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PHYS 1404: Chapter 18 – Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar Planets – Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
Name:
Alexis Diaz
1.
“What in the World is an ‘Exoplanet?”. Read about it in the “Current events”
under “Content” tab.
Write 10 – 15 sentence summary of this article.
Exoplanets have been discovered in the Milky Way, a small region of our galaxy. NASA's
Kepler Space Telescope reveals that there are more planets than stars in the galaxy.
Exoplanets have compositions ranging from rocky to gas-rich, with elements similar to those
in our solar system but different mixes. They can be dominated by water, ice, iron, or
carbon. The first exoplanets were discovered in the 1990s, and thousands have been
identified using various detection methods. The count of confirmed planets is in the
thousands and rising, with the count potentially rising to the tens of thousands within a
decade as robotic telescopes are used more. Most exoplanets are found through indirect
methods, such as measuring the dimming of a star with a planet passing in front of it, or
monitoring the spectrum of a star for signs of a planet pulling on its star. Space telescopes
have found thousands of planets through transits and gravitational lensing. The TRAPPIST-
1 planets have been examined with ground and space telescopes, revealing their diameters
and gravitational influence, allowing scientists to estimate their temperatures and light
levels. While much remains unknown about these seven worlds, they have become the best-
known solar system apart from our own.
2.
“Does this look appetizing? If you go to Mars, it may be your meal”. Watch the
video and read the article in the “Current events” under “Content” tab.
Write 10 –
15 sentence summary of your thoughts on this topic.
3.
List the two main groups of planets, and the names of the planets that belong to
each group. Which group of planets have higher average mass and which group
have average density?
PHYS 1404: Chapter 18 – Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar Planets – Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
a.
Terrestrial Planets
,
These planets have a higher average density
b.
Jovian Planets
,
These planets have a lower average density
4.
What is an Exoplanet and describe the technique Kepler planet finding mission
uses to find exoplanets?
Exoplanets are any planet beyond our solar system,
In order to
find planets, Kepler will use the detection method known as transit. A transit is an event in
which a planet passes in front of a star as seen from Earth. Compared to a larger planet,
transits by terrestrial-sized planets produce a small change in the brightness of the star.
5.
Name two types of objects that orbit the Sun but are
not
classified as planets.
a.
Asteroids
b.
Comets
6.
Why do the tails of comets always point away from the sun
?
radiation pressure of
sunlight
7.
An element has a half-life of 120 years.
A given sample originally contained
1000 grams of this element.
After 480 years have passed, how many grams of
this element
remain in the sample?
62.5 grams
8.
According to radioactive dating of meteorites, what is the approximate age of the
solar system?
4.6 billion years
9.
The most accepted theory for the formation of the solar system is called the
Nebular hypothesis
theory. Give a short description of this theory.
is the idea that a spinning cloud of dust made of mostly light elements
10. Why are the oldest Earth rocks younger than the oldest moon rocks?
because of the constant recycling of the crust by plate tectonics
11. Describe and differentiate Meteoroids, Meteors and Meteorites.
PHYS 1404: Chapter 18 – Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar Planets – Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
A meteor is the light streak made by a meteoroid as it streaks through the atmosphere, also
called a shooting star. A meteorite refers to a meteoroid after it impacts the Earth's surface.
A meteoroid is the actual object that makes a meteor streak, usually smaller than 10m in
diameter - usually comes from asteroid or comet.
12. In our solar system, which planet has the greatest uncompressed density, and what
does that tell us about its composition?
Mercury's bulk density—about 5.3 Mg/m
3
after correcting for internal compression.
13. What is the difference between condensation and accretion?
A particle grows by condensation when it adds matter from a surrounding gas. Accretion is
the sticking together of solid particles.
14. After the planets formed, the remnants of the protoplanetary nebula disappeared.
Give four reasons for this disappearance.
a.
Gravitational Collapse:
As planets formed from the
protoplanetary disk, they exerted a strong gravitational pull on
the surrounding gas and dust.
b.
Radiation Pressure: The intense radiation emitted by young,
hot stars, like the one at the center of the protoplanetary
nebula, exerts a force known as radiation pressure.
c.
Solar Wind:
The solar wind created a region of reduced gas
density around the Sun, further contributing to the dissipation
of the protoplanetary nebula.
d.
Planetary Formation: This cleaned up the space around them
and incorporated much of the remaining nebular material into
their composition.
15. Name and describe three possible ways to detect an extrasolar planet.
a.
Direct Imaging: type of imaging system uses a solid-state sensor that
contains an x-ray sensitive silicon chip w/an electronic circuit
embedded in the silicon, as the image receptor
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PHYS 1404: Chapter 18 – Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar Planets – Assignment
© 2018-2023 Lone Star College. All Rights Reserved.
Write your Name.
Do not alter header or question numbers. Abide by LSC Academic Integrity.
b.
Radial velocity method: a technique used to detect extrasolar planets
by observing Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the planet's star
c.
Transit method: detecting exoplanets by observing the change in
brightness as the planet eclipses the star
16. “Asteroids, Comets, Meteorites”. Read about them in the “Current events” under
“Content” tab.
Write 10 – 15 sentence summary of this article.
The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) is a NASA agency that accurately
characterizes the orbits of all known near-Earth objects, predicts their close approaches with
Earth, and conducts comprehensive impact hazard assessments. Near-Earth objects are
asteroids and comets with orbits that bring them within 120 million miles of the Sun,
allowing them to circulate through Earth's orbital neighborhood. Most near-Earth objects
are asteroids ranging from 10 feet to nearly 25 miles across. The orbit of each object is
computed by finding the elliptical path through space that best fits all available observations.
As more observations are made, the accuracy of an object's orbit improves, allowing for
predictions of its future location and potential proximity to Earth. The majority of near-
Earth objects have orbits that don't pose a risk of impact, but a small fraction of potentially
hazardous asteroids require more attention. CNEOS continuously monitors all known near-
Earth objects to assess any impact risk they may pose. The Sentry impact-monitoring system
and Scout system monitor potential near-Earth object detections, while CNEOS supports
NASA's planetary defense efforts by leading hypothetical impact exercises to educate
national and international space and disaster response agencies on the issues they would face
in an actual asteroid impact scenario.