ASTR 111 quiz 5- earth, moon-earth

What is the earths material like?

Inner material made up of iron and nickel

How do we know what the earths material is made up of?

from studying meteorites, as well as the waves from earthquakes

Layers of the earth

Crust, mantle, liquid outer iron core, solid inner iron core 

What is plate tectonics?

Crust divided into regions, floating on the mantle

what evidence do we have of plate tectonics

The shifting of the earths crust

How did earths atmosphere originally form

heavy volcanism (CO2, N2, H2O) interacted with atmosphere (H + He)

How did the atmosphere change over time

taking the CO2 out of the atmosphere

Why did the atmosphere change over time

ocean → absorb CO2= carbonates, and ocean life emit O2

origin of the magnetic field

Dynamo theory: uneven heating of the liquid iron core that conducts ions. Earths fast rotaion.

function of the magnetic field

shield to sun (solar wind) and things of deep space

Why do aurora form

When solar winds collide with particles of the magnetic field

why do we have tides on earth

gravitational interaction, tug on each other

what is the impact of tides on earth

affecting currents and ecosystems

spring tide

during full/new moon, strong tide, very high/low

neap tide

sun + moon tides cancel each other out, moon in 3rd or 1st quarter

what is synchronous rotation

why the moon is in synchronous rotation with the earth

water bulge from tide is slightly ahead of the moon bc of earth rotation, pulling the moon along with the earth

Continental tectonic

less dense, floating in the mantle

oceanic tectonic

more dense, under the ocean, floating in the mantle

rifting

tectonics moving away from each other

subduction

tectonics moving into each other, oceanic runs into continental, because its more dense it sticks into the mantle

Obduction

oceanic plate material builds up on continental plate from collision

Layers of the atmosphere

Thermosphere 

stratosphere 

Mesosphere 

Troposphere

Troposphere

11km, mountains, weather

stratosphere

11-50 km, ozone layer, low strat planes fly

mesosphere

50-80 km, thin and cold

Thermosphere

UV ionize gas = radio waves, aurora