Exam 23: Planets and Their Moons

Who studied the Earth's moon and named the plains maria?

The Solar System formed about three billion years ago.

The terrestrial planets are rocky but have ____ cores.

A falling meteoroid that enters Earth's atmosphere and glows as it vaporizes is called a(n) ____________________.

Describe the findings of the rover Opportunity on Mars.

How did the Moon become hot enough to melt?

Because Mercury is so close to the Sun and its days are so long, the difference in temperature between the sunny side and the dark side is huge.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a(n) ____.

____ have a mass ratio of rock to metal similar to the mass ratio of Earth's mantle to Earth's core.

Kuiper belt objects can be found ____.

The Sun never rises or sets on the poles of Mercury.

The cloud of dust and gas from which the Solar System formed was about 92% ____.

A ____ is composed of ice mixed with bits of silicate rock, metals, and frozen crystals of methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and other compounds.

Describe Jupiter's core in terms of size and composition.

Venus is much hotter than Earth because of a runaway ____________________.

How did the Earth's moon form?

Mercury is pockmarked with meteorite craters, while the Earth is not. Why?

Which of the Jovian planets have one or more rings?

Some meteorites contain small, round grains about one millimeter in diameter called ____________________, which contain amino acids or other organic molecules.

Mercury has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide.