Astronomy 161 -- Autumn 2007
In-Class Quiz 4 Study Guide

General Solar System
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   Names of the 8 planets
   Dwarf Planets (names of the 3 initial dwarf planets)
   Order of planets in the Solar System
   Main types of planets & other bodies


Origin of the Solar System
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   Clues to the formation in the present-day properties of the Solar System
      clues from the orbital motions
      clues from composition differences at different distances from the Sun
   Primordial Solar Nebula
      Condensation of gases into solid grains as the Solar Nebula cools.
      The "frost line"
   Formation of planetesimals from grains
   Formation of the Terrestrial Planets
   Formation of the Jovian Planets
   Formation of the Asteroids, Comets, and Kuiper Belt Objects


Terrestrial Planets
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Mercury
   Rotation Period locked in 3:2 tidal resonance with Sun
   Mercury's surface
      Impact craters
      Caloris Impact Basin & jumbled terrain at the antipodes
   Mercury's atmosphere (such as it is)
      How did it get that way?
   Mercury's interior
      large iron core and its supposed origin in a head-on impact
      weak magnetic field

Venus
   Slow, retrograde rotation
   Venus' atmosphere
      composition     
      pressure and temperature
      clouds
      How did it get that way?
   Runaway Greenhouse Effect
   Venus' surface
      radar mapping results
      rolling plains, valleys, & highlands
      extinct(?) volcanos & impact craters
      lack of plate tectonics
      upwelling & downwelling tectonism
   Contrast with the Earth

Mars
   2 moons: Phobos & Deimos
   Martian Atmosphere
     composition
     pressure & temperature
     dust storms
     How did it get that way?
   Martian Surface Features
     plains & cratered highlands
     volcanos (Olympus Mons & Tharsis Region)
     canyons & channels
     polar caps
   Water on Mars

Comparison of the Terrestrial Planets
   Interiors & Surfaces (differences & similarities)
      cratering as a way to determine terrain ages
      relation of tectonism to internal heat
      different forces that shaped the different surfaces
   Origin & evolution of terrestrial planet atmospheres
      Probably started with similar compositions & evolved very differently
      Role of the Greenhouse effect in atmosphere evolution
      Runaway Greenhouse effect
   Atmospheric Retention
   The Habitable Zone

Jupiter & Saturn
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   Gas Giants
   atmosphere composition
   internal structure
   internal heat
   atmospheric features
     belts & zones
     winds
     Great Red Spot of Jupiter
     differences between Jupiter & Saturn
   magnetic field of Jupiter

Uranus & Neptune
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   Ice Giants
   Rocky cores and slushy icy mantles
   Extreme tilt and Extreme seasons of Uranus
   Lack of internal heat on Uranus and its effect on Uranus' weather
   Internal heat of Neptune and its effect on Neptune's weather

Comparison of the Jovian Planets
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   Differences in internal structure
   Differences in amount of internal heat and its relation
      to the different "weather" on each of the Jovian planets.
   Differences in magnetic fields