MasteringAstronomy with Pearson eText -- ValuePack Access Card -- for The Cosmic Perspective
8th Edition
ISBN: 9780134080574
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Megan O. Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voit
Publisher: PEARSON
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Textbook Question
Chapter 8, Problem 53EAP
Lucky to Be Here? Considering the overall process of solar system formation, do you think formation of a planet like Earth was likely? Could random events in the early history of the solar system have prevented our being here today? What implications do your answers have for the possibility of Earth-like planets around other stars? Defend your opinions.
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Chapter 8 Solutions
MasteringAstronomy with Pearson eText -- ValuePack Access Card -- for The Cosmic Perspective
Ch. 8 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 8 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 8 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 8 -
Briefly describe the four major features of our...Ch. 8 - What is the nebular theory, and why is it widely...Ch. 8 - What do we mean by the solar nebula? What was it...Ch. 8 -
4. Describe the three key processes that led the...Ch. 8 - List the approximate condensation temperature and...Ch. 8 - What was the frost line? Which ingredients...Ch. 8 - Briefly describe the process by which terrestrial...
Ch. 8 - How was the formation of jovian planets similar to...Ch. 8 - What is the solar wind, and what roles did it play...Ch. 8 - How did planet formation lead to the existence of...Ch. 8 - What was the heavy bombardment, and when did it...Ch. 8 - What is the leading hypothesis for the Moon’s...Ch. 8 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 8 - How old is the solar system, and how do we know?Ch. 8 - Surprising Discoveries? Suppose we found a solar...Ch. 8 - Prob. 16EAPCh. 8 - Surprising Discoveries? Suppose we found a solar...Ch. 8 - Prob. 18EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 19EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 21EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 22EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 23EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Prob. 28EAPCh. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 8 - Explaining the Past. Is it really possible for...Ch. 8 - Prob. 36EAPCh. 8 - A Cold Solar Nebula. Roles: Scribe (take notes on...Ch. 8 - Prob. 38EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 40EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 41EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 42EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 43EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 45EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 46EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 47EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 49EAPCh. 8 - Be sure to show all calculations clearly and state...Ch. 8 - Prob. 51EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 52EAPCh. 8 - Lucky to Be Here? Considering the overall process...Ch. 8 - Prob. 54EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 55EAPCh. 8 - Prob. 56EAP
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- How can a planet’s atmosphere affect the width of the habitable zone in its planetary system?arrow_forwardWhich step(s) listed in the previous question can be eliminated in models that form Jovian planets in thousands of years, a time frame that solves the Jovian problem? Order the following steps in the formation of a Terrestrial planet chronologically: gravitational collapse, accretion, outgassing, condensation, and differentiation.arrow_forwardIf you detected radio signals with an average wavelength of 20.000 cm and suspected that they came from a civilization on a distant Earth-like exoplanet, roughly how much of a change in wavelength should you expect to detect as a result of the orbital motion of the distant exoplanet? (Hint: Use the Doppler shift formula, Eq. 7-3.) (Note: Earths orbital velocity is 30 km/s.)arrow_forward
- How do we know when the solar system formed? Usually we say that the solar system is 4.5 billion years old. To what does this age correspond?arrow_forwardHow does the solar nebula theory explain the significant density difference between the Terrestrial and Jovian planets?arrow_forwardWhat evidence shows that Venus has been resurfaced within the past half-billion years?arrow_forward
- If a star must remain on the main sequence for at least 4 billion years for life to evolve to intelligence, what is the most massive a star that can form and still possibly harbor intelligent life on one of its exoplanets? (Hints: Use the formula for stellar life expectancies, Eq. 121, and data in Appendix Table A-7.)arrow_forwardWhat can we learn about the formation of our solar system by studying other stars? Explain.arrow_forwardWhat evidence can you give that the Solar System formed about 4.6 billion years ago?arrow_forward
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