Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781337399920
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Textbook Question
Chapter 20, Problem 4P
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 4πr2, and the volume of a sphere is
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Why 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.
Which of the following planetary traits is well established?
choose one of the following:
a) Mercury has a similar compositon to that of our moon, in that they both have a substantial metal content.
b) Venus rotates more rapidly than Earth, but in the opposite direction.
c) Earth's atmosphere exhibits a slightly stronger greenhouse effect than that seen on Venus.
d)Astronomers have precisely calculated the mass of Mercury thanks to artificial satellites sent from Earth.
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its extremely high surface temperature
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its extremely uniform surface temperature
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Chapter 20 Solutions
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 20 - How does the force of gravity cause tidal coupling...Ch. 20 - As viewed from Earth, how many times does the Moon...Ch. 20 - If the Moon is tidally coupled to Earth, is Earth...Ch. 20 - How can you determine the relative ages of the...Ch. 20 - From looking at images of the Moons near side, how...Ch. 20 - Why did the first Apollo missions land on the...Ch. 20 - Why do planetary scientists hypothesize that the...Ch. 20 - Prob. 8RQCh. 20 - Prob. 9RQCh. 20 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 20 - What is the most significant kind of erosion that...Ch. 20 - Provide evidence to support a hypothesis about...Ch. 20 - What evidence can you cite that the Moon had...Ch. 20 - What evidence would you expect to find on the Moon...Ch. 20 - How does the large-impact hypothesis explain the...Ch. 20 - Look at the Celestial Profiles for Earth, the...Ch. 20 - Look at the Celestial Profiles for the Moon and...Ch. 20 - Prob. 18RQCh. 20 - Look at the Celestial Profiles for Earth, the...Ch. 20 - Look at the Celestial Profiles for the Moon and...Ch. 20 - Why are features like the Moons maria not observed...Ch. 20 - What are the relative ages of the intercrater...Ch. 20 - What evidence can you give that Mercury has a...Ch. 20 - Why is it not surprising that there is no evidence...Ch. 20 - What evidence can you give that Mercury had...Ch. 20 - How are the histories of the Moon and Mercury...Ch. 20 - What property of the Moon and Mercury has resulted...Ch. 20 - Prob. 28RQCh. 20 - Look at the right top and bottom images in Figure...Ch. 20 - Calculate the escape velocity of the Moon from its...Ch. 20 - Prob. 3PCh. 20 - Why do small planets cool faster than large...Ch. 20 - The smallest detail visible through Earth-based...Ch. 20 - Prob. 6PCh. 20 - The trenches where Earths seafloor slips downward...Ch. 20 - An Apollo command module orbited the Moon about...Ch. 20 - Prob. 9PCh. 20 - What is the angular diameter of Mercury when it is...Ch. 20 - If you transmit radio signals to Mercury when...Ch. 20 - What is the wavelength of the most intense...Ch. 20 - Suppose you send a probe to land on Mercury, and...Ch. 20 - The smallest detail visible through Earth-based...Ch. 20 - Prob. 1SOPCh. 20 - Prob. 2SOPCh. 20 - Look at the image of the astronaut on the Moon at...Ch. 20 - In the photo shown here, astronaut Alan Bean works...Ch. 20 - Examine the shape of the horizon at the Apollo 17...
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- How Do We Know? How can the flow of energy out of a planets interior affect its surface and atmosphere?arrow_forwardHow might Venus’ atmosphere have evolved to its present state through a runaway greenhouse effect?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_forward
- What evidence can you give that Venus once had significant amounts of water? Where did that water come from? Where did it go?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_forwardCalculate polar flattening for Mars with polar radius 3376.2 km, and equatorial radius 3396.2 km.arrow_forward
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