Exam 9: Small Bodies of the Solar System

In the figure below,label each portion of the comet.

Meteorites are more likely to come from asteroids than comets.

Examine the image below. Titan is a prime candidate for life outside Earth because it has:

Lakes of methane,ethane,and other hydrocarbons can be found on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan.

Which of the following moons is thought to have a vast ocean of water beneath its thin frozen surface?

You find a blackened rock lying on top of the snow.You find that it is fairly dense and suspect it might be a meteorite.You take it to a lab,and they find that its age is 1.3 Gyr.Is this a meteorite? Why,or why not?

All meteorites are remnants of planetesimals that never coalesced to form a planet.

Pluto is the largest member of the Kuiper Belt.

Examine the image below.Why does a comet usually have two tails,one which is straight and one that is curved? What materials compose each tail and why do they have different shapes?

The most common type of meteorites are:

Name three properties of the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris that are similar.

Cometary nuclei are most likely:

If ultraviolet photons destroy methane,why does Titan have so much of it in its atmosphere?

Why do long-period comets usually put on a much more visually spectacular display than short-period comets?

All short period comets have a period < 20 years.