Chapter 9 Quiz Jessica Brandon

Chapter 9 Quiz

1.     Why is there an asteroid belt?

Orbital resonances with Jupiter prevented planetesimals between Jupiter and Mars from forming a planet

2.     How are meteorites related to asteroids?

Primitive meteorites are remnants from solar nebula. Processed meteorites are fragments of larger bodies than underwent differentiation

3.     How do comets get their tails?

The comets get their tails by going nearer the sun and the icy hard rock starts to melt.

4.     Where do comets come from?

Comets in plane of solar system come from Kuiper Belt. Comets on random orbits come from Oort cloud

5.     How big can a comet be?

The Kuiper belt from which comets come contains objects as large as Pluto.

6.     What are Pluto and other large objects of the Kuiper belt like?

These large, icy objects have orbits similar to the smaller objects in the Kuiper belt that become short period comets. Most have been discovered very recently so little is known about them. NASA’s New Horizons mission will study Pluto and a few other Kuiper Belt Objects in a planned flyby.

7.     Have we ever witnessed a major impact?

The most recent major impact happened in 1994, when fragments of comet SL9 hit Jupiter.

8.     Did an impact kill the dinosaurs?

Iridium layer just above dinosaur fossils suggests that an impact caused mass extinction 65 million years ago. A large crater of that age has been found in Mexico

9.     Is the impact threat a real danger or just media hype?

Large impacts do happen, but they are rare. They can cause major extinctions about every 100 million years

10. How do other planets affect impact rates and life on Earth?

Jovian planets sometimes deflect comets toward Earth but send many more out to Oort cloud