Mercury
How strong is Mercury's magnetic field on a scale of 1-10 (1 is very week-10 is one of the strongest)
It is pretty weak so probably about 2.
Jupiter has the strongest magnetic field followed by Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Then Earth and Mercury. Venus and Mars have no known magnetosphere.
What is Venus most known for?
Volcanoes! V=Volcanoes There are thousands of volcanoes all over Venus that shoot out hot lava.
Why does earth have seasons?
The Earth has seasons because it's axis is tilted. The sun's light shines more direction on the northern hemisphere during the summer. The concentration and aim of the sun's light makes it hot and vice versa. The Earth's tilt makes the distance of the sun's heat change.
What is Jupiter most known for?
The storms/ The Great Red Spot
Who are the most awesome astronomy students there ever were?
You guys! Awesome job on score the extra bonus points! :)
What is the temperature like on Mercury?
Freezing cold at night (-290F) but sizzling hot during the day (800F) Each are equivalent to 59 Earth days
What keeps Venus so hot?
The thick clouds and atmosphere! The heat builds up from inside the planet, and is then unable to escape, which traps the heat and it builds up. It's similar to a pot boiling on the stove and trapping the boiling water/heat inside the pan.
What causes the high and low tides we see on Earth
The moon's gravity causes a pull on the Earth, thus making it bulge in certain areas. The bulging areas experience high tides, while the other "squished" areas experience low tide.
What traits do Jupiter and Saturn share with the sun?
They both are made mostly of 2 gases: hydrogen and helium.
If Uranus and Neptune also have helium and hydrogen in their atmosphere just like Jupiter and Saturn, why do they look blue?
Uranus and Neptune have helium and hydrogen in their atmosphere, but they both also have methane which absorbs the red light and reflects the blue light, making our eyes see blue.
What is Mercury's atmosphere made of?
Nothing because Mercury doesn't have an atmosphere!
What are Venus's clouds (not atmosphere) primarily made of?
Sulfuric Acid (The atmosphere is made of C02)
Mars has the largest Volcano in the whole solar system. What is is called?
Olympus Mons (it's a shield volcano and 3 times the size of mount Everest) Astronomers can actually see the volcano with a telescope.
Saturn has a unique quality that no other planet can claim. What is it?
Saturn is the only planet that would actually float because it is less dense than water.
What characteristic can you see on Neptune that's similar to what's found on Jupiter?
Great dark spot.
What is Mercury's core likely made of?
Iron and Nickel, just like Earth!
What is unique about Venus' days and years?
A year on Venus is shorter than day on Venus because Venus orbits around the sun faster than it rotates.
If you were to dig a hole 20 feet deep, what layer of Earth would you reach?
The mantle (it is made of hot, semi-solid rock)
Layers of the Earth from outside in are:
Crust, Upper mantle, Lower Mantle, Outer core, inner core.
The 4 biggest moons that orbit Jupiter are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. When they're talking about Jupiter's 4 biggest moons, what do scientists refer to them as, and why do they call them by this group name?
They are called Galilean moons in honor of Galileo who first discovered them with a telescope.
Which planet rotates at a tilt and why?
Uranus is tilted at about 98 degrees. Scientists don't know why, but believe that an Earth sized collision hit it millions of years ago, causing it to tilt.
NASA has had only two satellites that have made close observations of Mercury. Name them.
Messenger and Mariner 10
Venus has some different types of volcanos on it's planet. Name at least 3 of them.
shield volcanoes, pancake domes, lava flows, stratovolcano (or composite volcano) and "tick-like" structures called scalloped margin domes,
Mars is the only planet to have 2 moons. What are their names?
Phobos and Deimos, but they look more like potato shapes, and Phobos is getting closer and closer to the Mars every day. Scientists believe it will eventually crash on Mars (40 million years).
Why is Saturn's satellite (Titan) so interesting to astronomers?
Titan is Saturn's biggest moon, and it is the ONLY moon in the solar system known to have an atmosphere. It's atmosphere is made of nitrogen and methane, which makes Titan look orange.
What is something that is unique to Neptune's biggest moon, Triton? (two possible answers)
It revolves around Neptune opposite of the direction that Neptune rotates, and it is filled with geysers.
Scientists believe this moon will also eventually crash in to Neptune.