Exam 5: Exoplanets and the Formation of Planetary Systems

An exoplanet discovered through the transit photometry method is unlikely to also be detectable with what other method of detecting exoplanets?

What is thought to be the physical mechanism that was responsible for the present mix of chemical elements in the universe?

An exoplanet detected through microlensing causes

Comets have been discovered around the star Beta Pictoris through

MOST protostars are surrounded by

Which of these exoplanet characteristics is MOST difficult to explain with the Nice model of planetary system formation?

An asteroid belt has been discovered around the star Zeta Leporis. How was this belt discovered?

In searches for planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, what is the astrometric method?

Observations of the exoplanet HD 209458 b have revealed that it is rapidly losing the outermost layers of its atmosphere. Why?

How have astronomers studied the atmospheres of exoplanets?

The universe contains about 10 times as many hydrogen atoms as helium atoms, but a helium atom has 4 times the mass of a hydrogen atom. What is the approximate ratio of the universe's hydrogen to helium by mass?

The birthplace of a star and planetary system is thought to have been in

Young stars are sometimes observed to have multiple debris disks inclined relative to each other. This phenomenon is a result of

In an exoplanet system in which a gas giant has an orbit very close to its star, how commonly have astronomers found other planets at larger orbital distances from the star?

The Kepler Space Telescope discovered thousands of exoplanets by measuring

Which of these methods has provided strong evidence for the existence of hundreds of planetary systems around other stars?

Why did the discovery of a 17 Earth mass terrestrial exoplanet surprise astronomers?

The outer layers of stars expel material into space by a variety of mechanisms. Which of these is NOT one of the mechanisms?

A gas and dust cloud that is unstable and will collapse is characterized by all of these EXCEPT

Strong evidence for the existence of planetary systems in the process of formation around other stars comes from