Formation of the Solar System
How old is the Solar System?
4.6 Billions years old
How many moons do each of the terrestrial planets have?
Mercury = none
Venus = none
Earth = 1
Mars = 2 (Deimos and Phobos)
How long is a year on Jupiter?
1 Jupiter revolution = 12 years
A collection of asteroids orbiting between the inner & outer planets.
Asteroid Belt
1 AU = __________ miles
93,000,000
How many miles are in 1 light year?
~6 trillion
What is the atmospheric composition of Venus?
CO2
1 Neptune rotation = 16 hours
A region beyond Neptune which contains countless asteroids, comets, & dwarf planets.
Kuiper Belt
Which planet rotates 90 degrees on its side?
Uranus
How much time in regards to hydrogen fuel does the Sun have left?
~5 billion years
All of the planets rotate in this direction except for Venus and Uranus.
West to East / Counterclockwise
What gives Uranus and Neptune its blue atmosphere?
Methane. Its atmosphere is also composed of H, He, and Ammonia
A spherical layer beyond the Kuiper Belt of icy objects that surrounds the Sun.
Oort Cloud
Which planets were known by ancient people and do not have names to credit for their discovery?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
The disc of dust and gas that will eventually condense into planets is known as a
protoplanetary disc
What is the length of a day and year on Mercury?
rotation = 59 days
revolution = 88 days
Who discovered Uranus?
William Herschel
The closest star to our Sun
Proxima Centauri
This general rule of mass states that objects greater than 200 miles in radius begin to form more and more into a spherical shape.
The Potato Radius
The ___________ Hypothesis states that the formation of the solar system began as a nebula of gas and dust that condensed into a protostar as nuclear fusion began.
Nebular
How many AUs is Mars from the Sun?
1.52 AUs
How many moons do each of the gas giants have?
Jupiter = 92 moons
Saturn = 145 moons
Uranus = 28 moons
Neptune = 16 moons
The closest distance from a planet that a satellite can approach without being pulled apart by gravity.
Roche Limit
State at least 2 of the 3 requirements for an object to qualify as a planet.
It must orbit a star.
Its mass & gravity must be enough to force it into a nearly spherical shape.
It must have enough mass that its gravity has cleared away any other objects of a similar size near its orbit.