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Guiding Questions
Any model of solar system origins must explain
the present-day Sun and planets
1. What must be included in a viable theory of the
origin of the solar system?
2. Why are some elements (like gold) quite rare,
while others (like carbon) are more common?
3. How do we know the age of the solar system?
4. How do astronomers think the solar system
formed?
5. Did all of the planets form in the same way?
6. Are there planets orbiting other stars? How do
astronomers search for other planets?
1. The terrestrial planets, which are composed
primarily of rocky substances, are relatively
small, while the Jovian planets, which are
composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, are
relatively large
2. All of the planets orbit the Sun in the same
direction, and all of their orbits are in nearly the
same plane
3. The terrestrial planets orbit close to the Sun,
while the Jovian planets orbit far from the Sun
Key Words
Guiding Questions
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accretion
center of mass
chemical differentiation
condensation
temperature
conservation of angular
momentum
core accretion model
extrasolar planet
half-life
interstellar medium
Kelvin-Helmholtz
contraction
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meteorite
nebulosity
planetesimal
protoplanet
protoplanetary disk
(proplyd)
protosun
radioactive age-dating
radioactive decay
solar nebula
solar wind
T Tauri wind
transit
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albedo
asthenosphere
atmosphere (atm)
atmospheric pressure
aurora (plural aurorae)
convection
convection cell
core
crust (of Earth)
earthquake
global warming
greenhouse effect
greenhouse gas
igneous rock
Inner and outer core (of Earth)
lava
lithosphere
magma
magnetopause
magnetosphere
mantle
melting point
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mesosphere
metamorphic rock
northern and southern lights
oceanic rift
ozone
ozone layer
ozone hole
P and S waves
plastic
plate (lithospheric)
plate tectonics
rock
seafloor spreading
sedimentary rock
seismic wave
stratosphere
subduction zone
surface wave
thermosphere
troposphere
Van Allen belts
1. What is the greenhouse effect? How does it affect the
average temperature of the Earth?
2. Is the Earth completely solid inside? How can scientists
tell?
3. How is it possible for entire continents to move across
the face of the Earth?
4. How does our planet’s magnetic field protect life on
Earth?
5. Why is Earth the only planet with an oxygen-rich
atmosphere?
6. What are global warming and the “ozone hole”? Why
should they concern us?
Guiding Questions
1. Is the Moon completely covered with craters?
2. Has there been any exploration of the Moon
since the Apollo program in the 1970s?
3. Does the Moon’s interior have a similar
structure to the interior of the Earth?
4. How do Moon rocks compare to rocks found on
the Earth?
5. How did the Moon form?
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anorthosite
capture theory
center of mass
co-creation theory
collisional ejection
theory crater
• far side (of the Moon)
• fission theory
• impact crater
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lunar highlands
mare (plural maria)
mare basalt
moonquake
refractory element
regolith
synchronous rotation
terrae
volatile element
Key Terms
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greatest eastern elongation
greatest western elongation
solar transit
1-to-1 spin-orbit coupling
3-to-2 spin-orbit coupling
scarp
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hot-spot volcanism
prograde rotation
retrograde rotation
runaway greenhouse effect
shield volcano
Guiding Questions
1. What makes Mercury such a difficult planet to
see?
2. What is unique about Mercury’s rotation?
3. How do the surface features on Mercury differ
from those on the Moon?
4. Is Mercury’s internal structure more like that of
the Earth or the Moon?
Guiding Questions
1. What makes Venus such a brilliant “morning star” or
“evening star”?
2. What is strange about the rotation of Venus?
3. In what ways does Venus’s atmosphere differ radically
from our own?
4. Why do astronomers suspect that there are active
volcanoes on Venus?
5. Why is there almost no water on Venus today? Why do
astronomers think that water was once very common on
Venus?
6. Does Venus have the same kind of active surface
geology as the Earth?
Guiding Questions
1. When is it possible to see Mars in the night sky?
2. Why was it once thought that there are canals on Mars?
3. How are the northern and southern hemispheres of
Mars different from each other?
4. What is the evidence that there was once liquid water
on Mars?
5. Why is the Martian atmosphere so thin?
6. What have we learned about Mars by sending
spacecraft to land on its surface?
7. What causes the seasonal color changes on Mars?
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1. Why is the best month to see Jupiter different from one year to the
next?
2. Why are there important differences between the atmospheres of
Jupiter and Saturn?
3. What is going on in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot?
4. What is the nature of the multicolored clouds of Jupiter and Saturn?
5. What does the chemical composition of Jupiter’s atmosphere imply
about the planet’s origin?
6. How do astronomers know about the deep interiors of Jupiter and
Saturn?
7. How do Jupiter and Saturn generate their intense magnetic fields?
8. Why would it be dangerous for humans to visit certain parts of the
space around Jupiter?
9. How was it discovered that Saturn has rings?
10.Are Saturn’s rings actually solid bands that encircle the planet?
11.How uniform and smooth are Saturn’s rings?
12.How do Saturn’s satellites affect the character of its rings?
andesite
cosmic rays
crustal dichotomy
dust devil
favorable opposition
northern lowlands
permafrost
residual polar cap
rift valley
runaway icehouse effect
southern highlands
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A ring
B ring
belts
brown oval
C ring
Cassini division
D ring
differential rotation
E ring
Encke gap
F ring
G ring
Great Red Spot
hot spot
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internal rotation period
liquid metallic hydrogen
oblate, oblateness
plasma
ring particles
ringlets
Roche limit
shepherd satellite
thermal radiation
tidal force
white oval
zones
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bright terrain (Ganymede)
dark terrain (Ganymede)
Galilean satellites
hydrocarbon
ice rafts (Europa)
Io torus
occultation
polymer
prograde orbit
retrograde orbit
tidal heating
Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions
1. What is special about the orbits of Jupiter’s Galilean satellites?
2. Are all the Galilean satellites made of rocky material, like the Earth’s
moon?
3. What could account for differences between the inner and outer
Galilean satellites?
4. Why does Io have active volcanoes? How does Io’s volcanic activity
differ from that on Earth?
5. How does Io act like an electric generator?
6. What is the evidence that Europa has an ocean beneath its
surface?
7. What is unusual about the magnetic fields of Ganymede and
Callisto?
8. How is it possible for Saturn’s moon Titan to have an atmosphere?
9. Why do some of Jupiter’s moons orbit in the “wrong” direction?
10. What kinds of geologic activity are seen on Saturn’s medium-sized
satellites?
Guiding Questions
1. How did Uranus and Neptune come to be discovered?
2. What gives Uranus its distinctive greenish-blue color?
3. Why are the clouds on Neptune so much more visible
than those on Uranus?
4. Are Uranus and Neptune merely smaller versions of
Jupiter and Saturn?
5. What is so unusual about the magnetic fields of Uranus
and Neptune?
6. Why are the rings of Uranus and Neptune so difficult to
see?
7. Do the moons of Uranus show any signs of geologic
activity?
8. What makes Neptune’s moon Triton unique in the solar
system?
9. Are there other planets beyond Pluto?
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Uranus was discovered by chance, but Neptune’s
existence was predicted by applying Newtonian
mechanics
• Uranus recognized as a planet in 1781 by
William Herschel
• Neptune’s position calculated in mid1840’s because of slight deviations in
Uranus’ orbit
• Credit shared by Le Verrier and Adams
Guiding Questions
1. How and why were the asteroids first discovered?
2. Why didn’t the asteroids coalesce to form a single
planet?
3. What do asteroids look like?
4. How might an asteroid have caused the extinction of the
dinosaurs?
5. What are the differences among meteoroids, meteors,
and meteorites?
6. What do meteorites tell us about the way in which the
solar system formed?
7. Why do comets have tails?
8. Where do comets come from?
9. What is the connection between comets and meteor
showers?
Key Words
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Kuiper belt
magnetic axis
occultation
radiation darkening
Key Words
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amino acids
asteroid
asteroid belt
carbonaceous chondrite
coma (of a comet)
comet
differentiated asteroid
dust tail
hydrogen envelope
intermediate-period
comet
iron meteorite (iron)
ion tail
Kirkwood gaps
Kuiper belt
long-period comet
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meteor
meteor shower
meteorite
meteoroid
minor planet
near-Earth object (NEO)
nucleus (of a comet)
Oort cloud
radiation pressure
stable Lagrange points
stony iron meteorite
stony meteorite (stone)
tail (of a comet)
Trojan asteroid
undifferentiated asteroid
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