ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE - ACCESS CA
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780135795125
Author: Bennett
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 9, Problem 44EAP
Impact Hazards. Many groups are searching for near-Earth aster-oids that might impact our planet. They use something called the Torino Scale to evaluate the possible danger posed by an asteroid based on how well we know its orbit. What is this scale? What object has reached the highest level on this scale? What were the estimated chances of impact, and when?
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The close encounter hypothesis was rejected because of the following reasons except for this reason.
b. It explained the planets were formed by gravitational disruption
c. It failed to explain the orbital motions of planets
d. It failed to explain why the solar system have 2 types of planets: terrestrial and jovian
For which of the following reasons (select all that apply), is it useful/important to send rovers to other planetary bodies in our solar system?
a.
More direct probes of the planetary surface are possible to detect signs of the building blocks of life.
b.
Rovers/landers can be outfitted with various tools and equipment that can be used to inform of us of the geological histories of each of the planets they visit.
c.
Rock samples can be used to calibrate our estimations of the age of the solar system.
d.
The data collected can help improve our understanding of the evolution/development of our solar system.
e.
The engineering innovations developed to produce successful/viable rovers and landers on other planets can help lead to developments in the technology used here on Earth that may have taken far more time to develop without the limitations provided by space travel to foreign worlds.
Impact Energy. Consider a comet about 2 kilometers across with a mass of 4 × 1012 kg. Assume that it crashes into Earth at a speed of 30,000 meters per second (about 67,000 miles per hour).
a. What is the total energy of the impact, in joules? (Hint: The kinetic energy formula tells us that the impact energy in joules will be 1 × m × v2, where 2 m is the comet’s mass in kilograms and v is its speed in meters per second.)
b. A 1-megaton nuclear explosion releases about 4 × 1015 joules of energy. How many such nuclear bombs would it take to release as much energy as the comet impact?
c. Based on your answers, comment on the degree of devastation the comet might cause.
Chapter 9 Solutions
ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE - ACCESS CA
Ch. 9 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 4VSCCh. 9 - Prob. 5VSCCh. 9 - Briefly define asteroid, comet, dwarf planet,...Ch. 9 - Prob. 2EAPCh. 9 - Distinguish between primitive meteorites and...Ch. 9 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 5EAP
Ch. 9 - Prob. 6EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 7EAPCh. 9 - Describe the Kuiper belt and Oorl cloud in terms...Ch. 9 - Prob. 9EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 10EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 11EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 12EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 14EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 15EAPCh. 9 - Studies of a large object in the Kuiper belt...Ch. 9 - Prob. 17EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 18EAPCh. 9 - 19. Geologists discover a crater from a...Ch. 9 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 9 - In another solar system, astror1omers discover an...Ch. 9 - Prob. 22EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 23EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 25EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 26EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 27EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 28EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 29EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 30EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 32EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 34EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 35EAPCh. 9 - The Role of Jupiter. Suppose that Jupiter had...Ch. 9 - Prob. 38EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 40EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 41EAPCh. 9 - Rise of the Mammals. Suppose the impact 65 million...Ch. 9 - Asteroid and Comet Missions. Learn about a current...Ch. 9 - Impact Hazards. Many groups are searching for...Ch. 9 - Beneficial Asteroids. Learn about one of several...Ch. 9 - Prob. 46EAPCh. 9 - Adding Up Asteroids. It's estimated that there are...Ch. 9 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 9 - Prob. 49EAPCh. 9 - Room to Roam. It's estimated that there are a...Ch. 9 - 46. Comet Dust Accumulat ion. A few hundred tons...
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- We believe that all of the terrestrial planets had similar histories when it comes to impacts from space. Explain how this idea can be used to date the formation of the martian highlands, the martian basins, and the Tharsis volcanoes. How certain are the ages derived for these features (in other words, how do we check the ages we derive from this method)?arrow_forwardIf, in the remote future, we establish a base on Mercury, keeping track of time will be a challenge. Discuss how to define a year on Mercury, and the two ways to define a day. Can you come up with ways that humans raised on Earth might deal with time cycles on Mercury?arrow_forwardPretend you are a NASA executive or a legislator. Design a new mission in our solar system. Pick any object in the system and decide whether you want to send an orbiter, a lander, a rover, some combination or those, a manned mission, or something else. What interests you about this object? What science questions can we answer? In basic terms, what kind of scientific instruments might you want to include on your mission? Justify your decisions with what you know about the scientific method, astronomy techniques, and the object itself from this class.arrow_forward
- How many impacts would you expect to strike a 100m2 region in one hour during Earth’s formation, assuming that Earth grew to its present size in 10 million years from particles averaging 100 grams each? (Hint: Assume that Earth had its current radius of 6378km.) (Notes: The surface area of a sphere is 4pir2 ; 1yr=3.2x107 .) a. About 1300. b. About 13 . c. About 13,000. d. About 130arrow_forwardThe principle cause of our intense interest in Mars in the decades before the dawn of the space age was that Answers: A. a few astronomers believed that they saw evidence of an intelligent civilization on Mars. B. Mars has seasons just like the Earth and therefore should be inhabitable by humans. C. Mars has an unusual surface color and global dust storms, creating strange weather patterns. D. Mars has unusual orbital properties making our understanding of its motion around the Sun very difficult.arrow_forward1. Suppose you have an Oort cloud comet on an orbit with pericenter distance 10,000 AU, and apocenter distance 20,000 AU. a. What are the semi-major axis and eccentricity of the orbit? b. What are the specific energy (energy per unit mass), and specific angular momentum (angular momentum per unit mass) of the comet? c. How fast is the comet moving at apocenter (relative to the Sun)?arrow_forward
- Activity 2. Quest for Escape planet. Study and analyze the illustrations and determine whether the statements below are true or false. The speedometer readings in every spacecraft show the escape velocities of each Mercury nspater 10 4 turn Venus 11 2 Ur arus farth Neptune Mars rwan TRUE or FALSE 1. A spacecraft must attain a speed of 11.2 km/s to leave the Earth's surface. 2. It is easier to leave the surface of Jupiter than Earth. 3. Escape velocity is affected by the planet's mass. 4. Mars has smaller escape velocity than Venus and Earth because it is farther from the sun. 5. The escape velocity of a planet is not affected by the sun's warping of space- time.arrow_forwardI need helps on this question?arrow_forwardWhy Wait? To explore a planet, we often send first a flyby, then an orbiter, then a probe or a lander. There’s no doubt that probes and landers give the most close-up detail, so why don’t we send this type of mission first? For the planet of your choice, based just on the information in this chap- ter, give an example of why such a strategy might cause a mission to provide incomplete information about the planet or to fail outright.arrow_forward
- Activity #1. Compare and Contrast. Similarities and differences of Venus, Earth and Mars. Do this on a separate sheet of paper. 1. Compare and contrast the three (3) terrestrial planets using table 1. 2. Provide explanations for your observations using table 2. 3. Answer the following guide questions. Guide questions: 1. Does planet size affect gravity? 2. Why do you think Venus has the highest mean temperature among the three planets? 3. Is presence of water a primary factor for a planet to sustain life? Why or why not? 4. Based on your observations using table 2, what are the notable features that makes the earth the only habitable planet among the three terrestrial planets? 5. What conclusions can you make?arrow_forwardAssume that there are a million asteroids 1 kilometer across or larger in the asteroid belt. For both questions, assume that all the asteroids are perfectly spherical. I a. If a million asteroids 1-kilometer across were all combined into one spherical object, how big would it be across? b. How many 1-kilometer diameter asteroids would it take to make an object as large as the Earth?arrow_forward1. Which of these is not a criteria for the success of a solar system formation theory?arrow_forward
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