Use the following questions to check your understanding of some of the many types of visual information used in astronomy. For additional practice, try the Chapter 9 Visual Quiz at Mastering Astronomy.
The image from a MESSENGER flyby shows evidence of impact catering, volcanism, and tectonic activity on Mercury. Answer the following questions based on the image. Remember that craters are bowl-shaped and rough-floored when they form, and wipe out any preexisting features in the area. Lava on Mercury appears to be fairly runny and makes flat smooth plains as it spreads out.
4. Using your answers to questions 1-3, list the following features in order from oldest to youngest:
a. the tectonic ridge from 3a to 3b
b. crater 1a
c. the smooth floor of crater 1b
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The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
- Why do small planets cool faster than large planets? Choose any two of the five Terrestrial worlds and calculate for each one the ratio of its surface area to its volume. Why is this ratio important? (Hint: Does this ratio have anything to do with the ability of a planet to lose internal heat?) (Note: The surface area of a sphere is 4r2, and the volume of a sphere is 43r3.)arrow_forwardHow does beltzone circulation transport energyby radiation, conduction, or convection? Explain your answer.arrow_forwardPlanetary scientists are hoping that the samples collected by the Perseverance Mars rover will eventually be collected by other robotic spacecraft and returned to Earth. Even if Perseverance could collect samples from all over Mars's surface, why wouldn't this tell us what the entire planet is made of? Group of answer choices The deep interior of Mars has had its composition altered (compared to the surface) by the impacts of asteroids that plunged almost all the way down to Mars's center. Since Mars has a powerful magnetic field, it must have a liquid-iron portion of its core, and this material can't be collected by a rover on the surface. Early in its history, Mars differentiated into layers of materials that had different densities, much like the Earth did. Mars has such a low density that most of its interior must be made of liquid water and ice, so rocks from the surface simply won't be representative of the deep interior.arrow_forward
- CO2 and planetary warming: understanding Earth’s complicated atmosphere Mars has an atmospheric pressure of 6 mbar (compared with Earth atmosphere pressure of 1013 mbar), 96% of which is CO2. The average calculated temperature of Mars is -57°C, whereas the actual average temperature is -55°C so that the amount of warming due to CO2 is only 2°C. On the other hand, the average calculated temperature of Earth, with 0.4 mbar of CO2, is -19°C, whereas the actual average temperature is 15°C so that the amount of warming due to CO2 is 34°C, much greater than that on Mars, which has higher CO2 concentration. Explain how this is possible.arrow_forwardLook at the map of the Hawaiian chain of islands on the right-hand page of the Concept Art: Volcanoes. Which island formed most recently? How do you know? Is the newly formed volcano of a type found on Venus, on Mars, on both planets, or on neither?arrow_forwardActivity #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_forward
- We need to create a scale model of the solar system (by shrinking the sun down to the size of a basketball or ~30cm). First, we will need to scale down actual solar system dimensions (planet diameters and average orbital radiuses) by converting our units. There are two blank spaces in the table below. We will effectively fill in the missing data in the next set of questions. Use the example below to help you. Example: What is the scaled diameter of Mercury if the Sun is scaled to the size of a basketball (30 cm)? The actual diameter of Mercury is 4879 km The Sun's diameter is 1392000 km If the Sun is to be reduced to the size of a basketball, then the conversion we need for this equation will be: 30cm1392000km Here is how we run the conversion: 4879km×30cm1392000km=0.105cm or 0.11cm if we were to round our answer. This means that if the sun in our model is the size of a basketball, Mercury is the size of a grain of sand. We can also see by looking at the table, that we would…arrow_forwardA new Terrestrial planet has been discovered orbiting a nearby Sun-like star. Astronomers have obtained spectra of this planet and determined that the atmosphere is composed of roughly 99% CO2, and the remaining 1% is mostly N2 and is very thin compared to Earth's atmosphere. Briefly describe how the planet could have developed such an atmosphere.arrow_forwardWhat is the runaway greenhouse effect, and how might it have altered the climate of Venus?arrow_forward
- 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_forwardThe runaway greenhouse effect and its inverse, the runaway refrigerator effect, have led to harsh, uninhabitable conditions on Venus and Mars. Does the greenhouse effect always cause climate changes leading to loss of water and life? Give a reason for your answer.arrow_forwardOne source of information about Mars has been the analysis of meteorites from Mars. Since no samples from Mars have ever been returned to Earth from any of the missions we sent there, how do we know these meteorites are from Mars? What information have they revealed about Mars?arrow_forward
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