WEEK #11 Homework:

Your will find the information to answer the questions on the following webpage:

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=SolarSys

PART I: From the Overview:

1. What is the meaning behind the word planet?

a. Ancient astronomers observed points of light that appeared to move
among the stars. Therefore, they called these objects planets, meaning
“wanderers,” and specifically named each after Roman deities

2. What Roman gods were the following planets named after:

a. Jupiter – king of the gods

b. Mars – god of war
c. Mercury – messenger of the gods
d. Venus – goddess of love & beauty
e. Saturn – father of Jupiter & god of agriculture

3. When were Uranus, Neptune and Pluto discovered?

a. 1781, 1846, 1930 (respectively)

4. What is another name for the 4 inner planets?

a. TERRESTIAL PLANETS because of the solid, rocky surface

5. What is another name for the 4 outer planets?

a. GAS GIANTS

PART II: From the Image Gallery TAB:

Glowing Southern Lights.

I was first interested in this image because of the crazy colors but I realized it is
actually a false-color composite image, constructed from data obtained by
NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The image shows the glow of auroras from Saturn's
south polar region.

The false colors indicate a lot about the wavelengths of the emissions. The auroral
emission is shown in green. The blue indicates sunlight reflected at a wavelength
of 2 microns. Green indicates sunlight reflected at 3 microns. Red indicates
thermal emission at 5 microns.

The colors help determine a lot about Saturn. For example, because Saturn's
rings reflect sunlight at 2 microns, but not at 3 and 5 microns, they appear deep
blue. Similarly, Saturn's high altitude haze reflects sunlight at both 2 and 3
microns, but not at 5 microns, and so it appears green to blue-green. The darker
spots are clouds and storms, which help identity weather systems of the planet.