Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Test 2 Review Outline

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Refracting telescopes make images with a lens. Reflecting telescopes make images with a mirror. Modern research telescopes are all reflectors. CCDs are used for data collection. Data can be formed into image, analyzed spectroscopically, or used to measure intensity. Large telescopes gather much more light, allowing study of very faint sources. Large telescopes also have better resolution. Summary of Chapter 3

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Resolution of ground-based optical telescopes is limited by atmospheric effects. Resolution of radio or space-based telescopes is limited by diffraction. Active and adaptive optics can minimize atmospheric effects. Radio telescopes need large collection area; diffraction is limited. Interferometry can greatly improve resolution. Summary of Chapter 3, cont.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Infrared and ultraviolet telescopes are similar to optical. Ultraviolet telescopes must be above atmosphere. X rays can be focused, but very differently than visible light. Gamma rays can be detected but not imaged. Summary of Chapter 3, cont.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Solar system consists of Sun and everything orbiting it. Asteroids are rocky, and most orbit between orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Comets are icy, and are believed to have formed early in the solar system’s life. Major planets orbit Sun in same sense, and all but Venus rotate in that sense as well. Planetary orbits lie almost in the same plane. Summary of Chapter 4

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Four inner planets – terrestrial planets – are rocky, small, and dense. Four outer planets – Jovian planets – are gaseous and large. Nebular theory of solar system formation: Cloud of gas and dust gradually collapsed under its own gravity, spinning faster as it shrank. Condensation theory says dust grains acted as condensation nuclei, beginning formation of larger objects. Summary of Chapter 4, cont.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 4, cont. Planets have been discovered in other solar systems. Most are large and orbit much closer to the Sun than the large planets in our solar system do.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 5 Earth’s structure, from inside out: Core, mantle, crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere, magnetosphere Tides are caused by gravitational effects of Moon and Sun. Atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen; thins rapidly with increasing altitude. Greenhouse effect keeps Earth warmer than it would otherwise be.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 5, cont. Can study interior by studying seismic waves. Crust is made of plates that move independently. Movement at plate boundaries can cause earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain ranges, and rifts. New crust formed at rifts shows evidence of magnetic field reversals. Earth’s magnetic field traps charged particles from solar wind.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 5, cont. Main surface features on Moon: maria, highlands Heavily cratered No atmosphere and large day–night temperature excursions Tidal interactions responsible for synchronicity of Moon’s orbit

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 5, cont. The Moon’s surface has both rocky and dusty material. There is evidence for volcanic activity. The Moon apparently formed as a result of a large object colliding with Earth.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Mercury is tidally locked in a 3:2 ratio with the Sun. Mercury has no atmosphere; Venus has a very dense atmosphere, whereas the atmosphere of Mars is similar to Earth in composition but very thin. Mercury has no maria, but does have extensive intercrater plains and scarps. Summary of Chapter 6

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 6, cont. Venus is never too far from the Sun, and is the brightest object in the sky (after the Sun and Moon). It has many lava domes and shield volcanoes. Venus is comparable to Earth in mass and radius. Large amount of carbon dioxide in atmosphere, and closeness to the Sun, led to runaway greenhouse effect and very hot surface.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Northern and southern hemispheres of Mars are very different. South is higher and heavily cratered. North is lower and relatively flat. Major features: Tharsis bulge, Olympus Mons, Valles Marineris Strong evidence for water on Mars in the past Summary of Chapter 6, cont.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Mercury has very weak, remnant magnetic field. Venus has none, probably because of very slow rotation. Neither Venus nor Mars show signs of substantial tectonic activity. Summary of Chapter 6, cont.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 7 Jupiter and Saturn were known to the ancients; Uranus was discovered by chance, and Neptune was predicted from anomalies in the orbit of Uranus. Jovian planets are large but not dense; they are fluid and display differential rotation. Cloud layers have light zones and dark bands; wind pattern, called zonal flow, is stable.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 7, cont. Storms appear with regularity; the Great Red Spot of Jupiter has lasted for hundreds of years (that we know of). Due to conductive interiors and rapid rotation, Jovian planets have large magnetic fields. Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune radiate more energy than they receive from the Sun.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 8 Outer solar system has 6 large moons, 12 medium ones, and many smaller ones. Titan has a thick atmosphere and may have flowing rivers of methane. Triton has a fractured surface and a retrograde orbit. Medium-sized moons of Saturn and Uranus are mostly rock and water ice. Saturn’s rings are complex, and some are defined by shepherd moons.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 8, cont. The Roche limit is the closest a moon can survive near a planet; inside this limit rings form instead. Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all have faint ring systems. Pluto has three moons, Charon, Nix, and Hydra. Dwarf planets beyond Neptune (including Pluto) are now known as plutoids.