Question

How does the dwarf planet Ceres differ from the other dwarf planets?

Group of answer choices

Ceres is part of the asteroid belt while the other dwarf planets are part of the Kuiper Belt.

Ceres is made mostly of ices and dust while the other dwarf planets are solid rock.

Ceres orbits the Sun while the other dwarf planets orbit Neptune.

Ceres is at least 10 times as massive as the other dwarf planets.

The NASA mission, Clipper, will place a spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter in order to perform a detailed investigation of Europa. We are interested in Europa because there might be the probability that

Group of answer choices

the tidal pull Jupiter has on it theoretically will cause it to shatter.

some form of life exists within its ocean, below its icy surface.

the Galileo mission, while orbiting Jupiter, contaminated its surface, killing all micro-organisms.

the eruptions from the sulfur volcanoes have coated its icy surface with sulfur dioxide (an antioxidant on Earth).

As a comet travels through the inner solar system, the direction of the tail changes. This is because

Group of answer choices

the coma shrinks when the comet is nearest the Sun, where it is the hottest.

regardless of which direction the comet moves, the tails are attracted toward the Sun.

the comet loses its ion tail when it is nearest the Sun due to the Sun's magnetic field.

regardless of which direction the comet moves, the tails are directed away from the Sun.

Meteors in a meteor shower produce light by

Group of answer choices

the energy produced by a mini-nuclear fusion process.

dust reflecting light from the Sun as it enters the atmosphere.

intense frictional heat from traveling through Earth’s atmosphere.

dust reflecting light from the Earth as it enters the atmosphere.

Answer 1

1. a) Ceres is part of the asteroid belt while the other dwarf planets are part of the Kuiper Belt. Ceres is the only dwarf planet located between Mars and Jupiter. It has been classified as a dwarf planet because it is much larger than other objects in the Asteroid belt. It has a structure similar to the terrestrial planets and is made of rock and ice.

2. b) some form of life exists within its ocean, below its icy surface. There is a probability that some form of life exists beneath the icy surface of Europa in its oceans. These oceans of water may host life. Europa has a magnetic field as well as oxygen and hydrogen forming from volcanic eruptions, all of which may harbor life in the solar system.

3. c) regardless of which direction the comet moves, the tails are directed away from the Sun. The tails from comets form when the comet approaches the Sun, causing the volatiles within the comet to vaporize and be ejected from the nucleus of the comet. This is why the tails are always directed away from the nucleus.

4. c) intense frictional heat from traveling through Earth’s atmosphere. The Earth's atmosphere causes intense friction and because of the high velocity of the meteor, there is a lot of heat generated, which causes the meteor to burn up.