Exam 15: Exoplanets: Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own

Gravitational microlensing detects planets when:

The habitable zone is the area around a star where:

Other solar systems formed in much the same way that our solar system formed.

According to the Solar Nebula theory, planets:

Around other suns, we have found Jupiters where Mercury is in our solar system.

What role do the observed irregularities in our solar system play in developing models ofplanetary formation?

How can astronomers be confident that the larger exoplanets discovered are not simply browndwarfs?

Eccentric Jupiters would eject any terrestrial planet from the planetary system where they arefound.

Compare and contrast the types of planets that can be found by the radial velocity techniquewith those that can be found by the transit method.

One major difficulty with directly detecting exoplanets is that the planets are so much brighterthan their star that it is almost impossible to see the star in the glare from the planet.

Which molecule has not yet been detected in the atmospheres of exoplanets?

A late collision with a large planetesimal may have caused what feature on Mars?

Hot Jupiters have ________ period orbits.

Describe two methods that have already been used to study extrasolar planets, and which onegives us the most information.

Orbital resonances are a characteristic of some extrasolar systems but are not seen in oursolar system.

The habitable zone is largest for:

In comparing our own solar system with others found to date, we find:

Planets found in the habitable zone of other stars:

The radial velocity method is less likely to detect low mass planets than high mass planetsbecause low mass planets cause smaller ________ fluctuations.

Which statement about extrasolar planets found to date is true?