1/2 Astronomy Unit 6: Earth's surface + Inner and outer planets

List the Jovian planets in order from closest to the sun to furthest from the sun.

Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune

List the terrestrial planets in order from closest to the sun the furthest from the sun.

Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars

What are the defining characteristics of Jovian planets?

- outer planets.
- orbits life far apart from each other.
- gaseous in nature.
- all have rings.
- many moons on most planets.
- very dense cores.
- much larger than terrestrial plants.

What are the defining characteristics of terrestrial planets?

- inner planets.
- rocky in nature.
- varying surface conditions.
- varying atmospheres.
- varying rotational rates.
- only a few means (3).
- only earth has oxygen.
- lie close together.

Of the characteristics Terrestrial/Jovian, which ones physically separated the planets into the two main categories?

Terrestrial: Rocky in nature.
Jovian: Gaseous in nature.

What do the Kuiper belt and astroid belt have in common?

All composed of remnants from the formation of the solar system.

Asteroids

large space rocks orbiting the sun

Meteoroid

chunks of interplanetary debris prior to encountering Earth’s atmosphere

Meteorite

any part of a meteorite that reaches the surface of the earth.

Describe the nebular theory.

- Large cloud of dust and gas called a nebula starts to collapse and rotate due to an outside influence.
- Conservation of angular momentum says as the cloud contracts it spins faster.

Describe the condensation theory.

- Includes basic facts about conditions in the disk as the planets formed.
- as the disk shrank, the sun began to heat the disk this allowed only objects with the high melting points to condense out of the cloud of gas.

What is 1 AU (Astronomical unit) equal in kilometers?

149.6 Million km

1 AU is equal The distance from the _____ to the ___

Earth to the Sun

List the four layers of earths atmosphere in order from closest to the surface to further away from the surface.

Closest to Surface:
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Ionosphere
Farthest to Surface:

Troposphere:

Where convection takes place — responsible for weather.

Stratosphere:

Where you'll find the very important ozone layer. The ozone layer helps protect us from ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun.

Ionosphere:

Ionized by solar radiation (X-ray) & y-ray, and is a good conductor; this is where the aurorae are occurring.

Mesosphere:

Protects the planet Earth from the celestial rocky masses that enter the atmospheric envelope of the Earth.

What is the function of ozone in our atmosphere?

Ozone layer is the upper stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

What is the Aurora?

refers to a natural light display in the Earth's sky called the aurora polaris, or polar lights, visible only in high-latitude regions like the __**North and South Poles.**__