...gets closer to the Sun Ancient times *Comets are ancient remains of ice and dust left over after the planets formed *in ancient times they believed a comet was a bad sign and that disease, wars and other disasters would follow *Ancient Britons believed they had a good reason to fear the comet that appeared in 1066 *in 1066 Britain was invaded by the French, the French killed the British ruler King Harold *People in ancient times believed that comets were “long-haired” stars How comets change when close to Sun *1st the Sun’s heat warms the outer surface of the comet and melts some of its ice *2nd the ice changes into gas and forms a cloud around the nucleus, at the same time dust that was frozen in the ice is released in the gas *3rd the cloud of gas and dust begins to reflect sunlight *4th as the comet comes closer to the Sun the cloud around the nucleus grows larger and shines more brightly in the sunlight The comet’s main parts *a comet has 3 main parts the nucleus, the head, and the tail *the brightest part of a comet, the comet’s head, is made up of the nucleus and the coma *deep in the core of the coma is the only solid part of the...
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...1. Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars (such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere before settling into their final orbits? | | It saves money because the spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines. | | | Each spacecraft also carried a lander, and the lander could only be dropped to the Martian surface when the spacecraft passed through the atmosphere. | | | It allowed the spacecraft to collect samples of the atmospheric gas for return to Earth. | | | It allowed the orbiters to get higher resolution pictures of the surface as it came close when skimming through the atmosphere. | 2 points QUESTION 2 1. Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters? | | It was easier for data to be radioed back to Earth with flybys than orbiters. | | | Each individual spacecraft was able to visit more than one planet. | | | Spacecraft making flybys can return to Earth more quickly than orbiters. | | | Flyby spacecraft can get closer to a planet than an orbiting spacecraft. | 2 points QUESTION 3 1. Which of the following statements about the recently-discovered object Eris is not true? | | It orbits the Sun in the same direction as the other planets. | | | It lies well beyond Pluto and Neptune. | | | It is thought to be the first example...
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...nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred metres to tens of kilometres across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma and tail are much larger and, if sufficiently bright, may be seen from the Earth without the aid of a telescope. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many different cultures. Comets have a wide range of orbital periods, ranging from several years to several millions of years. Short-period comets originate in the Kuiper belt or its associated scattered disc, which lie beyond the orbit of Neptune. Longer-period comets are thought to originate in the Oort cloud, a spherical cloud of icy bodies extending from outside the Kuiper Belt to halfway to the next nearest star. Long-period comets are directed towards the Sun from the Oort cloud by gravitational perturbations caused by passing stars and the galactic tide. Hyperbolic comets may pass once through the inner Solar System before being flung out to interstellar space along hyperbolic trajectories. Comets are distinguished from asteroids by the presence of an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere surrounding their central nucleus. This atmosphere has parts termed the coma (the central atmosphere immediately surrounding the nucleus) and the tail (a typically linear section consisting of dust or gas blown out from the coma by the Sun's light pressure or outstreaming solar wind plasma). However, extinct comets that have passed...
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...Term Paper “Comet C/2006 M4 SWAN”. GEOL 208/2- “The Earth, Moon and Planets” Fall 2006 - Lec AA Xxxxxx Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx ID# xxxxxxxx Due Date: December 5th, 2006 Page 1 Comets are beautiful. When in close proximity to heat, comet like objects become enveloped in gases that glow in light, they become even more magnificent when approaching close proximity to the sun. The tails of comets extend greater distances due to increased amount of sublimed gases as the intensity of light and heat of the sun increases. Right now and even as I attended a lecture only a few weeks ago given by Daniel Rosa on the subject of comets, comet C/2006 M4 SWAN is and was being hurled away from me and planet Earth never to return again.1 Many observers globally enjoyed the spectacle as SWAN approached closer and closer to the sun, however in our history we haven't always admired comets in such an amiable fashion. Many ancient culture viewed comets as bad omens. In reality a large comet impact on the earth can have devastating effects as demonstrated during the Tunguska event in 1908. Science has dispelled our mystical negative superstitions about comets and we have evidence to support that comet impacts may have helped mold earth into being a habitable environment for life2. In some respects our scientific observations and measurements have reduced the mystery and magic of comets to nothing more then over sized "dirty snow balls". We understand the anatomy of comets, we understand how they orbit...
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...about their numbers, orbits and physical characteristics. Most asteroids lie in a vast ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The main asteroid belt holds more than 200 asteroids larger than 60 miles long. Nearly all asteroids are irregularly shaped, although a few are nearly spherical. A comet is an icy body that releases gas or dust. They are often compared to dirty snowballs, though recent research has led some scientists to call them snowy dirtballs. Comets contain dust, ice, carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane and more. Astronomers think comets are leftovers from the gas, dust, ice and rocks that initially formed the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Comets orbit the sun but are believed to be located in an area called the Oort Cloud, far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Meteorites vary in size from a few millimetres across to several feet in diameter. Meteorites are rarely round in shape. They are typically irregular, with rounded edges. The surface of a freshly fallen meteorite will appear black and shiny due to the presence of a fusion crust, the result of frictional heating and abrasion of the outer surface of the rock as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere. Most meteorites are believed to originate in the asteroid belt between Mars and...
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...Imagine the speed of light, 300,000 Kilometers per second. It sounds extremely fast, but how fast is it really? well you would actually be able to travel around the equator 7,5 times in a second. Now that is fast, but not really a good example so lets think bigger, In the furthest reaches of the Solar System is the Oort Cloud; a theorized cloud of icy objects that could orbit the Sun to a distance of 1.87 light-years away. That is huge! and at the speed of light it would only take you 682 days to go from the sun to the cloud at 300,000 kilometers per second. In short the universe is vast; there are billions upon billion planets that could have extraterrestrial life on it. The question is; how long until we are able to travel these distances...
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...relatively well-studied, initially through telescopes and then later by spacecraft. This has provided a good overall understanding of the formation and evolution of this planetary system, although many new discoveries are still being made.[50] The black spot at the top is a dust devil climbing a crater wall on Mars. This moving, swirling column of Martian atmosphere (comparable to a terrestrial tornado) created the long, dark streak. NASA image. The solar system is subdivided into the inner planets, the asteroid belt, and the outer planets. The inner terrestrial planets consist of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The outer gas giant planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.[51] Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt, and finally the Oort Cloud, which may extend as far as a light-year. The planets were formed in the protoplanetary disk that surrounded the early Sun. Through a process that included gravitational attraction, collision, and accretion, the disk formed clumps of matter that, with time, became protoplanets. The radiation pressure of the solar wind then expelled most of the unaccreted matter, and only those planets with sufficient mass retained their gaseous atmosphere. The planets continued to sweep up, or eject, the remaining matter during a period of intense bombardment, evidenced by the many impact craters on the Moon. During this period, some of the protoplanets may have collided, the leading hypothesis for how the Moon was formed.[52] Once a planet reaches sufficient...
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...Chapter 12 Questions Gaps in the asteroid belt (often called Kirkwood gaps) are caused by ______. orbital resonances with Jupiter In science fiction movies, spaceships are often shown dodging through large numbers of closely spaced, boulder-size objects. Which of the following real things in our solar system would look most like such science fiction dangers? the rings of Saturn Suppose we discover a new comet on an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than Mercury every 125 years. What can we conclude? It has been on its current orbit for only a very short time compared to the age of our solar system Which of the following objects are probably not located in the same region of the solar system in which they originally formed? oort cloud comets The discovery of Eris __________. was not surprising, because other Kuiper belt objects approaching the size of Pluto had already been discovered When we see a meteor shower, it means that _________ Earth is crossing the orbit of a comet When you see the bright flash of a meteor, what are you actually seeing? the glow from a pea-size particle and the surrounding air as the particle burns up in our atmosphere Suppose you find a meteorite made almost entirely of metal. According to current science, which of the following statements must be true? Your meteorite is a fragment from the core of a large asteroid that shattered in a collision Why didn't a planet form where the asteroid belt is now located? Gravitational...
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...Test 2 Question 1 (2.5 points) The HR diagram is a plot of _________. Student response: Percent Value Correct Response Student Response Answer Choices a. luminosity versus mass versus weight b. apparent brightness versus interior star temperature 100.0% c. luminosity versus surface temperature of a star versus size in solar radii d. radius versus weight Score: 2.5 / 2.5 Question 2 (2.5 points) What factor caused different planets to form out of different types of material? Student response: Percent Value Correct Response Student Response Answer Choices a. The angular momentum of the forming planet. 0.0% b. The quantity of dust particles in the solar nebula. c. The variation in temperature throughout the solar nebula. d. none of the above Score: 0 / 2.5 Question 3 (2.5 points) Earth crossing asteroids are termed- Student response: Percent Value Correct Response Student Response Answer Choices 100.0% a. Apollo Asteroids b. Amor Asteroids c. Jovian asteroids d. Aten Asteroids Score: 2.5 / 2.5 Question 4 (2.5 points) Unlike the terrestrial planets, the planetismals that formed the jovian planets were made up of _________ materials. Student response: Percent Value Correct Response Student Response Answer Choices 100.0% a. icy b. extremely hot c. extremely dense d. none of the above Score: 2.5 / 2.5 Question 5 (2...
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...will present the arguments from both the sides and let the audience decide. What can possibly be the motive of aliens to venture towards earth and their assumed intentions to conquer earth? Like humans it might be their appetite for natural resources, they would know only too well that a civilization of our size would have used a substantial portion of our own resources, leaving them with very little to fight us for. On Earth, proven reserves of natural gas total 130 billion tons. Titan, one of the moons of Jupiter has on its surface many dozens of lakes filled not with water or even water in the form of ice, but of liquid methane and ethane, each of which individually having at least as much energy as our own proven reserves. The Oort Cloud surrounding the solar system, is rich in iron, nickel and water ice, and is a truly immense loosely spherical mass of pre-planetary material. It is estimated to contain as much material as all the planets and the Sun itself combined. Hence, aliens coming for earth's natural reserves seem very unlikely. Other reason could be that they needed environmental conditions similar to Earth, which might have ceased to exist on their own...
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...gradually. | | | | | * Question 2 2 out of 2 points | | | Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. Which factor explains why? | | | | | Selected Answer: | Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense. | | | | | * Question 3 2 out of 2 points | | | What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass? | | | | | Selected Answer: | Its density would increase but its diameter would barely change. | | | | | * Question 4 2 out of 2 points | | | Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Europa may have a subsurface ocean? | | | | | Selected Answer: | Astronomers have detected small lakes of liquid water on Europa's surface. | | | | | * Question 5 2 out of 2 points | | | According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be much less massive than Jupiter and Saturn? | | | | | Selected Answer: | Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so that accretion took longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula. | | | | | * Question 6 2 out of 2 points | | | Why does Jupiter have three distinct layers of clouds? | | | | | Selected Answer: | The three layers represent clouds made of gases that condense at different temperatures. | | | | | * Question 7 2 out of 2 points ...
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...Mid-term Practice 1. What is the meaning of the following words: cosmos, galaxy, solar system, local group, super cluster? 2. Using the ideas discussed in your textbook to expand on the comment that “we are star stuff" 3. Relative to the age of the universe, how old is our solar system? How old is the Earth? 4. Why do astronomers infer that the universe is expanding? 5. When did humans learn that the Earth is not the center of the universe and what evidence supported this revelation of thought? 6. Which of the following correctly describes the meridian in your local sky? 7. What do the following terms mean: zenith, meridian, latitude, declination, longitude, ecliptic, zodiac, and constellation. 8. Explain how we describe a location on Earth's surface. 9. Describe why we have seasons on Earth using the following terms: solstice, equinox, aphelion, perihelion, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn. 10. Explain why we have phases of the moon, what the different phases of the moon look like to an Earth observer, and how much time is takes to go between each phases. 11. Which of the following have the greatest frequency of occurrence: lunar eclipse or solar eclipse? 12. True or False: An observer on Earth can see the entire surface of the moon over 365 day period. Support your answer with reasoning from the textbook and Mastering Astronomy. 13. Explain an eclipse of the moon and sun occur. 14. Why were the following individuals...
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...Abstract Eight planets, fifty-eight moons, thousands of asteroids, and billions of meteoroids and comets and one dwarf planet named Pluto orbit the grand star, the Sun. Around and around they go. These planets and other object came from a huge explosion. The Big Bang Theory, which states that the universe began as a dense and hot point that was less than a fraction of an inch and has continued to evolve into what it is known as of today. The origin of the galaxy seems a mystery. But over time, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Scientists believe a supernova or star may have formed the universe. When the Earth first formed, it contained gasses which dissolved into the Earth’s molten planet. When this formation happened from the smaller bodies, these were called planetesimals. But not all planets are the same. The Jovian planets are shrouded by thick atmospheres that are rich in hydrogen and helium. These planets were formed away from the sun. A shooting star is what individuals think of when they see a vapor stream of dust and gas shooting across the sky. The sun helps make this spectacle possible and could be a reason why early astronomers were so curious about the skies. When an individual looks up at the night sky, he or she can get lost in the vast beauty. Who wouldn’t get mesmerized? Introduction Our solar system consists of the Sun, eight planets, the dwarf planet Pluto, fifty-eight moons, thousands of asteroids,...
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...Chapter 1: Our Place in the Universe 1.1 Our Modern View of the Universe * Geocentric universe: Earth-centered * Solar system: the Sun and all the objects that orbits it * Our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago * Galaxy: great island of stars in space, having from a few hundred million to a trillion or more stars * Milky Way Galaxy contains more than 100 billion stars; our Milky Way is in the Local Group * Galaxy cluster: collection of galaxies bound together by gravity. Small collections (up to a few dozen) are generally called groups, while larger collections are called clusters * Supercluster: gigantic region of space where many individual galaxies and many groups and clusters of galaxies are packed more closely together than elsewhere in the universe * Universe (cosmos): the sum total of all mater and energy * Observable Universe: the portion of the entire universe that can be seen from Earth * Universe is expanding, Big Bang occurred 14 billion years ago * Planet: moderately sized object that orbits a star and shines primarily by reflecting light from its star; an object is a planet if it (1) orbits a star, (2) is large enough for its own gravity to make it round, and (3) has cleared most other objects from its orbital path * Dwarf planet: object that meets the first two criteria but not the third, like Pluto * Moon (or satellite): an object that orbits a planet * Asteroid: a relatively small and rocky...
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...Strong Force - between hadrons Weak Force - between hadrons and some leptons Protons and neutrons (hardrons) are made out of smaller particles called quarks Leptons: includes electrons (mass & charge), neutrinos (mass, no charge) and their antiparticles Field particles: transmit fundamental forces Conservation Laws - Quantities conserved Energy-Mass Momentum (oriented) *Angular momentum (oriented) Charge Spin (oriented) # of Hadrons (number conserved) # of Leptons (number conserved) FORMS OF ENERGY Kinetic Potential Heat Chemical Mass Electromagnetic radiation Changes in volume When a thing is dropped and stopped by an object, electromagnetic force is overcoming the gravity force overlap of electron clouds of two objects First law of Thermodynamics Energy may be converted from one form to another, but the total must be conceived in any interactions. (Energy is conserved) THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE When get to very small dimensions, e.g. size of atom, very small amounts of momentum, we can never seem to know anything that we wanna know about it. There're pairs of quantity NB: You can violate the first law of thermodynamics for a very very short time, which has to be smaller than the Planck's ConstantREVIEW PLANCK'S CONSTANT *# of...
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