Astronomy Quiz: Sun and Terrestrial Planets
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Questions and Answers

What is the required condition for volcanism to occur in a planet?

  • Thin lithosphere (correct)
  • Presence of water
  • Thick lithosphere
  • High temperature

    • What is the term for the release of gases from Earth's interior into the atmosphere?

  • Erosion
  • Outgassing (correct)
  • Breakage
  • Weathering

    • What type of lava is characterized by its smooth texture?

  • Granitic
  • Aa
  • Pahoehoe (correct)
  • Basaltic

    • What is the force behind the deformation of rocks in the Earth's crust?

    <p>Tectonic forces</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who is credited with inventing a rocket-like device called an aeolipile?

    <p>Hero of Alexandria</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the primary component of the simple form of gunpowder used in ancient China?

    <p>All of the above</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the process of breaking down or transporting rock through weather-driven processes?

    <p>Erosion</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of volcano is characterized by its steep shape?

    <p>Stratovolcano</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the year in which the first true rockets were used in the Battle of Kai-Keng?

    <p>1232 A.D.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following techniques is NOT used to determine the composition and structure of a planet's atmosphere?

    <p>Seismic wave analysis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main reason why the Moon's mare have fewer craters compared to other regions?

    <p>The mare are younger and formed after the period of intense bombardment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following techniques is used to determine the grain size of a planet's surface?

    <p>Radar echo brightness and variation of reflectivity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between the size of an impact crater and the size of the object that created it?

    <p>Craters are about 10 times wider than the object that made them.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the presence of many craters on a planet's surface indicate?

    <p>The planet is very old.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary way to study the interior of a planet?

    <p>Measuring its gravitational field and rotation rate.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the process called when an object collides with a planet and leaves a bowl-shaped depression?

    <p>Impact cratering</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary way to determine the composition of a planet's atmosphere?

    <p>By analyzing the light it reflects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these is NOT a method used to determine surface structure?

    <p>Seismic wave analysis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the leading figure in the Soviet space program?

    <p>Sergei Korolev</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the first artificial satellite launched into space?

    <p>Sputnik 1</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the rocket used to launch Sputnik 1?

    <p>R-7</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the dog that was launched into space on Sputnik 2?

    <p>Laika</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the training center for Soviet cosmonauts?

    <p>Star City</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the maximum height requirement for Soviet cosmonaut candidates?

    <p>1.70 m</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the spacecraft that Yuri Gagarin flew on?

    <p>Vostok 1</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the maximum weight requirement for Soviet cosmonaut candidates?

    <p>72 kg</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the international event that Sputnik 1's launch was linked to?

    <p>International Geophysical Year</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who is considered the 'Father of Modern Rocketry'?

    <p>Hermann Oberth</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What year did the Soviet Union launch Sputnik 1?

    <p>1957</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the German organization that contributed to the development of the V-2 rocket?

    <p>Verein für Raumschiffahrt</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the fundamental principle that propels a rocket?

    <p>The ejection of pressurized gas</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary difference between a balloon and a rocket in terms of propulsion?

    <p>The method of producing the pressurized gas</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the name of the book published by Sir Isaac Newton that outlined fundamental principles governing the motion of objects?

    <p>Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of propellants can be used in rockets?

    <p>Both solid and liquid propellants</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the key figure in the production of the V-2 rocket during World War II?

    <p>Wernher von Braun</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a fundamental principle of motion as stated by Sir Isaac Newton in his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica?

    <p>The law of conservation of energy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes faculae on the sun's surface?

    <p>They appear bright and granular, and are hotter than the surrounding photosphere.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a prominent feature of Mercury?

    <p>Caloris Basin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary component of Venus's thick atmosphere?

    <p>Carbon Dioxide</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the surface temperature of Venus during the day and night due to the greenhouse effect?

    <p>470°C</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which planet is known as Earth's twin due to its similar size?

    <p>Venus</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes solar flares?

    <p>Sudden explosions of energy caused by twisted magnetic lines.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the average distance of Mercury from the Sun in astronomical units (AU)?

    <p>0.39 AU</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which artificial satellite was the first to fly by Mercury?

    <p>Mariner 10</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What feature distinguishes a prominence on the sun?

    <p>It consists of bright magnetic loops of cool, dense gas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What can be determined by combining the size and mass of a celestial body?

    <p>Mass density and escape velocity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which method is used to determine the diameter of a solar system body by observing a star as it is occulted by the body?

    <p>Occultation method</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of motion is caused by the moon's close proximity to the ring particles?

    <p>Wave-like motions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the lowest velocity required for an object to escape the gravitational attraction of a planet or other object?

    <p>Escape velocity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which method is used to determine the radii and shapes of relatively nearby objects?

    <p>Radar echoes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the release of gases and dust that occurs asymmetrically for comets?

    <p>Asymmetric escape</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is used to estimate the masses of some of Saturn's small inner moons?

    <p>Spiral wave density</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these techniques is NOT used to determine the composition and structure of a planet's interior?

    <p>Visual observation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following techniques is used to determine the grain size of a planet's surface?

    <p>Radar imaging</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the presence of many craters on a planet's surface indicate?

    <p>A very old surface</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary way to study the interior of a planet?

    <p>Analyzing its gravitational field</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary way to determine the composition of a planet's atmosphere?

    <p>Analyzing the light that passes through it</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a condition necessary for volcanism to occur on a planet?

    <p>An internal heat source</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a method used to determine surface structure?

    <p>Spectroscopy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the result of self-gravity in large celestial bodies?

    <p>Spherical shapes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the Doppler Shift method in planetary study?

    <p>To determine the planet's rotation speed</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the effect of centrifugal pseudo-force on a rotating planet?

    <p>It causes the planet to bulge out at the equator</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the limitation of the Marking method in determining a planet's rotation?

    <p>It can only be used for solid surface planets not covered by the atmosphere</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between a planet's obliquity and its rotation?

    <p>An obliquity of less than 90 degrees indicates prograde rotation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the Radio Signals method in planetary study?

    <p>To determine the planet's rotation speed</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the effect of material strength on a celestial body's shape?

    <p>It causes the body to become irregular in shape</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the Light Curve method in planetary study?

    <p>To determine the total disk brightness as a function of time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between a planet's size and its shape?

    <p>Larger planets tend to be more spherical in shape</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these techniques can be used to determine a planet's shape using light that is refracted by its atmosphere?

    <p>Central Flash</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which method is particularly well-suited for studying solid planets, asteroids, and cometary nuclei due to its ability to determine their radii and shapes?

    <p>Analysis of Radar Echoes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following techniques is used to study the interior of a planet?

    <p>Analysis of Radar Echoes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following techniques is best suited for studying the surface structure of a planet?

    <p>Direct Imaging</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a method used to determine the composition and structure of a planet's atmosphere?

    <p>Length of Chords</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is the best indicator of a planet's surface or cloud top temperature?

    <p>Thermal Infrared Spectrum</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a method that can be used to calculate a planet's temperature?

    <p>In situ measurements with a thermometer</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What method can provide detailed information on a planet's internal structure?

    <p>Seismometers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which technique can determine the composition of a planet's atmosphere?

    <p>Stellar occultation profiles</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does a surface with many craters indicate about its geological history?

    <p>It has not changed much in approximately 3 billion years.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the typical relationship between the size of an impact crater and the object that created it?

    <p>Craters are about 10 times wider than the object that made them.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which method is commonly used to find small-scale structures on a planet's surface?

    <p>Radar echo brightness and variation of reflectivity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What process occurs when an object crashes into a planet and creates a bowl-shaped depression?

    <p>Impact cratering</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What can be inferred from radar imaging techniques used in surface structure analysis?

    <p>They can detect both large and small structures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What defines a planet according to the IAU Resolution 2006?

    <p>It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary reason for the lack of fusion in a planet's interior?

    <p>It has insufficient mass to initiate and maintain fusion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Termination Shock indicate in the context of the solar system boundaries?

    <p>It is where solar wind transitions to interstellar space.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement correctly describes the Heliosheath?

    <p>It lies between the heliopause and the termination shock.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a Brown Dwarf classified as?

    <p>A substellar object with significant deuterium fusion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main characteristic that distinguishes a star from a brown dwarf?

    <p>Stars can sustain hydrogen fusion, while brown dwarfs cannot.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Where is the heliopause located in relation to the solar system boundaries?

    <p>It is where the solar wind merges with the interstellar medium.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Sun and Solar System

    • Faculae are bright, granular, and hotter than the surrounding photosphere
    • Granulation is the grainy appearance of granule convective cells
    • Prominence is the bright magnetic loops of cool, dense gas
    • Solar Flares are sudden explosions of energy by twisted magnetic lines
    • Filament is magnetic loops that appear as dark lines

    Terrestrial Planets

    • The four small, dense, rocky planets that orbit closest to the sun have a faster period of revolution and slower rotation
    • Mercury is 0.39 AU from the Sun, has a heavily cratered, moonlike surface, and a massive iron core
    • Mercury has a very thin exosphere, with temperatures ranging from 425°C (day) to -170°C (night)
    • Venus is 0.73 AU from the Sun, has a thick atmosphere made of mostly carbon dioxide, and has the highest surface temperature due to the Greenhouse effect (470°C)

    Planetary Geology

    • Processes that shape surfaces include:
      • Impact Cratering: when an object crashes into the planet, leaving bowl-shaped depressions
      • Volcanism: when molten rock finds a path through the lithosphere to the surface, resulting in volcanoes and lava flows
      • Tectonics: the deformation of rocks that make up the Earth's crust and the forces that produce such deformation
      • Erosion: weather-driven processes that break down or transport rock, including weathering, breakage, and deposition of debris

    History of Spaceflight

    Part 1: Rocketry

    • Wooden bird: one of the first devices to successfully employ the principles essential to rocket flight
    • Archytas (400 BC): flew a pigeon made of wood
    • Hero of Alexandria: invented a similar rocket-like device called an aeolipile
    • First true rockets were accidents (1st century A.D.) in China, using gunpowder
    • Hermann Oberth (Germany): published about rocket travel into outer space in 1923
    • Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel): led to the development of the V-2 rocket during WW2
    • Wernher von Braun: key figure in the production of the V-2 rocket
    • October 4, 1957: Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite
    • 1958: US launched Explorer 1, their own satellite

    Part 2: Basic Rocket Principles

    • A rocket is a chamber enclosing a gas under pressure, which provides a thrust that propels the rocket in the opposite direction
    • Science of Rocketry: based on Sir Isaac Newton's three important scientific principles in Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687)
    • Sergei Korolev: leading player in the early Soviet space program, often referred to as the Soviet Chief Designer
    • Russians had a series of successes, including the launch of Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and Sputnik 3
    • Yuri Gagarin: first human to fly into space on Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961

    Surface Structure

    • Surface structure varies greatly from one planet or moon to another
    • Ways to determine surface structure:
      • Imaging: detects large structures, either passively or actively using radar imaging techniques
      • Radar echo brightness and variation of reflectivity: used to find small-scale structures (grain size), related to radar echoes and albedo

    Atmosphere

    • Composition and structure of an atmosphere can be determined from:
      • Spectral reflectance data
      • Thermal spectra and photometry
      • Stellar occultation profiles
      • Attenuation of radio signals

    Interior

    • Not directly accessible to observation
    • Can be derived from mass and size or gravitational field and rotation rate
    • Detailed information on internal structure may be obtained if seismometers can be placed on the planet's surface
    • Photometry: light curve, Attenuation: reduction in strength, Spectroscopy: to obtain composition and detect biosignatures

    Planetary Geology

    • Processes that shape surfaces:
      • Impact cratering: happens when objects crash into the planet, leaving bowl-shaped depressions (craters)
        • Most cratering occurred in the first billion years after the solar system formed
        • A surface with many craters has not changed much in 3 billion years
        • Craters are about 10 times wider than the object that made them
        • There are more small craters than large ones
      • Moons:
        • Charon, Nix, Styx, Kerberos, Hydra
      • Prominent features:
        • Tombaugh Regio (heart-shaped region)
        • Tartarus Dorsa (mountain showing snake-skin like appearance)
      • Artificial satellites:
        • New Horizons (the only flyby, 2015)

    Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris

    • Ceres:
      • The first known asteroid discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801
      • The largest object in the Asteroid Belt but the smallest of the five confirmed dwarf planets
      • Artificial satellite: Dawn (orbiter, 2015-2018)
    • Haumea:
      • An oval-shaped Trans-Neptunian Object discovered in 2004
      • Possibly has planetary rings due to a collision
      • Moons: Hi'iaka and Namaka
    • Makemake:
      • The second largest "cubewano" (classical Kuiper-Belt Objects)
      • Discovered in 2005 by a team headed by Mike Brown
      • Moon: MK2
    • Eris:
      • The most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System
      • Discovered in 2005 by a team headed by Mike Brown
      • Moon: Dysnomia

    Types of Spacecraft Exploration

    • Flybys:
      • Flies by a planet just once
      • Advantage: cheaper
      • Disadvantage: less time to gather data
    • Orbiters:
      • Go into orbit around another world
      • More time to gather data but cannot obtain detailed information about the world's surface
    • Probes/Landers:
      • Lands on the surface of another world
      • Explores the surface in detail
    • Spiral Wave Density:
      • If the moon is close to the ring, it affects the ring particles, causing ripples or wave-like motions
      • Used to estimate the masses of some of Saturn's small inner moons

    Size

    • Ways to determine size:
      • Angular size
        • To solve for the diameter of a body
        • Has large uncertainties in angular size because of limited resolution from Earth
      • Occultation:
        • Geometry of an asteroid occultation
        • Diameter of a solar system body can be deduced by observing a star as it is occulted by the body
        • Calculate the amount of time it takes for an object to pass a certain point
      • Radar echoes:
        • Can be used to determine radii and shapes for relatively nearby objects that may be studied with radar (similar to echolocation)
        • Especially useful for studying solid planets, asteroids, and cometary nuclei
      • Triangulation:
        • Triangulation using landers and orbiters to more accurately measure the radius of an object
      • Photometric observations:
        • Use of photometric observations at visible and infrared wavelengths
        • Can estimate the size and albedo of a body

    Sample Return Mission

    • Lands on the surface of another world
    • Gathers samples
    • Spacecraft designed to blast off another world and return to Earth
    • Examples: Apollo missions to the Moon, Hayabusa to an asteroid

    Solar System Boundaries

    • Heliosphere: the region of space containing magnetic fields and plasma of solar origin
    • Heliopause: the boundary of the heliosphere
    • Terminal shock: region just interior to the heliopause where the solar wind is slowed down
    • Heliosheath: Region between the termination shock and the heliopause
    • Bow shock: forms in front of the heliosphere as the sun moves through the interstellar medium

    IAU Resolution 2006: Defining a Planet

    • A planet is a celestial body that:
      • Is in orbit around the Sun
      • Has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium shape
      • Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit

    Star, Stellar Remnant, Brown Dwarf, and Planet

    • Star:
      • Self-sustaining fusion is sufficient for thermal pressure to balance gravity
      • Minimum mass for an object to be a star is often referred to as the hydrogen burning limit
    • Stellar remnant:
      • Dead star
      • No more fusion (or so little that the object is no longer supported primarily by thermal pressure)
      • Three types
    • Brown dwarf:
      • Substellar object with substantial deuterium fusion
      • More than half of the object's original inventory of deuterium is ultimately destroyed by fusion
    • Planet:
      • Negligible fusion, plus it orbits one or more stars and/or stellar remnants

    Properties of Planets

    • Polar flattening is greatest for planets that have a low density and rapid rotation
      • Saturn is the most oblate planet in our solar system
      • Faster spinning - more oblate shape
      • Slower spinning - more spherical shape
    • Ways to determine shape:
      • Direct imaging
      • Length of chords: observed by stellar occultation experiments at various sites
      • Analysis of radar echoes
      • Analysis of light curves
      • Central flash: sudden brightening at the minimum of a light curve

    Temperature

    • Can be calculated from the energy balance between solar insolation and reradiation outward
      • In situ measurements with a thermometer
      • Thermal infrared spectrum: good indicator of the temperature of the surface or cloud tops

    Rotation

    • A vector quantity related to spin angular momentum
    • Obliquity (axial tilt):
      • Angle between its spin angular momentum and its orbital angular momentum
      • < 90 degrees obliquity = prograde rotation
      • > 90 degrees obliquity = retrograde rotation
    • Ways to determine rotation:
      • Marking
      • Radio signals
      • Light curve
      • Doppler shift

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