The Sky Quiz #9

What three molecules make up most of comets?

carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane

What body do comets typically orbit?

Sun

Why are comets interesting to study?

remnants from the formation of the solar system

How do comets get their tail?

Sun vaporizes ice, creating a gas and dust cloud

Describe the nucleus of a comet

frozen

Which tail follows the orbit of the comet?

dust tail

Which tail points away from the Sun?

ion tail

What phenomenon pushes ion tails away from the sun?

solar wind

Describe an ion tail

bluish charged gas

Describe a dust tail

white and curved

What type of comet orbits the Sun in less than 20 years?

Jupiter family

What type of comet orbits the Sun in 20 to 200 years?

Halley type

What type of comet has an orbit between 200 to one million years?

Long period

Where are most short period comets believed to originate?

Kuiper Belt

What is the Oort cloud?

theoretical spherical shell of icy objects that surround our solar system

Where are long-period comets thought to have originated?

Oort cloud

Where are comets observable?

inner solar system

What was the first mission (name and year) to encounter a comet?

International Cometary Explorer 1978

What is the ESA?

European Space Agency

What space mission (name and year) flew by Halley’s Comet?

ESA Giotto 1986

What space mission (name and year) landed on a comet surface for the first time?

ESA Rosetta-Philae 2014

When was the Hubble Space Telescope launched?

1990

What does Hubble orbit?

Earth

Name three discoveries made by Edwin Hubble

galaxies exist beyond ours, galaxies are moving away from us, nebulae are galaxies

What did Hubble’s discovery that other galaxies are moving away from us indicate?

universe is expanding

Why was the Hubble Space Telescope created?

better deep space images

What are the three types of telescopes?

refracting, reflecting, compound

What type of telescope is used most often nowadays and why?

reflecting because mirrors are lighter and easier to maintain than lenses

What is a telescope?

tool to gather and focus light to see faraway objects

What is the difference between a refracting telescope and a reflecting one?

refracting uses lenses, reflecting uses mirrors

How long was the Hubble Space Telescope supposed to last?

15 years

Why is the Hubble Space Telescope still functional today?

service missions from the International Space Shuttle

What are two discoveries the Hubble Space Telescope made?

expansion rate of the universe, black holes at the center of most large galaxies

When was James Webb Space Telescope launched?

2021

What is the function of the JWST?

observe infrared light in the universe

What body does the JWST orbit?

Sun

What does the JWST aim to study?

early universe, exoplanets, sun, planet formation

What has the JWST discovered so far?

gases that are possible signs of life on exoplanets

What program launched the Mars Curiosity Rover?

Mars Exploration Program

Where and when did the Curiosity Rover arrive on Mars?

Gale Crater 2012

What was the mechanism for the landing of Curiosity?

aeroshell separation from cruise ship, parachute, jet power and cables

What did Curiosity use for power?

RTG generator that converted heat from plutonium decay

What were four features on the Curiosity rover?

antennae, cameras, robotic arms, nap mode

Why do we believe Mars may have been habitable once?

Curiosity discovered organic molecules from geological and mineral findings