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GEOL 0010_Ch_03_04_Orbits_Moon

Terms in this set (35)

If a person's mass is 72 kilograms on the Earth, what is their mass on the Moon?
72 kg
If a person's weight is 140 pounds on Earth, what is their weight on the Moon?
23.3 lbs
When does the new moon rise?
at sunrise
Newton showed that some force had to act on the Moon based on what evidence?
a force is needed to pull the Moon away from straight-line motion
All of the planets' orbits are:
ellipses with the Sun at one focus
The Moon moves about ____ degrees eastward in the sky each night
12
What phase would the Earth appear to be in if you were standing on the Moon at full moon?
New
Which of the following best describes gravity?
The attraction force between any two objects with mass
Using the equation for gravitation force given in class, if the distance between the Moon and Earth were twice as great as it is now, the gravitational force between them would be:
one fourth as strong
A lunar eclipse can only occur when the Moon is:
Full
You can view a total solar eclipse if:
you are in the umbra of the Moon
Each day the Moon sets (approximately)
about an hour later than the previous day
The Earth is orbiting the Sun most quickly at around:
perihelion, January
A closer distance between foci in an elliptical orbit will generally imply
less eccentricity
Because of Newton's third law, we can claim that in the Earth-Sun system:
the Earth orbits the Sun around a barycenter

the Sun orbits the Earth around the barycenter

the force exerted on the Sun by Earth has an equal and opposite force exerted by the Earth on the Sun
According to Kepler's third law, if we increased the semi-major axis of Earth's orbit by a factor of 2, our year would be:
nearly 3 times as long
If gravity were suddenly turned off, the Earth would (hints: gravity force = 3.52e22 N, mean Earth-Sun distance = 149.6e9 m, mass of Earth = 5.972e24 kg):
move in a straight-line trajectory

move linearly at 29,695 m/s
The "true" length of day on Earth (360 degree rotation) is
23 hours and 56 minutes
The fact that in Kepler's second law, we see orbits speed up as distance decreases is most related to:
conservation of angular momentum
True or False: The planets of our solar system have low eccentricity
TRUE
Earth's eccentricity
changes by an order of magnitude over time (factor of 10)

has a 100,000 year cycle of change

is currently about 0.017
Which planet has the highest average orbital velocity?
Mercury
The first planet to be predicted/discovered based on mathematics (using Newtonian gravity and obsrvable perturbations to a nearby planet) was:
Neptune
In 1996 astronomers discovered an icy object beyond Pluto that was given the designation 1996 TL 66. It has a semi-major axis of 84 AU. What is its orbital period?
770 yrs
What is the average distance from the Sun of a planet with orbital period of 45.66 yrs?
12.77 yrs
When is a full moon highest in the night sky?
at midnight
The Moon is in synchronous rotation, meaning that:
one solar day on the Moon is 29.5 Earth days

tidal locking causes only one side of the Moon to face Earth at all times

a side of the Moon with fewer maria is not visible
The true 360 degree orbit of the Moon is given by:
the sidereal period of 27.3 days
If the Moon rises at a given location at 6 PM tonight, about what time will it rise tomorrow night and where?
7 PM, east
Because Earth rotates under tidal bulges of water raised by the Moon and Sun:
friction is causing Earth's rotation to slow

the Moon is receding (conservation of angular momentum)

the first human mission to the Moon placed reflector arrays to measure Earth-Moon distance accurately
The precession of the equinox causes
the rotation from apogee to apogee to be slightly more than 360 degrees

means the equinox moves about 7 seconds every month

means the vernal equinox moves around the celestial sphere 360 degrees in 26,000 years
A third quarter moon will rise around
midnight
Conjunction occurs when (in Earth-Moon system)
Moon is at new moon
True of False: The phases of the Moon, such as a waxing crescent, are due to Earth's shadow being cast on part of the Moon
FALSE
The only time that the Moon is visible during new moon phase is:
during a solar eclipse
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