- StudyBlue
- Texas
- University of Houston - main campus
- Physics And Astronomy
- Physics And Astronomy 1305.
- Ignatiev
- chap. 14 Solar System Debris
chap. 14 Solar System Debris
Physics And Astronomy 1305. with Ignatiev at University of Houston - main campus
About this deck
By: Le Ho
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 28 flashcards
Views: 17
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 28 flashcards
Views: 17
About StudyBlue
STUDYBLUE makes things that make you better at school.
Things like online flashcards with photos and audio.
Things like personalized quizzes and friendly reminders about when (and what) to study next.
Think of it as a digital backpack™: access to all of your study materials online and on your phone.
STUDYBLUE exists to make studying efficient and effective for every student, for free. Join us.
“I have been getting MUCH better grades on all my tests for school. Flash cards, notes, and quizzes are great on here. Thanks!”
Kathy
Kathy
Sign up (free) to study this.
Describe Asteroids:
Asteroids are quite small, and most have eccentric orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
What is Ceres
The largest know asteroid
What are Trojan asteroids?
Some asteroids, called Trojan asteroids, orbit at the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points of Jupiter’s orbit
Asteroid Belts
Main asteroid belt does have some structure, due to orbital resonances
Know about Comet's and it's tail!
Comets have a very small nucleus, a coma of gas and dust that is the most visible part and can be very large, a hydrogen envelope, a dust tail, and an ion tail
Comet's tail
always points away from the Sun, due to the solar wind. The ion tail is straighter than the dust tail
Comet's tail con't
The comet’s tail develops as it approaches the Sun and disappears as it moves away from the Sun. The ion tail always points away from the Sun; the dust tail curves a bit as the comet gets ahead of it in its orbit.
Halley's Comet
most famous. 76 yrs.
The Stardust mission
flew through the tail of comet Wild-2, gathering dust particles in detectors made of aerogel and returning them to Earth for analysis
The Deep Impact Mission
The Deep Impact mission slammed a projectile into comet Tempel 1 and studied the material expelled in order to analyze the composition of the comet
What about the Kuiper Belt?
Most comets that enter the inner solar system reside in the Kuiper belt outside the orbit of Neptune. Occasionally a comet from the far larger Oort cloud wanders into the inner solar system as well.
When was Pluto discovered?
Discovered in 1930, thought to be needed to explain irregularities in the orbits or Uranus and Neptune, but no such irregularities.
Pluto's orbit?
Pluto’s orbit is eccentric and inclined to the plane of the ecliptic; it also crosses the orbit of Neptune
Current Theory of Pluto!
Current Theory is that Pluto is the nearest and largest of the Kuiper belt objects.
- Kuiper belt is outside the orbit of Pluto and has many icy chunks
- Kuiper belt is outside the orbit of Pluto and has many icy chunks
3 qualifications to be a planet
1) orbits the sun
2) Be massive enough that gravity keeps it spherical
3) Clear its orbit of other debris
pluto is 1,2 but not 3
2) Be massive enough that gravity keeps it spherical
3) Clear its orbit of other debris
pluto is 1,2 but not 3
Meteoroids
Meteoroids are defined as being less than 100 m in diameter. Most of the smaller ones are the remnants of comets that have broken up
Meteor Showers
If the Earth’s orbit intersects the comet’s, meteor showers will occur every year on the same date, until the meteoroids have burned out.
T/F: Larger meteoroids are usually loners from the asteroid belt and have produced most of the visible craters in the Solar System
true!
How many craters does Earth have?
about 100 craters (largest one is in Canada)
T/F: Most meteorites are ROCKY, some are Iron?
TRUE
Chapt 14: Summary
- Most asteroids orbit in asteroid belt
- Asteroid types: S types (silicate) C type (carbonaceous)
- a few asteroids are in Earth-crossing orbits
- Comets are icy and normally orbit far from the sun
- Asteroid types: S types (silicate) C type (carbonaceous)
- a few asteroids are in Earth-crossing orbits
- Comets are icy and normally orbit far from the sun
Chapt 14: Summary con't
-Comets have eccentric orbits, enters inner solar system
-most reside in the Oort cloud
-The Kuiper belt is just beyond the orbit of Neptune, a number of Kuiper belt objects have recently been observed
-most reside in the Oort cloud
-The Kuiper belt is just beyond the orbit of Neptune, a number of Kuiper belt objects have recently been observed
What happens to comets when the approach the sun
they vaporize!
what's a comet nucleus?
Comet nucleus is tiny, but coma and tails can be enormous, covering 30–40° of the sky
Define Meteors
• Meteors are the bright flashes of light from micrometeoroids hitting the atmosphere
What do you call a meteor that LANDS on Earth?
METEORITE
Meteors are like comets or asteroids?
• Meteors that burn up in the atmosphere are mostly similar to comets; those that land are more like asteroids
When will meteor showers happen?
The gradual disintegration of a comet as it orbits the Sun leaves a meteoroid swarm; if the Earth encounters a swarm, we see a meteor shower
About this deck
By: Le Ho
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 28 flashcards
Views: 17
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 28 flashcards
Views: 17
About StudyBlue
STUDYBLUE makes things that make you better at school.
Things like online flashcards with photos and audio.
Things like personalized quizzes and friendly reminders about when (and what) to study next.
Think of it as a digital backpack™: access to all of your study materials online and on your phone.
STUDYBLUE exists to make studying efficient and effective for every student, for free. Join us.
“I have been getting MUCH better grades on all my tests for school. Flash cards, notes, and quizzes are great on here. Thanks!”
Kathy
Kathy