EXOS FINAL TEST QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS!!
How would we be able to detect a large asteroid if it were heading straight for Earth?
The asteroid would appear as a slowly brightening point of light where no star had previously
been charted, and the spectrum of sunlight reflected from it would be blueshifted by the
Doppler effect.
Why does no major planet orbit the Sun at the location of the asteroid belt?
Jupiter's gravitational pull stirred up the planetesimals, preventing them from coalescing into a
single large object
The Kirkwood gaps are caused by
the gravitational pull of Jupiter, which nudges asteroids into new orbits.
What effect does Jupiter have on asteroids in the asteroid belt?
Jupiter perturbs only the orbits of asteroids whose orbital periods are a simple fraction (e.g.,
1/2, 1/3, 2/3, 2/7) of its orbital period.
What is the average distance between asteroids?
many times the distance between Earth and the Moon
Where do the Trojan asteroids orbit the Sun?
in circular orbits at the same orbital distance as Jupiter
If an asteroid were found to be orbiting in a circular path around the Sun at the
same distance as Jupiter (5.2 AU), what would be its orbital period compared with
that of Jupiter, which is 11.86 years?
same as Jupiter's period, 11.86 years
Asteroids whose orbits carry them across Earth's orbit are known as
Apollo asteroids
, What is the difference between an Apollo asteroid and an Amor asteroid?
Apollo asteroids cross the orbit of Earth, whereas Amor asteroids cross the orbit of Mars but
not Earth's orbit
The major difference between the orbital paths of comets that we see in the inner
solar system and those of the asteroids in the asteroid belt is that
cometary orbits are highly elliptical and at random inclinations to the ecliptic plane
compared with the circular orbits of asteroids in the ecliptic plane
The most likely origin of the "dirty snowballs" that become comets when they are
deflected into orbits that bring them closer to the Sun is the
Kuiper belt and Oort cloud surrounding the solar system.
To what does the term plutino refer?
icy object orbiting the Sun in the region of Pluto
The Kuiper belt is
a flat or donut-shaped distribution of distant comets around the Sun, extending out about
500 AU.
The Oort cloud is
a spherical distribution of distant comets around the Sun, extending out about 50,000 AU
What is considered to be the most likely origin of the comets in the Oort cloud?
The comets in the Oort cloud formed near the orbits of Uranus and Neptune and were
flung outward by the gravitational influence of these two planets.
Most comet nuclei are believed to be
pieces of dusty ice left over from the formation of the solar system
The nucleus of Comet Halley, as seen on close-up photographs taken by the
Giotto spacecraft, is
potato-shaped and darker than coal.
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS!!
How would we be able to detect a large asteroid if it were heading straight for Earth?
The asteroid would appear as a slowly brightening point of light where no star had previously
been charted, and the spectrum of sunlight reflected from it would be blueshifted by the
Doppler effect.
Why does no major planet orbit the Sun at the location of the asteroid belt?
Jupiter's gravitational pull stirred up the planetesimals, preventing them from coalescing into a
single large object
The Kirkwood gaps are caused by
the gravitational pull of Jupiter, which nudges asteroids into new orbits.
What effect does Jupiter have on asteroids in the asteroid belt?
Jupiter perturbs only the orbits of asteroids whose orbital periods are a simple fraction (e.g.,
1/2, 1/3, 2/3, 2/7) of its orbital period.
What is the average distance between asteroids?
many times the distance between Earth and the Moon
Where do the Trojan asteroids orbit the Sun?
in circular orbits at the same orbital distance as Jupiter
If an asteroid were found to be orbiting in a circular path around the Sun at the
same distance as Jupiter (5.2 AU), what would be its orbital period compared with
that of Jupiter, which is 11.86 years?
same as Jupiter's period, 11.86 years
Asteroids whose orbits carry them across Earth's orbit are known as
Apollo asteroids
, What is the difference between an Apollo asteroid and an Amor asteroid?
Apollo asteroids cross the orbit of Earth, whereas Amor asteroids cross the orbit of Mars but
not Earth's orbit
The major difference between the orbital paths of comets that we see in the inner
solar system and those of the asteroids in the asteroid belt is that
cometary orbits are highly elliptical and at random inclinations to the ecliptic plane
compared with the circular orbits of asteroids in the ecliptic plane
The most likely origin of the "dirty snowballs" that become comets when they are
deflected into orbits that bring them closer to the Sun is the
Kuiper belt and Oort cloud surrounding the solar system.
To what does the term plutino refer?
icy object orbiting the Sun in the region of Pluto
The Kuiper belt is
a flat or donut-shaped distribution of distant comets around the Sun, extending out about
500 AU.
The Oort cloud is
a spherical distribution of distant comets around the Sun, extending out about 50,000 AU
What is considered to be the most likely origin of the comets in the Oort cloud?
The comets in the Oort cloud formed near the orbits of Uranus and Neptune and were
flung outward by the gravitational influence of these two planets.
Most comet nuclei are believed to be
pieces of dusty ice left over from the formation of the solar system
The nucleus of Comet Halley, as seen on close-up photographs taken by the
Giotto spacecraft, is
potato-shaped and darker than coal.
