Exam 8: Looking for Life Beyond Earth

How was Kepler able to find hundreds of planets in a relatively short amount of time?

Why are search strategies for extraterrestrial life usually based on a carbon chemistry?

The Mars Express spacecraft was able to identify the distinctive reflections in the polar cap of a lower layer of

Where have some scientists hypothesized that they have found direct evidence for life,either contemporary or ancient,beyond Earth (although the hypothesis has been strongly disputed by many other scientists)?

The Viking Landers pyrolytic-release experiment,which was used to look for life on Mars,was based on the idea that in

A key test that will make sure that the dimming of light from a star is caused by a planet as detected by the Kepler is that the dimming would

The most uncertain variable in the Drake equation is the rate at which solar-type stars form in the Galaxy.

Kepler,the orbiting telescope,looks for

Scientists used a radioactive age-dating technique to determine that the SNC meteorites are much younger than the age of the solar system.

Which of the following did NOT study Mars?

How have we been able to obtain samples of Martian rocks?

The tidal forces from Jupiter cause flexing in the interior of Europa that generates enough heat to keep subsurface water from freezing.

A region of the microwave spectrum is called the "water hole" because

For a planet to transit a star,its orbital plane must be oriented

Water (or water ice)has been recently found on each of these bodies EXCEPT

Surveys show that 3% to 5% of Americans believe UFOs visit Earth from alien worlds.

Scientists are now targeting Europa,one of Jupiter's moons,as a likely site to search for elementary life forms because

A carbon atom can bond to four other atoms and can form complex molecules.

One proposed mission design for the European Space Agency's Darwin telescope is to make use of

The end result of the Miller-Urey experiment was a black sludge containing