AST1002 Exam 2B

Weichold exam 2B

What is the name of the rover that tracked Mars' surface between 2004 and 2010?

Spirit Rover.

How long was the Spirit rover on Mars compared to its expected lifespan?

Twenty times longer than expected.

What significant geological feature on Mars does Olympus Mons represent?

The largest volcano in the solar system.

Which spacecraft captured one of the best photos of Mars in June 2001?

Hubble Space Telescope.

What do the dark streaks called recurring slope lineae on Mars indicate?

Locations where salty liquid water flows on or just below the surface.

What was the purpose of the Viking landers on Mars?

To photograph and study the Martian surface and its characteristics.

What is the name of the high-resolution imaging technique used in the Mars Global Surveyor?

Laser ranging.

What does the radar map of Venus reveal about its surface?

It shows tectonic features and elevation differences.

What was Percival Lowell known for regarding Mars?

He created globes showing canals and oases he believed he saw on Mars.

What geological evidence suggests that liquid water once existed on Mars?

Ancient river valleys and lakebeds.

What did the Venera 13 spacecraft show about Venus' surface conditions?

A thick atmosphere that absorbs bluer colors, making surfaces appear orange.

What is unique about the pancake-shaped volcanoes on Venus?

They are formed from highly viscous lava that spreads uniformly.

What does the image of dust devils on Mars illustrate about its atmosphere?

Dust devils help redistribute dust via Martian winds.

What feature identifies the Lakshmi Plains on Venus?

A cross-hatched grid of cracks and ridges caused by tectonic forces.

How does the temperature in Venus' atmosphere change with height?

The temperature rises steeply below the clouds due to the greenhouse effect.

What is significant about the Gale Crater as observed by the Curiosity rover?

It contains an ancient lakebed and evidence of past liquid water.

What are the four giant planets in our solar system?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

How do the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn compare to those of Uranus and Neptune?

Jupiter and Saturn have hydrogen atmospheres, while Uranus and Neptune have atmospheres mainly composed of methane.

What is the Great Red Spot?

A giant storm system on Jupiter that has been observed for hundreds of years.

What are the main components of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s composition?

They are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium.

What was the purpose of the Galileo probe?

To gather measurements of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

How did the Cassini spacecraft contribute to our understanding of Saturn?

It captured images showing Earth as a dot below Saturn’s rings.

What unique cloud patterns were observed on Uranus in the Hubble Space Telescope images?

Five reddish clouds rotating around the equator, with a strong local haze at the south pole.

How does Uranus's tilt affect its seasons?

It experiences unusual seasons due to its significant tilt of 27° and its 84-year orbit.

What unique feature do Neptune's high clouds have?

They consist of bright, narrow cirrus clouds made of methane ice crystals.

What distinguishes the storms seen on Jupiter?

They are highly active and can change positions and characteristics over time.

How are wind speeds measured on the giant planets?

Wind speed is measured relative to a planet's internal rotation speed.

What is the hexagon pattern on Saturn’s North Pole?

A jet stream path visible in infrared nighttime images.

What causes the blue color of Neptune?

The scattering of sunlight in the planet's upper atmosphere.

What significant discovery was made about Jupiter’s atmosphere despite its composition?

The atmosphere is colorful, which is puzzling as it should be colorless given its composition.

What comparison is made between the wind speeds of different giant planets?

Saturn’s winds are observed to move faster than those of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.

What are the four large moons of Jupiter as depicted in the images?

Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

What is the primary composition of Callisto's bright areas?

Mostly ice.

What indicates younger geological features on Ganymede?

The lighter areas are younger and less cratered.

What phenomenon suggests the presence of a subsurface ocean on Europa?

The sliding or rotating of ice blocks in the Conamara Chaos region.

In which moon of Saturn are geysers found?

Enceladus.

What feature characterizes the surface of Neptune's moon Triton?

Geysers that spew material into space.

What is the primary characteristic that defines Pluto's status as a dwarf planet?

Its small size relative to terrestrial planets.

What are the materials likely composing the liquid lakes on Titan?

Methane and ethane.

What kind of surface features are found on Pluto?

A variety of terrains including 'badlands', mountains of water ice, and frozen nitrogen plains.

What was the significant contribution of Clyde Tombaugh regarding Pluto?

He discovered Pluto in 1930.

What is Comet Hale-Bopp known for?

Comet Hale-Bopp was one of the most attractive and easily visible comets of the twentieth century.

What are the two types of tails that comets have?

Comets have a long blue ion tail and a shorter white dust tail.

What are asteroids primarily composed of?

Asteroids have different compositions, primarily categorized as S-type, C-type, and M-type.

What did the NASA Dawn spacecraft reveal about Vesta and Ceres?

Vesta is irregularly shaped with a mountain twice the height of Mt. Everest, while Ceres is a dwarf planet and more round.

How are the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, believed to have formed?

They may be captured asteroids based on their similar surface materials to those in the asteroid belt.

What phenomenon was observed during the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter?

It created a visible impact dust cloud and several bright spots on Jupiter.

What structure does a comet consist of?

A comet typically consists of a nucleus, a coma, and two tails.

What does the orientation of a comet's tail indicate?

The tail direction changes based on the comet's position relative to the Sun, being behind the comet before perihelion and ahead after.

Describe the surface characteristics of asteroid Itokawa.

Itokawa appears to have no craters and consists of rocks and ice chunks, suggesting a loosely-bound rubble pile.

What was the significance of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt?

It suggested there is a reservoir of frozen chunks that can be potential comet nuclei at the edge of the Sun's gravitational influence.

What are planetesimals?

Planetesimals are the building blocks formed from the dust and gas in a disk around a new star.

What phenomena occurs when a larger piece of cosmic material strikes Earth's atmosphere?

It creates a bright fireball.

What visual characteristic do the tracks of meteors in a meteor shower have?

They appear to diverge from a point in the distance.

What event is depicted in the painting shown in the presentation relating to a historical meteor shower?

The great meteor shower or storm of 1833.

Where can the largest iron meteorite in the United States be found?

In the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

What is the US Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) known for?

Recovering meteorites from the Antarctic ice.

What type of meteorite evidence was found in Edward McCain's car?

A meteorite left a hole in the seat cushion.

What materials are identified in the chemical condensation sequence of the solar nebula?

Different materials condense at various temperatures within the solar nebula.

What does the protoplanetary disk around HL Tau indicate about planet formation?

Newly formed planets orbiting a star clear out dust lanes in their paths.

What is significant about the bar graph showing transiting planets by size?

It indicates a high number of planets found that are between the sizes of Earth and Neptune.

How has the detection of exoplanets evolved over the years?

Improvements in technology allowed for the detection of lower mass planets over time.

How do geological stages of terrestrial planets vary by size?

Smaller planets pass through geological stages more quickly than larger ones.

Why are mountains on Mars taller than those on Earth?

Mars has less surface gravity and no moving plates.

What is Olympus Mons?

The largest martian volcano, nearly 500 kilometers wide and over 20 kilometers high.

What is the shape characteristic of small asteroids like Ida?

Small asteroids are generally irregular or elongated due to insufficient gravity to form a spherical shape.