Terrestrial and Jovian Planets Study Guide

A collection of flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the study guide on terrestrial and jovian planets.

Terrestrial Planets

The four inner planets of the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Differentiation

The process where denser materials sink to the bottom of a liquid, resulting in distinct layers.

Geologically Dead

A term describing a planet that has cooled enough for geological activity (like earthquakes and volcanoes) to cease.

Convection Cycles

The movement of material in a semi-solid state where hot material rises and cold material sinks, taking approximately 100 million years for each cycle.

Greenhouse Effect

An atmospheric phenomenon that keeps heat from escaping into space, necessary for sustaining liquid water.

Lava and Magma

Lava is liquid rock above the surface, whereas magma is liquid rock below the surface.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that describes how continents float on the semi-solid mantle and how their movements create geological features like mountains and valleys.

Cratering

The geological process of forming craters from impacts by asteroids or comets.

Jovian Planets

The four outer planets of the solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, primarily composed of hydrogen and helium.

Runaway Greenhouse Effect

A condition on Venus where an extremely thick atmosphere leads to high surface temperatures and pressure, mainly composed of carbon dioxide.

Orbital Resonance

A gravitational interaction that causes periodic alignment of the orbits of celestial bodies, affecting their geological activity.

Asteroids

Rocky remnants from the formation of the solar system, primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Comets

Celestial bodies made of ice that produce two tails when they approach the Sun; one tail is charged particles and the other is made of neutral particles.

Kuiper Belt

A region of the solar system beyond Neptune, containing many small icy bodies and comets, located between 30 to 50 AU from the Sun.

Oort Cloud

A theoretical region surrounding the solar system extending far beyond the Kuiper Belt, containing long-period comets.

Dwarf Planet

A celestial body that orbits the Sun and has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects, exemplified by Pluto.

Tidal Heating

Geological activity caused by gravitational forces pulling on moon-sized bodies, generating heat.

Lithosphere

The rigid outer layer of a planet, such as the crust and uppermost mantle.

Impact Cratering

The creation of craters on a planet's surface due to collisions with meteoroids, asteroids, or comets.

Volcanism

The eruption of molten rock onto a planet's surface.

Erosion

Surface changes made by wind, water, or ice.

Internal Shrinkage

The process occurring in planets like Mercury where cooling leads to contraction and the formation of cliffs.