Astronomy Quiz: Sun and Terrestrial Planets
89 Questions
2 Views

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

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

    Studying That Suits You

    Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

    Quiz Team

    Related Documents

    Planetary Science Reviewer AST01-AST15-part-2

    Description

    Test your knowledge of sun features like faculae, granulation, and prominences, as well as the characteristics of terrestrial planets. From solar flares to filaments, get ready to explore the solar system!

    More Like This

    Use Quizgecko on...
    Browser
    Open
    Browser
    Browser