Final Exam Review
The final exam will be cumulative; about half the questions will come
from the last 1/3 of the class (since Midterm #2) and the other half
will come from the first 2/3 of the class.
Jovian Worlds
Chapter 11
- composition and interior properties of Jovians
- Jovian atmospheres, weather, and magnetosphere
- properties of Galilean moons, orbital resonances, tidal
heating
- properties of Titan
- geological processes on icy moons
- Jovian ring systems -- properties, formation, evolution
Asteroids and Comets
Chapter 12
- properties of asteroids
- the asteroid belt - what is it, why is it there?
- meteorites and their relation to asteroids
- structure of comets -- nuclei, coma, tails
- connection between comets and meteor showers
- comet reservoirs -- Kuiper belt and Oort cloud
- Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects, is Pluto a planet?
- Planetary impacts and the end of the dinosaurs
- Impact frequency and damage
- Influence of Jovian planets on Earth's planetary history
Extrasolar Planets
Chapter 13
- Direct Imaging -- why it's so hard.
- Indirect methods: influence of planet on host star
- Doppler technique for detection - how it works, what it tells
us
- Transit technique - how it works, what it tells us
- Kepler mission -- what is it?
- Hot Jupiters -- what are they, why were they unexpected, how
do we think they formed?
- Exoplanet orbits -- what are they like, why were they
unexpected, how do we think they got that way?
The Sun
Chapter 14
- How does the Sun produce energy in its core?
- Gravitational equilibrium and energy balance
- Sun's structure -- major regions of the solar interior.
- How the "solar thermostat" works
- How energy gets out of the Sun
- Solar activity -- what are sunspots and solar flares and
prominences?
- What are coronal mass ejections and how do they affect Earth?
- How does solar activity vary with time, and why do we think
this happens?
End of the Sun
Lecture Notes
- Why the Sun has to change over time, when does that happen?
- How does the Sun change at the end of its life (red giant, red
supergiant, planetary nebula, white dwarf)
Night Sky Interludes
(Fall)
- know your bright stars and prominent constellations