ASTR 1514: CHAPTER 17 VOCABULARY
33 Cards in this Set
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Comparative Planetology
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The study of planets in relation to one another.
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Differentiation
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1st stage of planetary evolution; the separation of material according to density.
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Cratering
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2nd stage of planetary evolution; the heavy bombardment of the early solar system.
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Flooding
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3rd stage of planetary evolution; as radioactive decay continued to heat Earth's interior & caused rock to melt in the upper mantle, some of the molten rock welled up through cracks in the crust and flooded the deeper impact basing. Later, as the environment cooled, water fell as rain and…
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Slow Surface Evolution
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4th stage of planetary evolution; the constant changing of Earth's surface as section of crust slide over and against each other, push up mountains & shift continents. In addition, moving air and water erode the surface and wear away geological features.
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P Wave
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A pressure wave. A type of seismic wave produced in Earth by the compression of the material.
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S Wave
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A shear wave. A type of seismic wave produced in Earth by the lateral motion of the material.
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Primary Atmosphere
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The original atmoosphere of a planet, before removal or alteration and replacement by a later, secondary atmosphere.
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Secondary Atmosphere
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The gasses outgassed from a planet's interior; rich in carbon dioxide.
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Greenhouse Effect
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The process by which carbon dioxide in an atmosphere traps heat and raises the temperature of a planetary surface.
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Global Warming
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The gradual increase in the surface temperature of Earth caused by human modifications to Earth's atmosphere.
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Plate Tectonics
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The constant destruction and renewal of Earth's surface by the motion of sections of crust.
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Subduction Zone
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A region of a planetary crust where one tectonic plate slides under another.
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Folded Mountain Range
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A long range of mountains formed by the compression of a planet's crust.
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Rift Valley
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A long, straight, deep valley produced by the separation of crustal plates.
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Midocean Rise
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One of the undersea mountain ranges that push up from the seafloor in the center of the oceans.
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Basalt
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Dark igneous rock, characteristic of solidified lava.
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Albedo
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The ration of the light reflected from an object to the light that hits the object. Albedo equals 0 for perfectly black and 1 for perfectly white.
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Terminator
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The dividing line between daylight and darkness on a planet or moon.
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Vesicular Basalt
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A porous rock formed by solidified lava with trapped bubbles.
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Anorthosite
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Rock of aluminum and calcium silicates found in the lunar highlands.
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Breccia
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Rock composed of fragments of earlier rock bonded together.
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Large-Impact Hypothesis
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The theory that the moon formed from debris ejected during a collision between Earth and a large planetesimal.
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Ejecta
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Pulverized rock scattered by meteorite impacts on a planetary surface.
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Rays
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Ejecta from meteorite impacts forming white streamers radiating from some lunar craters.
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Secondary Crater
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Impact crater formed by debris ejected from a larger impact.
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Multiringed Basins
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Large impact feature (crater) containing two of more concentric rims formed by fracturing of the planetary crust.
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Magma Ocean
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A deep layer of molten rock covering all of most of the surface of a planet.
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Lobate Scarp
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A curved cliff such as those found on Mercury.
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Composite Volcanoes
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A volcano formed by successive lava and ash flows. This type of volcano has steep sides and, on Earth, is found along a subduction zone.
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Permafrost
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Permanently frozen soil.
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Outflow Channel
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Geological feature on Mars produced by the rapid motion of floodwaters.
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Valley Network
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A system of dry drainage channels on Mars that resembles the beds of rivers and tributary streams on Earth.
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ASTR 1514: CHAPTER 15 VOCABULARY