?

Keep spinning

What was the primary role of dust in the formation of the solar system?

Dust acted as condensation nuclei platforms to which other particles could attach and form larger particles of matter

As a solar nebula contracts, it reacts how?

Spins faster

As a rotating gas cloud contracts, how is its rotation effected?

It spins faster due to conservation of angular momentum

Why are the Jovian planets so large?

They formed from the largest Proto planets which swept gas from the solar nebula

How does the melting and vaporization point of materials determine the composition of the planets?

Durable solids that are very hard to melt in vaporize form, close to the sun, making terrestrial planets

The concept that Jupiter and other Jóvenes formed farther out then their present orbits is called?

Planetary migration