20180220

Online reading assignment: runaway planets, jovian planets, and dwarf planets (oh my!) (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2018
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on runaway planets (Venus and Mars), jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), and the dwarf planets (and the International Astronomy Union classification scheme).


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"I didn't know our moon was part of Earth; crazy to think what we look at every night was once on the same surface."

"The history of the planets--I thought it was cool that there was background information on Venus and Mars it really helps to remember the planets and how different they are."

"The history of the moon was interesting, and drawing it out in class helped me understand it a lot more than only talking about it. I also thought the section in the text about water on Mars was cool to know about."

"How Venus and Mars differed from Earth despite having the same components to make a hospitable planet. It shows how the systems on Earth are in a specific balance, and throwing that off could be disastrous."

"Venus' runaway greenhouse effect, because this is a prime example of what could end up happening to Earth. Especially when considering the similarities between Earth and Venus, both rocky and about same size with complex atmospheres and similar surfaces. It also raises the question of was their life on Venus at some point that was inevitably killed off."

"The diffrences between core temperatures of the different planets in our solar system."

"How the differences between Jupiter's and Saturn's appearances can be attributed mostly to their distances from the sun. I'd thought before that perhaps their atmospheres had been composed of radically different layers, but it appears that in general terms, they're closer to the same. I thought it was cool how the differences in distance and heat from the Sun could cause whole shifts in the positions of the two planets' atmospheres' layers."

"The method of determining whether an object is a planet or not."

"Funny just how Pluto is no longer considered a planet because it's missing one criterion."

"What makes a planet a planet, and why Pluto is no longer considered one. This was interesting to me because I knew it wasn't considered a planet, but I never knew why until now."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"I'm still a little confused about the electromagnetic spectrum and was having a hard time understanding the group worksheet we did in class. How do we know where telescopes should be set up to see certain areas of the spectrum?"

"Overall the section was interesting to me because of the comparison about the planets, however I feel like I may have a hard time remembering the differences between them just because of all the different planets."

"How Venus suffered from the runaway greenhouse effect but Earth hasn't?"

"What it means that Venus is a runaway greenhouse. I understand that it results in an extremely hot and dense atmosphere, but don't quite understand how."

"The different types of volcanoes on planets. How can the crust be different on each planet to not allow the magma to flow out?"

"Probably the difference in types of planets, I understand that there are rocky and gas planets, but I have trouble getting the idea of a gas planet in my head. It's just hard to imagine a giant ball of gas that just sits in space held together with no surface whatsoever."

"Nothing in particular was particularly confusing, but it was all overwhelming to take in at once. Trying to keep all the planets separate is challenging. I did find that I didn't quite understand why Uranus rotates on its side, compared to Neptune."

"Why Pluto isn't a planet anymore. like it used to be what happened!??"

"Nothing, really."

Identify the relative amounts of these characteristics for Venus, compared to Earth. (Only correct responses shown.)
Interior core heat, today: about the same as Earth [52%]
Geologic activity, today: less than Earth [71%]
Volcanic outgassing, up until now: about the same as Earth [57%]
Heat from the sun: more than Earth [81%]
Amount of atmosphere, today: more than Earth [48%]

Identify the relative amounts of these characteristics for Mars, compared to Earth. (Only correct responses shown.)
Interior core heat, today: less than Earth [90%]
Geologic activity, today: less than Earth [86%]
Volcanic outgassing, up until now: less than Earth [57%]
Heat from the sun: less than Earth [86%]
Amount of atmosphere, today: less than Earth [81%]

Which jovian planet has the coolest interior temperatures?
Jupiter (most massive).   [0]
Saturn (most prominent rings).   [0]
Uranus (least active weather patterns).   *********** [11]
Neptune (farthest from the sun).   ******** [8]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)   ** [2]

I believe Pluto should be a planet.
Strongly disagree.   [0]
Disagree.   ******* [7]
Neutral.   ******** [8]
Agree.   **** [4]
Strongly Agree.   ** [2]

Briefly explain your answer to the previous question (whether Pluto should be a planet).
"My opinion is only based on original and traditional naming rights."

"Just because it is missing one componet but why name it a planet if it really wasn't:/"

"I honestly don't care whether or not it is a planet or dwarf planet; I think that yes, it is smaller than the average planet but that shouldn't change the fact that it is or isn't a planet due to its inactivity and relationship to the sun."

"Well, by the astronomers' criteria, Pluto does not fit the bill and should be classified as so. I don't have a personal connection to Pluto...unlike some other people, and I don't care much if it gets demoted."

"I agree with what you said in class about Pluto being a planet and then all of a sudden not. I dont really have a side as to wether it is a planet or not. To be honest I really don't care whether they make it a planet or not."

"Not massive enough to clear its own orbital path, therefore definition-wise it's not a planet, while it may have enough gravity to pull itself into a ball it doesn't meet all three qualifications for being a planet."

"Pluto is an ice ball of rock far out into space that we never see from Earth nor does it have much meaning to it, though, I feel as if it should be a planet. We know Pluto exists, and that's all that matters, therefore it should be a planet."

"According to the IAU rules and classes, pluto should not be a planet. It may answer 'yes' to the first two questions, but it does not dominate its orbit, because it is too small/doesn't have enough mass."

"Because it was a planet, so there must be some sort of evidence as to why it was named that previously."

"I always grew up thinking it's a planet, then people started saying it isn't a planet and I dont know too much about it to know if it isn't or not."

"Pluto is a dwarf planet and so therefore, is a lot smaller compared to the other planets in our solar system. It has shown to also not hold a lot of activity."

"I don’t really know."

"I'm fine with whatever the scientists and astronomers decide on. It seems like an ice ball to me so I'm not stressing. But if you asked the 10 year old me, I'd say make Pluto a planet again."

"I agree because it has an atmosphere and geological features like every other planet."

"I can understand why the IAU changed their minds about Pluto being a planet, it doesn't really fit the criteria of what is considered a planet. I think it is a good call to consider Pluto a dwarf planet."

"I don't agree or disagree on whether Pluto should be a planet or not because I am unsure what I would classify it as."

"It was a planet before and it's something that is in our solar system so it should be considered a planet."

"Pluto has an atmosphere and a geological surface."

"Pluto has a small atmosphere and it also orbits the sun. It is also not a satellite because it is round. I also really like Pluto so I think it should be a planet."

"I don't disagree with the criteria set by the IAU. It seems like if Pluto were to be considered a planet, then we'd have to add a few more similar objects to the planet list because they are similar to Pluto."

"Pluto is just an icy rock that is part of the Kuiper belt. If we considered Pluto a planet, we would have to consider all those other icy rocks in the belt planets too, which is just crazy talk."

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Can we go over the electromagnetic spectrum super-quick again? I'm still a little confused...maybe give two examples/questions in class to discuss?"

"Can we go over a little more in detail the difference between Neptune and Uranus. They seem to be too similar to me."

"Ummmm...what's the big deal why do people care about the classification of Pluto anyways?"

"pls halp."

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