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space test 2 - lecture 6
geography 2090
106
Astronomy
Undergraduate 2
10/28/2014

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Cards

Term
how many planets can the unaided eye see?
Definition
5
Term
what year was the telescope invented
Definition
1609
Term
what is the typical sequence of exploration of another world?
Definition
flyby
orbit
landing
roving
sample return
Term
what took the first pictures of the far side of the moon?
Definition
Luna 3
Term
What was the first shuttle to fly past Mars?
Definition
Mariner 4
Term
what mission took images of all 4 gas planets?
Definition
Voyager (2 spaecrafts)
Term
what is the plan for the first pluto flyby?
Definition
New Horizons
Term
What was the first Mars orbiter?
Definition
Mariner 9
Term
What was the first Saturn orbiter?
Definition
Cassini
Term
What was the first Mercury orbiter?
Definition
Messenger
Term
First spacecraft to land on the moon?
Definition
Luna 9
Term
What was the first spacecraft to land on Mars?
Definition
Mars 3 then Viking 1
Term
What was the first rover on the moon?
Definition
Lunokhod 1
Term
What was the first rover on Mars?
Definition
Sojourner
Term
What was the first rover on Venus
Definition
Vega 1
Term
which planet has had balloons sent to it?
Definition
Venus
Term
Where have samples been returned from?
Definition
the moon
a comet
an asteroid
Term
what is the theory about how the moon was formed?
Definition
giant collision between Earth and another large object
Term
What was different about the moon landings?
Definition
they happened before the first orbiters
Term
what were the first moon orbiters?
Definition
Luna 10 and Orbiter 1
Term
What are the current moon missions?
Definition
Lunar Reconaissance orbiter - NASA
two arteis spacecraft - mapping radiation
Term
GRAIL
what did it do?
why?
Definition
gravity mapping spacecraft
carried cameras for public viewing
set up by NASAs first female astronaut
Sally Ride
Term
What did LADEE do?
Definition
measured gas and dust near the surface of the moon
Term
What did LCROSS do?
Definition
hit a permanently shadowed polar crater on the moon, excavating water, and other volatiles such as mathane and carbon dioxide
Term
Which planet is hard to see? why?
Definition
Mercury because it is very close to the sun
Term
describe Mercury's landscape
Definition
many craters
extensive lava flows
long, winding cliffs, suggesting it has shrunk
Term
Mercury's magnetic field?
Definition
very strong, unlike the moon's which is almost gone
Term
what suggests that Mercury has been more active than the moon?
Definition
many volcanic vents
Term
What is similar between Mercury's craters and the moon's craters?
Definition
both have some that are permanently shaded with ice in the polar shadows
Term
What has made 3 flybys of Mercury?
Definition
Mariner 10
Term
What are future plans to explore Mercury?
Definition
BepiColombo and a japanese orbiter
Term
what is the atmosphere of Venus like?
Definition
very thick and cloudy
Term
What is Venus like?
Definition
a hostile desert with high atmospheric temperature and pressure
covered with volcanoes and lava flows
highland areas that resemble Earth's continents
Term
Is there water on Venus?
Definition
no
Term
what is the difference between Earth and Venus' volcanic activity?
Definition
no tectonic plates on Venus
Term
What flyby missions have studied Venus' atmosphere?
Definition
Mariner 10
The best orbital pictures were by Magellan (NASA)
Term
What has studied Venus' surface?
Definition
Venera probes 9, 10, 13, 14
Term
What is currently orbiting Venus?
Definition
Venus Express (European)
Term
Which planet has the most potential for human life?
Definition
Mars
Term
What is Mars like?
Definition
cold, desert with a tin atmosphere and very low temperatures
large features with the biggest volcanoes and canyons in the solar system
Term
Why is Mars a "hybrid world"?
Definition
it is half moon like and half earth like
Term
what is the southern hemisphere of mars like?
Definition
cratered, like the moon
Term
what is the northern hemisphere of mars like?
Definition
low lying and flat- may have held seas
Term
What do Mars' polar caps do?
What is special about these changes?
Definition
Shrink and grow with the seasons, much like what happens on earth
most of the changes happen in thin carbon dioxide ice layers over thick permanently frozen water ice.
Term
What suggests that there used to be water on mars?
Definition
features look like dry riverbeds and glaciers
Term
what are the moons of mars?
Definition
Phobos and Deimos, both are small
Term
Why are Phobos and Deimos oddly shaped?
Definition
their gravity is too weak to force themselves into spherical objects
Term
What is Phobos like?
Definition
lined with many groove-like valleys
Term
What is Deimos like?
Definition
very smooth and is covered with a thick layer of loose debris
Term
What flyby missions have been done to Mars?
Definition
Mariners 4, 6, and 7
Term
Which orbiters went to Mars?
Definition
Mariner 9 and Viking
Term
Which landers went to Mars?
Definition
Viking, Pathfinder, and Phoenix
Term
What current studies are being done on Mars?
Definition
MRO and Mars odyssey missions
Term
What is MRO?
Definition
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Term
How many landing sites do we have pictures of on Mars?
Definition
7
Term
What are asteroids?
Definition
rocky leftovers of the building blocks of the planets
Term
why are asteroids a threat and benefit?
Definition
they could hit us, or they could provide resources
Term
Which spacecraft has flown past which 2 asteroids?
Definition
Galileo fly past Gaspra and Ida
Term
What is NEAR? what did it do?
Definition
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
flew past Mathilde and then orbited Eros and landed on it
Term
What mission studied Itokawa?
Definition
japanese Hayabusa, landed, collected samples and returned them to earth
Term
What asteroids has Rosetta look at?
Definition
Steins and Lutetia
Term
What other spacecrafts have studied asteroids on their way elsewhere
Definition
stardust and Deep space 1
Term
What is ARM? what does it plan to do?
Definition
Asteroid Redirect Mission
plans to put a small asteroid in orbit around the moon to be visited by people before venturing to a further asteroid
Term
What are comets to astronomers?
Definition
fuzzy clouds of gas and dust in the night sky
Term
what is at the heart of a comet?
Definition
an ice rich asteroid
Term
What is the tail of the comet composed of?
Definition
mixtures of ice, frozen CO2, methane and other substances
Term
Why are comets sometimes black, but still made of ice?
Definition
as the surface erodes, it becomes covered with dust, carbon compounds, etc.
Term
what causes a comet to behave as an asteroid?
Definition
if it is old, it may dry out, or the black surface might prevent it from further evaporation
Term
what could cause an asteroid to behave as a comet?
Definition
if it gets warmer than usual, or if an impact exposes fresh ice
Term
what was the first comet visited?
Definition
Comet Halley
Term
What happened to Giotto?
Definition
got pictures of halley, but was damaged by dust
Term
What spacecraft was the first to return samples from another world other than the moon? from what?
Definition
Stardust from Comet Wild-2
Term
What is Jupiter like?
Definition
no solid surface, even the rocky core is molten
all we see are the ever changing clouds
Term
What is different about the heat transfer of Jupiter?
Definition
it gives off more heat than it recieves
Term
Which planet's vast magnetic field traps strong radiation belts and emits powerful radio waves
Definition
Jupiter
Term
how many moons does Jupiter have?
Definition
60, but only 4 are planet sized
Term
which two of Jupiter's moons are the size of our moon?
Definition
Io and Europa
Term
What are Jupiter's two moons that are the size of Mercury?
Definition
Ganymede and Callisto
Term
What is Callisto like?
Definition
dark, and covered with craters
Term
What is Ganymede like?
Definition
surface is covered with fractures from being heated up
has a magnetic field and may have an ocean
Term
how is the heat in the moons of Jupiter created?
Definition
the tides caused by Jupiter, which is the strongest at Io, the closest moon.
Term
Which spacecraft was the first to go through the asteroid belt and survive Jupiter's radiation belts?
Definition
Pioneer 10 and 11
Term
What did voyager discover about Jupiter?
Definition
a thin ring and active volcanoes on Io
Term
Which spacecraft dropped a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere?
Definition
Galileo
Term
Is saturn larger or smaller than Jupiter?
Definition
smaller
Term
Saturn's ring system?
Definition
enormous, and made of many small ice chunks
Term
What is Saturn's planet sized moon?
Definition
Titan
Term
What is Titan like?
Definition
has a thick, hazy, nitrogen atmosphere over an icy surface ad clouds of methane droplets which create methane lakes at the poles.
Term
Where is the only place other than Earth where we see liquid in action?
Definition
Titan
Term
Examples of Saturn's moons that are low activity
Definition
Rhea and Mimas
Term
Examples of highly active moons of Saturn
Definition
Dione and Encladus
Term
what is the patter of activity in Saturn's moons?
Definition
there isn't one
Term
What was the first planet to be discovered?
Definition
Uranus
Term
What is Uranus like?
Definition
a mid-sized, methane rich gas giant with thin, dark rings
tilted on its side compared to its orbit
Term
what has visited Uranus?
Definition
Voyager 2
Term
Which planet was discovered as a result of predictions?
Definition
Neptune
Term
Why was Neptune discovered?
Definition
Uranus moved faster or slower than predicted at certain points
Term
What is Neptune like?
Definition
methane rich, gas giant planet with a system of rings and moons
Term
What is Neptune's biggest moon?
Definition
Triton
Term
What is Triton like?
Definition
very thin atmosphere, few craters. thin plumes of dust
Term
What is special about Triton?
Definition
it is the only large moon to orbit backwards compared to its planet rotation
Term
What has been to neptune?
Definition
voyager 2 flew by
Term
How was Pluto found?
Definition
In an attempt to repeat the results of the Neptune discovery
Term
What is plutos satellite?
Definition
Charon
Term
What is special about pluto's axis?
Definition
it is tilted
Term
What is a replacement to the Hubble Space Telescope?
Definition
The James Webb Space Telescope
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