ASTR-101 Notebook
written by Piper Clark
A complete and detailed book of ASTR-101 notes by Piper Clark.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
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Lesson 8: Other Celestial Bodies in Our Solar System
Chapter 8
~Comets
-Composed of water ice in addition to frozen methane and carbon dioxide and rocks/dust
-size ranges from hundreds of meters to tens of kms
-if one passes too close to the sun, it evaporates into an atmosphere (coma) made of rocks and dust
-light and radiation from sun exerts pressure so comet may have 2 tails, made of the separated atmosphere, 1 of gas and 1 of dust
-most originate far from sun
-most famous comet, Halley's comet, named after Edmond Halley who discovered its 75 year astronomical period in 1705
-Halley's comet last seen 1986
-can be seen with naked eye when it comes close to sun
-has been observed since 240 BCE
-will return in 2061
-Ancient muggles thought they announced the death of someone important
-no magic
~Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites
-Meteor: "shooting star", caused by a small object entering earth's atmosphere
-light show is meteor shower
-trails all seem to come from same place in sky - radiant
-meteor shower named after its radiant
-Meteoroids: Cause meteors, size of grain of sand, the ones that survive are called meteorites, rare
-Crater: impact on earth bigger than the object that caused it
-meteorites are magical, but it's wild, unpredictable, and interfering
-Wilbur van Snobbe had a spell rebound when he tried to Summon a meteorite
~Asteroids
-more than 100 meters across
-largest known asteroid, Ceres: 1000 km diameter
-never acquire an atmosphere
-3 groups depending on material: carbon-rich, stony, metallic
-many shapes and sizes, round most common
-some have their own moons
-Ida was the first asteroid to be discovered with a moon
-most located in asteroid belt
~Dwarf Planets
-smaller version of a planet
-Pluto was considered the solar system's 9th planet (discovered 1930)
-Now, to be a planet, there are 3 terms:
1. Orbits the sun or other star
2. Has enough self-gravity to be nearly spherical
3. Cleared orbit of space debris
-an object that has the first 2 but not the last is a dwarf planet
-5 bodies that fit this: Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Haumea, Makemake
-Pluto has most known moons of DPs: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra
-Ceres has no moons
-Eris has 1: Dysnomia
-Makemake has 1 with no official name, but it's called MK 2
-orbits in the Kuiper belt
-reflect magic to earth
~Assignments
-Study for final
-Mandatory quiz
-Composed of water ice in addition to frozen methane and carbon dioxide and rocks/dust
-size ranges from hundreds of meters to tens of kms
-if one passes too close to the sun, it evaporates into an atmosphere (coma) made of rocks and dust
-light and radiation from sun exerts pressure so comet may have 2 tails, made of the separated atmosphere, 1 of gas and 1 of dust
-most originate far from sun
-most famous comet, Halley's comet, named after Edmond Halley who discovered its 75 year astronomical period in 1705
-Halley's comet last seen 1986
-can be seen with naked eye when it comes close to sun
-has been observed since 240 BCE
-will return in 2061
-Ancient muggles thought they announced the death of someone important
-no magic
~Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites
-Meteor: "shooting star", caused by a small object entering earth's atmosphere
-light show is meteor shower
-trails all seem to come from same place in sky - radiant
-meteor shower named after its radiant
-Meteoroids: Cause meteors, size of grain of sand, the ones that survive are called meteorites, rare
-Crater: impact on earth bigger than the object that caused it
-meteorites are magical, but it's wild, unpredictable, and interfering
-Wilbur van Snobbe had a spell rebound when he tried to Summon a meteorite
~Asteroids
-more than 100 meters across
-largest known asteroid, Ceres: 1000 km diameter
-never acquire an atmosphere
-3 groups depending on material: carbon-rich, stony, metallic
-many shapes and sizes, round most common
-some have their own moons
-Ida was the first asteroid to be discovered with a moon
-most located in asteroid belt
~Dwarf Planets
-smaller version of a planet
-Pluto was considered the solar system's 9th planet (discovered 1930)
-Now, to be a planet, there are 3 terms:
1. Orbits the sun or other star
2. Has enough self-gravity to be nearly spherical
3. Cleared orbit of space debris
-an object that has the first 2 but not the last is a dwarf planet
-5 bodies that fit this: Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Haumea, Makemake
-Pluto has most known moons of DPs: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra
-Ceres has no moons
-Eris has 1: Dysnomia
-Makemake has 1 with no official name, but it's called MK 2
-orbits in the Kuiper belt
-reflect magic to earth
~Assignments
-Study for final
-Mandatory quiz
