Homework Question on Solar System
Name and describe the planets. (A few sentences for 1-4)
- Which planets are considered rock planets and which planets are considered the gas giants. What physically separates these planets?
- Which planets have moons (how many
- Which planets have atmospheres? What is the main composition of the atmosphere?
- An explanation of how the Sun can produce its own light.
- Why is Pluto not considered a planet?
- A description of what a light year is and why we use it to measure distances in space.
- An explanation (with diagram) of how centripetal forces keep planets (and moons) in orbit.
- A comparison between manned and unmanned spacecraft (including the advantages and disadvantages of each). An explanation (with diagram) of how centripetal forces keep planets (and moons) in orbit.
- Please put in the proper citation after you put in facts or information in the paper.
- For example: The reason the sun produces light is due to the nuclear reaction called fusion, atoms combine and then they produce helium, then they produce light (citation).
Homework Answer on Solar System
Question I
There currently exists a total of eight planets namely mercury, Venus, earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto was once considered a planet but the scientific community later came to disown it. Life is supported in the planet earth. The largest planet that currently exists is Jupiter while the smallest planet is mercury that is closer to the earth (Encrenaz 12).
Planets are majorly classified into two. Some are classified as rock planets while others are classified as gas planets. The rock planets are those that are far away from mass such as Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. The gas planets are those that are closer the sun. They include mercury, Venus, earth and mars. The differences between the two planets occurred during planet formation.
Each planet moves on its orbit. They normally circulate away from the earth and are held by different forces. Since they have a specified orbit or path, they can never collide or meet each other (Encrenaz 16).Several planets have moons. The two planets that lack moons are the first two, which are mercury and Venus. This is due to their closeness to the sun would pull the moon. The earth has one moon, mars has two moons known as Phobos and Delmos. Jupiter has 50 moons while Saturn has the most number of moons standing at 53. Neptune has a total of 13 moons while the Uranus contains 27 moons (Lewis 15).