What is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars?
Based on what you have learned, what is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars? Gravity was too weak to allow asteroids to form in this part of the solar system. All the asteroids that formed between Mercury and Mars later migrated to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Why do most exoplanets discovered by the radial velocity method have orbits relatively close to their host stars quizlet?
Why do most extrasolar planets discovered by the Doppler method have orbits relatively close to their host stars? These close-in planets are easier to detect because they cause larger Doppler shifts.
Which of the following observations indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past?
Which of the following is farthest from the Sun? Which of the following observations indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past? There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
What is the difference between a hot Jupiter and a cold Jupiter quizlet?
What is the difference between a hot Jupiter and a cold Jupiter? Hot Jupiters orbit close to the parent stars; cold Jupiters do not.
Which of the following best explains why we can rule out the idea that planets are usually formed by near collisions between stars?
Which of the following best explains why we can rule out the idea that planets are usually formed by near-collisions between stars? Stellar near-collisions are far too rare to explain all the planets now known to orbit nearby stars.
What is the most likely reason that there are no giant planets beyond Neptune?
A) Any planets forming beyond Neptune would have drifted out of the solar system due to the weakness of the Sun's gravity at this distance.
Why are so many of the extrasolar planets that have been detected thus far in orbits so close to their stars?
While the Doppler technique is most widely used for detecting extrasolar planets, it is best suited to look for very massive planets orbiting close to their parent star. This is because the parent star will wiggle more with a large planet nearby, thereby creating a larger and more easily detectable spectral shift.
Why is it considered to be in the habitable zone even though it’s so close to a Sun?
The distance Earth orbits the Sun is just right for water to remain a liquid. This distance from the Sun is called the habitable zone, or the Goldilocks zone. Rocky exoplanets found in the habitable zones of their stars, are more likely targets for detecting liquid water on their surfaces.
Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars’s atmosphere before settling into their final orbits?
Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere before settling into their final orbits? It saves money because the spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines.
Which of these upcoming observations will help test the idea that Mars atmosphere thinned due to interactions with the solar wind?
Which of these upcoming observations will help test the idea that Mars' atmosphere thinned due to interactions with the solar wind? The upcoming MAVEN orbiter will measure present-day gas loss from Mars' atmosphere.
Why couldn’t you stand on the sun’s surface?
Why couldn't you stand on the Sun's surface? The Sun doesn't have a solid surface.
Why did a major planet not form out in the Kuiper Belt?
Similar to the relationship between the main asteroid belt and Jupiter, it's a region of objects that might have come together to form a planet had Neptune not been there. Instead, Neptune's gravity stirred up this region of space so much that the small, icy objects there weren't able to coalesce into a large planet.
What’s the fundamental reason that Mars Unlike the Earth has become virtually geologically dead?
What's the fundamental reason that Mars, unlike the Earth, has become virtually geologically dead? Its small size compared to Earth. Small size leads to less volcanic outgassing and greater atmospheric loss.
What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula?
What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula? It is a circle at a particular distance from the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
Why do the giant planets and their moons have compositions different from those of the terrestrial planets?
Why do the giant planets and their moons have compositions different from those of the terrestrial planets? The high temperatures of the inner solar system did not allow for condensation of the volatile materials found in the outer solar system.
Why are the inner planets made of denser materials while the outer planets contain many less dense volatile compounds?
Why are the inner planets made of denser materials than the outer planets? A) The Sun's gravity pulled denser materials toward the inner part of the solar nebula, while lighter gases escaped more easily.
Which of the following is a reason that astronomers have not found giant planets with the orbit of Neptune around other stars?
Which of the following is a reason that astronomers have not found many giant planets with the orbit of Neptune around other stars? Neptune takes 165 years to go around the Sun; getting information about just one cycle of such a planet's orbit around another star would take astronomers 165 years.
What is the main reason it is so challenging to detect extrasolar planets?
Because planets are much fainter than the stars they orbit, extrasolar planets are extremely difficult to detect directly.
Why is Mercury not habitable?
Mercury's surface temperature reaches a scorching 430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit) during the daytime, and in the absence of an atmosphere, it plummets to -180 degrees Celsius (-290 F) at night. So, its surface environments have rightfully been out of scientific consideration as a possible host of life.
Why could Mars be habitable?
Despite its sub-zero temperatures (on average -63°C), thin toxic carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, radiation, lack of surface liquid water and savage global dust storms, Mars actually has the most clement environment in the Solar System after the Earth.
Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters?
Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters? It was easier for data to be radioed back to Earth with flybys than orbiters. Each individual spacecraft was able to visit more than one planet. Spacecraft making flybys can return to Earth more quickly than orbiters.
What are two reasons why the terrestrial planets formed closer to the Sun after the supernova event that initiated the formation of the solar system?
What are two reasons why the terrestrial planets formed closer to the Sun after the supernova event that initiated the formation of the solar system? They are made of denser objects, which can condense at relatively high temperatures.
Why is Mars losing its atmosphere?
While there are theories on what led to such a loss, the consequences were catastrophic. Devoid of the protective shield, the rocky planet was exposed to harsh and forceful solar winds, which blew the Martian atmosphere away.
What would happen if you touched the Sun?
Ok.So what would happen now if you reached out to try and touch the Sun? This would be light-years beyond sizzling. You'd be almost instantly obliterated. A cremation furnace has temperatures of 1,000°C (1,800 °F) .
What if you fell into the Sun?
Well first thing's first: You would disintegrate. At the temperature of the Sun, most of the molecules that make up our bodies could not even survive, that is why we would not only fry and die, we would really disintegrate (all the molecules breaking apart, leaving only loose atoms).
Why was Pluto removed?
Answer. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of a dwarf planet because it did not meet the three criteria the IAU uses to define a full-sized planet. Essentially Pluto meets all the criteria except one—it “has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.”
Why is Pluto not a planet for kids?
According to the IAU, Pluto is technically a “dwarf planet,” because it has not “cleared its neighboring region of other objects.” This means that Pluto still has lots of asteroids and other space rocks along its flight path, rather than having absorbed them over time, like the larger planets have done.
What makes us think that Mars in the past must have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had higher surface pressure?
What makes us think that Mars must once have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had higher surface pressure? The atmosphere is too cold and thin for liquid water today, yet we see evidence that water flowed on the surface in the past. Mars lost any global magnetic field that it may once have had.
What is the primary reason that Mars Unlike Earth does not have a magnetic field?
Assuming this is true, which of the following could explain why Mars today lacks a global magnetic field like that of Earth? Mars's interior has cooled so much its molten core layer no longer undergoes convection. Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does not have a global magnetic field like Earth?
Why did the four inner planets of the solar system form as rocky planets and the four outer planets form as gas planets?
The temperature of the early solar system explains why the inner planets are rocky and the outer ones are gaseous. As the gases coalesced to form a protosun, the temperature in the solar system rose. In the inner solar system temperatures were as high as 2000 K, while in the outer solar system it was as cool as 50 K.