Solar System - Study Guide

• What are the most basic and obvious features of our Solar System?
• How many planets are there in our Solar System?
• What aspect(s) of our Solar System tell us how it was formed?
• What are the most obvious features of the distribution and motions of our Solar System planets?
• What are the basic features of the main classes of planets?
• What does the difference between Terrestrial and Jovian planets tell us about how they were formed?
• How and why does the composition of the "gas giants" differ from that of the "ice giants"?
• What do asteroids and comets have to do with planets?
• Why are planets differentiated (layered)?
• What processes shape the surfaces of terrestrial planets?
• What are the most important internal sources of heat in terrestrial planets?
• What determines how readily planets lose their heat?
• Why are some planets/moons geologically active and others dead?
• Where do terrestrial planets get their atmospheres?
• Which terrestrial planets are known to have active volcanos?
• Which terrestrial planets have evidence of liquid water, in the past or present?
• How can there be moons as small as our Moon and Mercury with atmospheres?
• Where else in our Solar System do we think there might be life?
• Which planets have ongoing volcanic activity?
• Which moons have atmospheres?
• What generates magnetic fields in planets?

• How is Earth's surface unique among the planets?
• Why is the Earth geologically active?
• When were Earth's continents last combined into one?
• How do we know the Earth used to be fully molten?
• What is particularly unique about the Earth's atmosphere?
• What two molecules make up most of the Earth's atmosphere and where do they come from?
• What is the main source of heat for the Earth's atmosphere?
• Where and why does the Earth's atmosphere absorb light (heat) from the Sun?
• What are some examples of greenhouse gases?
• What gas is most responsible for increasing our global warming?
• What is the evidence for global warming on Earth?
• Where is the bulk of the carbon dioxide on the Earth's surface?
• Could the Earth's atmosphere ever get as thick and hot as Venus'?
• How does the ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere protect us?
• What has been destroying the ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere?
• What drives the Earth's weather?

• Why do Mercury and the Moon have virtually no atmospheres?
• Why does the Moon have many more impact craters than the Earth?
• Is there any erosion on the Moon?
• How did the Earth-Moon system form? Why do we think so?
• What are the dark patches on the Moon?
• How do we estimate the ages of various parts of the Moon's surface?

• Why are Mercury and the Moon geologically dead compared to Venus and Earth?
• Were Mercury and the Moon ever geologically active?
• Why do we think Venus is geologically active?
• Why is the atmosphere of Venus so hot?
• The atmospheres of Mars and Venus are mostly made of what greenhouse gas?
• Why is Venus' atmosphere so much denser than the Earth's?
• Why do we think Venus rotates backwards compared to most of the other planets?
• Have we found life on Mars?
• Have we found fossils on Mars?
• Why is Mars red?
• Have we found running water on Mars?
• Why do we think Mars used to have substantial amounts liquid water on its surface?
• Where is most of the water on Mars now?
• What has happened to Mars' atmosphere over time?
• Are there active volcanos on Mars?
• Why are the volcanos on Mars so huge compared to Mars' size?
• How substantial is the atmosphere of Mars? Why?

• What are the Jovian planets mostly made of? How are they structured?
• How does the composition of Jupiter and Saturn differ from Uranus and Neptune?
• What causes the banding in Jupiter's and Saturn's atmospheres?
• What is the Great Red Spot?
• Why is Jupiter's magnetic field so strong?
• Jupiter's moon Io is smaller than our Moon. How then can Io be so volcanically active?
• Why are some of the icy Jovian moons so geologically active?
• Where do the rings of Jovian planets come from?
• Why haven't Saturn's rings collected into a single moon?
• What are Uranus and Neptune mostly made of?
• Why are Uranus and Neptune blue?
• What was the Great Dark Spot of Neptune?

• How does Pluto differ from Terrestrial and Jovian planets?
• Why do we think Pluto is a Kuiper Belt object?
• Why was Pluto demoted from planethood?

• What are asteroids and where are they?
• Why is there an asteroid belt where it is?
• Why are large asteroids spherical and smaller asteroids irregularly shaped?
• What are comets and where are they?
• Do comets always have tails?
• What causes comets to have tails and how are they structured?
• What are Kuiper belt objects?
• What is the relation between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud of comets?
• What are meteors and where do they come from?
• What causes meteor showers?
• How have meteor impacts affected life on Earth?

• Have we found other planetary systems?
• How do we search for other planetary systems?
• Have we directly observed any planets around other stars?
• Have we found life anywhere else in the Universe?
• How do extrasolar planets compare to the planets in our own Solar System?
• How does the nature of extrasolar planets detected so far impact our notions of how our Solar System formed?