Exam 1 Part 1 Flashcards
(30 cards)
When Eris was discovered in 2005, it made a….
New definition of planets
Eris, discovered in 2005, was originally named…
2003 UB
IAUs new definition for planets…3 necessary conditions
1) orbit around the Sun
2) sufficient mass to make hydrostatic balance (round shape)
3) has cleared out its neighboring area around its orbit
8 objects (planets) that satisfy the three conditions of the IAU
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
If an object only satisfies the first two conditions of the three conditions given by the IAU, then it is called _____
A dwarf planet
Besides planets, satellites, and rings, what are the three important regions with more objects?
Asteroid belt: 1.5-5 AU, between Jupiter
Kuiper belt: 30-50 AU, beyond Neptune
Oort Cloud: 10,000-50,000 AU, 3D structure
The Sun’s solar interior is divided into…
Hydrogen burning core, radiative and convective zones
The convective zone affect the…
Above atmospheric layers
The nuclear fusion in the core is…
The source of solar energy
Regarding sun to earth relations, solar winds are related to….
The magnetic field
Regarding the sun to earth relations, solar radiation in luminosity are related to….
Energy source and temperature for Earth
Regarding sun to earth relations, sunspot/faculae and flare are related to
Climate change
Solar wind is…
The continuous flow of charged particles (ions, electrons, and neutrons) that comes from the sun in every direction
Solar wind consists of slow and fast components. The speed of the solar wind varies from…
Less than 300 km/s to over 800 km/s
Solar winds affect the Earth’s magnetosphere.
The white lines represents…
The blue lines surrounding the earth represent…
…The solar wind
…It’s protective magnetosphere
Solar winds and solar storms, represented by the white clouds, can…
Disrupt communications and navigational equipment, and damage satellites
Sunspots appear as dark spots on…
The surface of the sun (visible)
The number of sunspots also varies with an…
11 year cycle
Average diameter of sunspots is about…
37,000 (Sr ~ 690,000 km)
Sunspots have an average temperature of about…
4600 K, colder than the average surface temperature of the sun at 6000 K
In general, the surrounding areas of sunspots are….
Brighter, temperature higher than the average temperature of sun by 300 to 400 K
The areas of faculae are much larger than the areas of sunspots. Overall, the combination of sunspots and faculae result in a…
Net increase in the average solar radiation
Definition: solar flare
A sudden brightening over sons surface, which corresponds to the ejection of large mass of particles
Basic facts: solar flare
Size, a few times of earth
Time, a few minutes to a few hours
