The geocentric model of the solar system is attributed to
The heliocentric model of the solar system was developed by
Kepler's second law of planetary motion is known as the law of
That a planet moves with different speeds in its orbit is given by which of Kepler's laws?
Kepler's first law states that the orbits of the planets around the Sun are
The name given to the point of a planet's orbit that is closest to the Sun is
The name given to the point of a planet's orbit that is farthest from the Sun is
Kepler's third law of planetary motion is also known as the ____________ law.
Retrograde motion of a planet refers to ___________ motion.
Earth's axis is tilted ______ degrees from the normal to the ecliptic plane.
The motion of a Foucault pendulum proves that earth is
The closest planet to Earth is
The planet Mercury is the smallest of the terrestrial planets.
The aberration of starlight gives proof that Earth is
Which planet moves the fastest?
The terrestrial planets have relatively high densities, solid surfaces, and weak magnetic fields.
According to today's classification system, how many major planets are there in the solar system?
How many minor planets are known to exist in the solar system, using today's classification system?
The third brightest object in the sky is
The second brightest object in the sky is
The brightest object in the sky is
A terrestrial planet that has seasonal changes is
The Jovian planets are composed of mainly hydrogen and helium, have no solid surfaces, and all have rings.
The terrestrial planets and the Jovian planets are distinguished from each other in terms of
density, size, and temperature.
The most distant planet that can be seen with the unaided eye is
The planet whose axis of rotation lies almost in its orbital plane is
The planet with the Great Red Spot is
The largest planet in the solar system is
The planet with Red Spot Junior is
The planet with a hexagonally shaped storm at its pole is
The planet with the Great Dark Spot is
The planet with the largest number of moons is
The planet with the most prominent rings is
The planet with the largest volcano in the solar system is
Which of the following is not a dwarf planet?
Which is the smallest dwarf planet?
The three smallest major planets in the solar system all lack
The flattened, rotating disk of gas and dust around the protosun, from which planets were believed to have formed, is called the
At present, the formation of the solar system is believed by most astronomers to have begun with a large, swirling volume of cold gas and dust called the __________ nebula.
True or False? Planets in a planetary system other than the solar system have been detected.
Other planetary systems are best detected by the Doppler shifts that change the pattern of the star's __________.
The solar system is a complex system of moving masses held together by ______________ forces.
The dominant mass of the solar system is the _________.
Kepler's first law states that Earth's orbit around the Sun takes the shape of a(n) ____________.
The solar system model of Copernicus is known as the _______________ model.
The Earth-centered model of the solar system is called the ___________ model.
T2=KR3 is known as ___________.
Kepler's third law
Kepler's first law of planetary motion is known as the law of ___________ paths.
The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 93,000,000 miles, or one _____________.
astronomical unit (AU)
Kepler's second law of planetary motion gives a relationship concerning equal _________ in equal periods of time.
When a planet has the same meridian as a star, the planet is said to be in _____________.
The fraction of incident sunlight reflected by a celestial body is called its ______________.
Earth's albedo is ____________.
0.33, or 33%
The Moon's albedo is _____________.
0.07, or 7%
In 1851, Earth's rotation was demonstrated using a(n) __________________.
_______________ is the apparent motion that occurs between two fixed objects when the observer changes position.
The apparent displacement in the direction of light coming from a star because of Earth's orbital motion is called the ________________.
Aberration of starlight
Proof that the Earth revolves around the Sun is obtained by the use of ________________ and the _________________.
parallax; aberration of starlight
The fourth planet from the Sun is
The planet that most resembles Earth is
The surface of the terrestrial planet __________ cannot be seen from Earth.
"Canals" are a feature once associated with the planet
The largest volcano on Earth is
The planet with the polar "ice caps" of frozen carbon dioxide is
Part of Pluto's orbit is inside the orbit of
The planets with known rings are
Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter.
The planet that contains more than half the mass of the solar system not in the sun is
The Great White Spot is a feature of
The rings of Saturn were discovered by
The planet _____________ has retrograde motion.
The planet that is farthest away from the Sun, but sometimes is not, is
The large, central portion of a swirling solar nebula is called a(n)
Our solar system is thought to have evolved from a(n)
"Wobbling" is a consequence of _______________ effects of a planet.
The _____________ effect provides evidence of motions within other planetary systems.
What percentage of the total mass of the nine planets exists in Jupiter?
Which is the second largest moon in the solar system and what planet does it belong to?
The major moons of __________ were named after literary characters.
__________ is the major moon of Neptune.
__________ is the only moon in the solar system to have retrograde motion.
Charon is a moon of
The largest known asteroid is
When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, it is called a(n)
meteor or "shooting star"
When a meteor strikes Earth's surface, it is called a(n)
The seriousness of an asteroid collision is gauged by the _________ scale.
A meteor __________ results when a large number of meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere.
The ________ surrounds the nucleus of a comet.
head or coma
Comets are composed of
dust and ice.
Probably the best known comet is
Halley's Comet returns about every ___ years.
As comets approach and move around the Sun, the coma and the tail _________ in size.
Long-period comets are believed to come from
the Oort cloud.
Short-period comets, such as Halley's comet, are believed to come from
the Kuiper Belt
Particles of interplanetary dust are called
If a person weighs 150 lb on Earth, what will the person weigh on the Moon?
The diameter of the Moon is approximately
True or False? The far side of the Moon has more craters than the near side.
Pulverized rock is believed to make up the Moon's
Moonquakes are believed to have caused the Moon's
The Moon is thought to be the same age as
Craters on the Moon are believed to have been caused by
the impact of meteorites.
The impact of meteorites on the Moon has caused
rays and craters.
The oldest rocks on the Moon were formed about how many years ago?
The Moon's average density is
less than Earth's.
Rills on the Moon are believed to have been caused by
The moon revolves about Earth from west to east, has a day equal to 29.5 Earth days, and has an elliptical orbit about the Earth.
The Moon completes one orbit around the Earth about every
The direction of the Moon's orbit about the Earth is
The Moon revolves around the Earth in a _______ direction, as viewed from above Earth's North Pole.
Which is Jupiter's largest moon?
Which of the Galilean moons has volcanic activity?
Which of Jupiter's moons is believed to be covered with water ice?