ASTR 1010
Astronomy of the Solar System

Study Guide Final Exam

The student should be able to know and understand the following things:

• Solar System

  • Ptolomy's Geocentric Model

  • Copernicus' Heliocentric Model

  • Kepler's Heliocentric Model

  • Brahe's observational contributions

  • Galileo's observational contributions

  • Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

  • Newton's Laws of Motion

  • Newton's Law of Gravity

  • The present Nebular model of Solar System formation

   

• Naked Eye Astronomy

  • Why the Earth has seasons

  • Why the Moon has phases

  • The horizon Coordinate System-Azimuth and Altitude

  • The celestial sphere-RA/Dec

  • Angular Measurement

  • Terrestrial Coordinate System-Latitude and Longitude

  • Apparent Motions of the Heavens

Light

• Two types of waves

• The full electromagnetic spectrum

Optics

• Laws of reflection and refraction

• How to calculate magnification and resolution

• How to build a refracting telescope

• Four reflecting telescope designs

• Advances in telescope design

• The Earth's observing windows

• CCD Cameras

The Earth

• Structure of the atmosphere

• Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases

• Ozone Depletion

• Global Circulation patterns

• Plate Tectonics

• Plate interaction

• Rock types and their characteristics

• Inner Planets

  • What is the cause and process of cratering

  • Structures and compositions of the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars

  • The role of the Greenhouse Effect on Venus

  • The Carbon Cycle

  • The runaway Refrigerator Effect

  • How the Moon was formed/captured by the Earth.

  • Surface features (i.e.-Maria, scarps, basins, etc) on Mercury and the Moon

  • The role of geologic activity on Mars and Venus

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• Outer Planets

  • The structures and compositions of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

  • The types of atmospheric circulation on the gas giants, including Jupiter's Great Red Spot

  • The magnetic fields of these worlds

  • The different types of ring systems and their causes, including the Roche limit

  • The composition and structures of the major moons of each outer planet.

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• Odds and End

  • Pluto, Charon and the classification as Kuiper Belt Objects

  • The different types of asteroids and their compositions

  • The structure and composition of comets

  • The astronomical sources for comets, the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud

  • The cause of Earth's meteor showers.

• How the Solar System Formed

Copyright © 2000, Gordon College. All rights reserved.
Revised: June 22, 2008