Question

The _______ causes the tail of a comet always to trail away from the Sun. In general, an asteroid doesn't have an atmosphere, but some asteroids are large enough to have their own _______. Most meteoroids that enter Earth's atmosphere vaporize before they ever reach the surface creating trails of light as they burn, known as _______ or shooting stars. Space _______ travel along curved trajectories and take advantage of the gravity of other planets in the process. The _______ probes explored Mars, Venus, and Mercury, and they were responsible for the first close-up images of these planets.

Answer 1

Answer:

1: solar wind

2: moons

3: meteors

4: probes

5: Mariner

6: Scientific knowledge gained from space exploration has given useful information in physics, biology, geology, and chemistry. Scientists have learned more about Earth's geological history and why it can support life. Also, scientists have gained knowledge on the composition of planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe.

Answer 2

Answer:

1. The solar wind causes the tail of a comet always to trail away from the Sun.

2. In general, an asteroid doesn't have an atmosphere, but some asteroids are large enough to have their own moons.

3. Most meteoroids that enter Earth's atmosphere vaporize before they ever reach the surface creating trails of light as they burn, known as meteor or shooting stars.

4. Space probes/craft travel along curved trajectories and take advantage of the gravity of other planets in the process.

5. The mariner probes explored Mars, Venus, and Mercury, and they were responsible for the first close-up images of these planets.

Explanation:

1. When a comet approaches the inner Solar System, materials from the comet are vaporized and stream out of the nucleus of it due to solar radiation,  forming a huge and tenuous atmosphere around the comet, called the coma. The force of the Sun´s radiation pressure and solar wind exerted on the coma cause a tail to form, pointing away from the Sun.

2. Asteroids, often called minor planets, are rocky objects, often small and without an atmosphere, that orbit the Sun. However, some asteroids have their own moons, however it´s quite rare as it´s estimated that only about 2% of asteroids have moons. The most likely way for an asteroid to get a moon is after a collision with another asteroid, where a small chunk of rock can be drawn into orbit.

3. A meteor is a phenomenon that occurs when a meteoroid, comet or asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere at a speed of over 20 km/s, and due to aerodynamic heating, produces a ray of light by its rapid motion. It's also known colloquially as a Shooting Star or Falling Star.

4. Gravity assist is a maneuver used by interplanetary spacecraft in order to reach their targets, and it basically consists on using the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other astronomical object to increase or decrease the speed of an aircraft or redirect its path.

5. The Mariner 2 was the first successful interplanetary spacecraft, launched on August 27, 1962, it passed about 34,000 km of venus, sending to Earth valuable information about the Venus atmosphere. It recorded the planet's temperature.

The Mariner 4 was launched on November 28, 1964 and reached Mars on July 14, 1965. It took the first photos of another world. The Mariner 4 captured 21 photos of the red planet.

The Mariner 10, launched on November 3, 1973, was the first space probe to visit Mercury. The probe´s primary mission was to obtain close-up views of Mercury, and to measure Mercury's environment, atmosphere, surface and body characteristics