Earth's Moon
Most widely supported theory about the moon's formation
Giant Impact Theory
Which planet is upside down?
Venus
How long ago did our solar system form?
4.5-4.6 billion years ago
These laws describe the motions of orbiting objects
Kepler's Laws
The process by which our sun generates radiation and energy
Nuclear fusion
When the solar and lunar tidal bulges are in parallel
Spring tide
Where is the Kuiper Belt located?
Beyond Neptune's Orbit
What is the force behind the Nebular Hypothesis?
Newton's Law of Gravitation
What does it mean if eccentricity is closer to 1?
A planet's orbit is more linear
Indicates a star is moving towards us
Blue shift
Sun-Moon-Earth
What characteristic differentiates Mercury from the other terrestrial planets?
No atmosphere
During the creation of our solar system, did moons come from large or small objects?
Large
The angle of Earth's axis with respect to Earth's orbital plane
Obliquity
What is the first step of nuclear fusion? (Hint: what elements do you start and end with?)
2 Hydrogen -> 1 Helium
Why is Neil Armstrong's footprint still on the moon?
There is no atmosphere (no weather for erosion)
Which planet has an axis that is almost completely horizontal?
Uranus
Rank the galaxy shapes from youngest to oldest: ellipse, irregular, spiral
irregular, spiral, ellipse
What is Kepler's 3rd Law of planetary motion? What does it mean?
Law of periods. Further from the sun = longer orbit
Nuclear fusion in stars can make up to this element
Iron
What is unique about the moons period of rotation and period of revolution?
They are the same
What is the evidence for the Great Oxygenation event?
Banded Iron Formations
Rotating, flattened disk of gas & dust from which the solar system originated
Solar Nebula
What 3 things make up the Milankovitch cycles?
Eccentricity, Obliquity, Orbital Precession
Upon star death, what determines if a large mass star becomes a pulsar (neutron star) or a black hole?
The size of the supernova