Planetary System Unit Test

Question 1

When is a comet’s ion tail visible, and how does it point relative to the sun?

Answer 1

It points away from the sun

Question 2

What class of asteroid is by far the most common in the solar system: C-class, S-class, or M-class?

Answer 2

C-Class (carbon)

Question 3

Is a comet that comes back every 50 years a short period or long period comet? Where did that comet originate
from?

Answer 3

Short period…Kuiper Belt

Question 4

How does the naming system for the discovery of comets vary from every other naming system in astronomy?

Answer 4

Comets are named for their discoverers

Question 5

Where is the most famous impact crater in the US, and how large is it in diameter?

Answer 5

Meteor Crater (barringer Crater)-nearly a mile across

Question 6

What happens to the majority of rocks that enter the atmosphere?

Answer 6

They burn up

Question 7

What are the two different places of origin for cometsin our solar system?

Answer 7

Kuiper Belt and oort cloud

Question 8

Which asteroid has been reclassified as a dwarf planet?

Answer 8

Ceres

Question 9

Which meteorite is easily the most documented atmospheric event ever in terms of video footage and data
collected?

Answer 9

Chelyabinsk

Question 10

What highly anticipated comet came in 1996 and stayed into 1997, to our careful observation?

Answer 10

Hale Bopp

Question 11

What comet was the first to have its return successfully predicted? How often does this comet pass by the sun?

Answer 11

Halley’s Comey-76 years

Question 12

Other than being made of mostly carbon, what distinguishes C-class asteroids from the others?

Answer 12

Harder to see, reflects less light

Question 13

What would probably do the most damage, a 1-ton C-class, a 1-ton M-class, or a 1-ton S-class? Why?

Answer 13

M-class, because it’s the densest

Question 14

What was the biggest identified factor that spared the citizens of Chelyabinsk from probably fatalities?

Answer 14

it had a shallow entry angle(it exploded high in the atmosphere)

Question 15

How do the orbits of comets compare to the orbits of the planets and the asteroids?

Answer 15

The orbit looks like a line (more eccentric, or flat) more elliptical

Question 16

What are the many ingredients that go into being a comet?

Answer 16

Rock, dust, ice, frozen gases, organic matter

Question 17

Meteor Crater…how big was the asteroid that caused that impact?

Answer 17

about 50 meters

Question 18

Give a possible explanation for the location and formation of our asteroid belt.

Answer 18

it is possibly the remains of a failed 5th planet between mars and Jupiter

Question 19

What does the element iridium have to do with locating asteroid and comet impacts on earth?

Answer 19

Rare on earth, common in space

Question 20

How does a comet’s speed change throughout its orbit?

Answer 20

comets speed up as they pass the sun and slow down as they depart

Question 21

How are we able to predict when the next meteor shower is going to be?

Answer 21

we pass through the same debris fields in our orbit at the same times each year

Question 22

Give multiple reasons that water would be useful as a resource if mined from an asteroid.

Answer 22

hydrogen makes rocket fuel, oxygen is breathable, water is drinkable, and their shielding.

Question 23

Which portion of the comet can we observe the process of sublimation from ice into gas taking place?

Answer 23

coma

Question 24

What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteoroid?

Answer 24

Asteriod is big and meteoroids are small

Question 25

What is the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?

Answer 25

Meteor…you can see it burn up, meteorite hits the ground

Question 26

Why is a tektite not considered to be a meteorite?

Answer 26

tektites are rocks from earth debris that is ejected when a space rock collides with the earth

Question 27

Why would the usage of nuclear bombs and bombs in general be frowned upon in attempting to prevent a
potential impact of an incoming rock?

Answer 27

after the explosion, gravity pulls the fragments of the rock together into a rubble pile

Question 28

If a comet impacted the earth, it would probably be at a noticeably higher speed than an asteroid. Why is this
most likely the case?

Answer 28

comets speed up significantly as they pass the earth

Question 29

What does the commonly occurring mineral quartz have to do with asteroid impact craters?

Answer 29

shocked quartz is evidence of violent impact

Question 30

What are the outer planets primarily made up of in terms of composition?

Answer 30

hydrogen and helium

Question 31

What would be the two-name classification for a Mars-sized planet discovered in the habitable zone of a star?

Answer 31

warm subterran

Question 32

List the top six moons (in descending size) in the solar system. How many of these belong to Jupiter?

Answer 32

ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Io, Luna, Eurpoa. All but Luna and Titan belong to Jupiter

Question 33

What characteristic is very distinct about Saturn’s moon Titan?

Answer 33

has a true atmosphere of nitrogen

Question 34

Which dwarf planets do we recognize officially?

Answer 34

Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Ceres

Question 35

How does the period of rotation (the day) for the inner planets compare to the day for the Jovian planets?

Answer 35

Rocky planets take longer to rotate in all cases

Question 36

Name the largest mountain and largest canyon in the solar system.

Answer 36

Mount Olympus and the valley of Mariner on mars

Question 37

Name the moon(s) that has generated the most interest by NASA in terms of the search for life. (Why?)

Answer 37

Eurpoa of Jupiter because of its subsurface ocean

Question 38

Describe the atmospheres for each of the four inner planets.

Answer 38

Mercury-none, Venus-dense and CO2, Earth-moderate nitrogen/oxygen, Mars- very thin

Question 39

Rank the inner planets in terms of length of day from shortest to longest.

Answer 39

Earth (24), Mars (24.5), Mercury (60 days), Venus (240 days)

Question 40

Contrast the physical effects of long-term microgravity vs. long-term hypergravity.

Answer 40

Microgravity: bone density loss and muscle loss; Hypergravity: blood/circulation problems, strokes

Question 41

Why would a “tidally locked” exoplanet present a challenge to habitability for humans?

Answer 41

You would have a permanent hot side from facing the sun…boiling

Question 42

How is the transit method used to discover exoplanets?

Answer 42

An exoplanet moves in front of a star, blocking out a portion of lights on graph called light curve, determines size and speed of the exoplanet

Question 43

What moon of Neptune literally orbits retrograde in its path?

Answer 43

Triton

Question 44

What was significant about the Shoemaker-Levy comet?

Answer 44

It slammed into Jupiter in 1994

Question 45

Why does Venus suffer from a runaway greenhouse effect but neither Mars nor Earth do?

Answer 45

Venus’s thick CO2 atmosphere traps a tremendous amount of heat

Question 46

Which two planets in the solar system would probably be considered the best pair of “twins”?

Answer 46

Uranus and Neptune are the most similar two planets

Question 47

In planetary science, what is the “ESI” and how does it work?

Answer 47

Earth similarity index; 0-1 scale determining how like earth a planet is

Question 48

Why is the Roche Limit important for moons orbiting gas giants?

Answer 48

any moon that passes inside the Roche Limit of a gas giant would be torn apart due to tidal forces

Question 49

If a comet’s ion tail and its dust tail overlap one other, what would it mean about the position of the comet
relative to the sun?

Answer 49

It has moved far from the sun or approaching the sun but still a long way out