Watch the episode titled “The Outer Planets” from the series “The Universe” and completely answer the questions below.

# / Question / Answer
1 / What is the name of the astronomer who was instrumental in removing Pluto from the list of planets?
2 / Is there such a thing as Planet X?
3 / What do astronomers believe the white areas of Pluto are made up of?
4 / What do astronomers believe the dark areas of Pluto are made up of?
5 / What is the average temperature of Pluto?
6 / What is the ratio of gravity on Pluto as compared to gravity on Earth?
7 / Why is the rock on Pluto much older than the rock on Earth?
8 / What causes the features on Pluto?
9 / Is Pluto’s atmosphere permanent or temporary?
10 / What is the name of the ‘10th’ planet that is nearly the same size as Pluto?
11 / What are the new class of planets like Pluto called?
12 / How long does Pluto’s winter last?
13 / New Horizons has been sent to explore Pluto. When does it expect to arrive?
14 / What is the angle of the axis of Uranus?
15 / Why is Uranus blue? (what gas)
16 / Why is the appearance a ‘soft’ color?
17 / In addition to gas, what else do you find in Uranus and Neptune?
18 / Is it solid?
19 / Why do scientists think Uranus is not stormy like Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune?
20 / Why was the discovery of Uranus unique?
21 / What was causing the winking of the star as astronomers observed Uranus?
22 / How fast do Uranus’ fastest moons orbit the planet?
23 / What do scientists think will happen to the moons Cupid and Belinda?
24 / Do Neptune’s winds blow faster or slower than the other outer planets?
25 / On Neptune, what is the heat source that drives the winds?
26 / Why is the moon, Triton, so extremely cold?
27 / What special cargo is New Horizons carrying?

Watch the episode titled “The Outer Planets” from the series “The Universe” and completely answer the questions below.

# / Question / Answer
1 / What is the name of the astronomer who was instrumental in removing Pluto from the list of planets? / Mike Brown
2 / Is there such a thing as Planet X? / No
3 / What do astronomers believe the white areas of Pluto are made up of? / ice (3 types of ice)
4 / What do astronomers believe the dark areas of Pluto are made up of? / rock
5 / What is the average temperature of Pluto? / -388oF
6 / What is the ratio of gravity on Pluto as compared to gravity on Earth? / 1/15
7 / Why is the rock on Pluto much older than the rock on Earth? / Earth experiences tectonics…Pluto does not
8 / What causes the features on Pluto? / impact craters
9 / Is Pluto’s atmosphere permanent or temporary? / temporary
10 / What is the name of the ‘10th’ planet that is nearly the same size as Pluto? / Eris
11 / What are the new class of planets like Pluto called? / dwarf planets
12 / How long does Pluto’s winter last? / 62 years
13 / New Horizons has been sent to explore Pluto. When does it expect to arrive? / July, 2015
14 / What is the angle of the axis of Uranus? / 98o
15 / Why is Uranus blue? (what gas) / methane
16 / Why is the appearance a ‘soft’ color? / smog
17 / In addition to gas, what else do you find in Uranus and Neptune? / ice
18 / Is it solid? / no
19 / Why do scientists think Uranus is not stormy like Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune? / no internal heating system
20 / Why was the discovery of Uranus unique? / it was the first one discovered by a telescope
21 / What was causing the winking of the star as astronomers observed Uranus? / 5 rings
22 / How fast do Uranus’ fastest moons orbit the planet? / 17 hours
23 / What do scientists think will happen to the moons Cupid and Belinda? / collide, be destroyed and create rings
24 / Do Neptune’s winds blow faster or slower than the other outer planets? / faster
25 / On Neptune, what is the heat source that drives the winds? / internal heat sources, radioactive decay of the interior
26 / Why is the moon, Triton, so extremely cold? / it is reflected and not absorbed
27 / What special cargo is New Horizons carrying? / the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh

Dottie Edwards, StrasburgHigh School, Strasburg, VA, ShenandoahCountyPublic Schools