Exam 3 Notecards PHYS 107

 1

In brightness, Jupiter is second only to the planet ________ most of the time.

Venus

         

2

In the telescope, ________ shows the most turbulent atmosphere with changes easily seen even with amateur telescopes.

Jupiter

         

3

The most famous and long lasting storm in the solar system is ________.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot

         

4

Jupiter is largest and brightest in our skies when seen at ________.

Opposition

         

5

A "gravitational slingshot" enables a spacecraft to ________.

Speed up, slow down, or change direction

         

6

Adams and Leverrier predicted the position of ________, which Galle confirmed.

Neptune

         

7

William Herschel discovered the green disk of ________ as the first telescopic planet.

Uranus

          

8

While Saturn is almost as large as Jupiter, its mass is only about ________ of Jupiter's.

1/3rd

         

9

The oblateness of the jovian disks is caused by their ________.

Rapid rotations

         

10

Compared to the terrestrial planets, the jovians have ________ average densities.

Low

         

11

Of the planets, ________ is the least dense, and could float on water.

Saturn

         

12

The oblateness of the jovian disks refers to their ________ equatorial diameters, compared to the polar diameters.

Larger

         

13

Like Jupiter's, Saturn's rotation is fast and differential, with the ________ rotating fastest.

Equator

         

14

Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, at Uranus and Neptune the ________ rotates the slowest.

Equator

         

15

In general, wind direction ________ between adjacent bands in Jupiter's atmosphere.

Alternates

         

16

Jupiter's bright zones are cloud streams made of ________ ice crystals.

Ammonia

         

17

Jupiter's darker ________ are complex in color and origin, with complex organic molecules including carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen.

Belts

         

18

The Great ________ Spot of Neptune was striking in 1989, but gone by 1995.

Dark

         

19

Uranus and ________ are very similar in size, mass, and color.

Neptune

         

20

The most abundant molecule in Saturn's atmosphere is ________.

Hydrogen

         

21

________ looked very bland in Voyager 2 photos in 1986, but as equinox approached in the 1990s, its disk showed belts, zones, and storms.

Uranus

         

22

The white zones of Jupiter and Saturn are made of ________ ice, apparently dissolved in the deep oceans of Uranus and Neptune.

Ammonia

         

23

Because it has a higher percentage of ________, Neptune appears even bluer than Uranus.

Methane

         

24

Methane gas absorbs the color ________, accounting for the colors of Uranus and Neptune.

Red

         

25

Compared to Jupiter, the element ________ is notably less common in Saturn's atmosphere, perhaps condensing to fall toward the core as rain.

Helium

         

26

Compared to Jupiter, Saturn's east-west zonal (band) flow is ________.

More stable or faster

         

27

While the mantles of Jupiter and Saturn are made of liquid metallic hydrogen, the mantles of Uranus and Neptune are chiefly ________.

Water and ice

         

28

Jupiter radiates twice as much energy as it receives from solar light; the source of this "excess" energy is ________.

Gravitational contraction

         

29

While ________ rotation axis is only tilted 29 degrees, its magnetic fields are just as strange as its twin's.

Neptune

         

30

Their magnetic fields should originate in the planets' ________, but those of Uranus and Neptune don't even come close.

Cores

         

31

Jupiter's magnetic field is produced in its rapidly spinning mantle of ________.

Liquid metallic hydrogen