Term
| 4 Major Features of the Solar System |
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Definition
1. patterns of motion
2. differences between terrestrial and jovian planets
3. the presence of asteroids and comets
4. exceptions to the rules |
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Term
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Definition
| our solar system formed from the gravitational collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas |
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Term
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Definition
| the cloud of gas our universe was born from, it was the product of billions of years of galactic recycling before the birth of the sun or planets |
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Term
| Heating in the Solar Nebula |
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Definition
| temperature increase as the nebula collapsed, the shrinking cloud's gravitational potential energy converted to kinetic energy and then to thermal energy as the temperature rose |
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Term
| Spinning in the Solar Nebula |
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Definition
| rapid rotation of the nebula led to a greater angular momentum |
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Term
| flattening in the Solar Nebula |
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Definition
| caused by the collision of particles in the rapidly spinning cloud |
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Term
| 4 Materials in the Nebula |
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Definition
1. Hydrogen and helium gas
2. hydrogen compounds (water, methane, and ammonia)
3. rock
4. metal |
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Term
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Definition
| separates the jovian and the terrestrial planets |
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Term
| how the terrestrial planets formed |
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Definition
| accretion - particles orbit the sun in the same path as condensed gas and combined through static electricity, forming the terrestrial planets |
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Term
| how the jovian planets formed |
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Definition
| collections of gravity acquired gas around icy planetesimals |
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Term
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Definition
| a stream of charged particles blown in all directions from the Sun |
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Term
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Definition
closest planet to the sun
craters- evidence of past collisions
-slow rotation rate, results in 3-month-long days and nights |
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Term
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Definition
thick atmosphere
closer to the Sun than Earth
Greenhouse effect -- difficult to radiate thermal energy through gases in the atmosphere
high temperatures |
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Term
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Definition
covered in liquid
moderate temperatures
surface protected by ozone and magnetic fields from our molten core |
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Term
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Definition
furthest out terrestrial planet
extreme surface features, scars |
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Term
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Definition
largest planet
63 moons
small ring system
the red spot |
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Term
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Definition
| temperatures were so high that only metal and rock could condense |
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Term
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Definition
| cooler temperatures allowed hydrogen compounds to condense into ice |
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Term
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Definition
| rocky leftover planetesimals of the inner solar system |
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Term
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Definition
| ice-rich planetesimals of the outer solar system |
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Term
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Definition
| based on carefully measuring the proportions of radioactive isotopes and their decay products within rocks. The ratio of isotopes changes with time and provides a measure of the rock's age |
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Term
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Definition
| where particles orbit the sun in the same path as condensed gas and combined through static electricity |
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Term
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Definition
| the period of intense gravitational encounters that sent planetesimals into deep space and scarred planets |
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Term
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Definition
| a large planetesimal collided with Earth and broke off a piece of it to form the Moon |
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Term
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Definition
entire planet is tilted 90 degrees from the orbital plane
the moons and rings rotate similarly, which suggests that whatever happened to turn it on its side happened early in its formation |
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Term
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Definition
furthest planet from the Sun
smaller than Uranus but more massive
its moon, Triton, has a backwards orbit |
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Term
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Definition
highly elliptical orbit
composed of rock and ice like a comet |
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Term
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Definition
formed by impacts of comets or asteroids
friction heats the impacting objects as it hits the ground
the heat vaporizes the object
the result is the circular crater with no sign of the impacting body |
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Term
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Definition
offer the opportunity for detailed observations of planetal surface geology
most are sent to Mars due to closeness outside of our orbit |
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