Astronomy: Chapter 14 Flashcards
Discuss the main differences between the terrestrial planets and the Jovian Planets.
- Terrestrial: low-density rocky crust, mantles of dense rock, and metallic cores.
- Jovian: Large, low-density world rich in hydrogen and helium. Atmosphere are marked by cloud belts parallel to their equators. large systems of satellites and rings that have had complex histories.
Describe Jupiter in terms of size, composition, rotation rate, atmosphere, and magnetic field.
- Magnetic Field: holds back solar winds, high energy particles for giant belts.
- Composition:
- Core: hypothesis to made of fluid metallic hydrogen.
- size: 11 times the size of earth.
- Takes 10 hours to rotate.
- atmosphere
- contains three layers of clouds formed of hydrogen-rich molecules such as ammonia and water.
- spots in Jupiter’s atmosphere are circulating wheather patterns.
- 1st atmosphere–125k–gaseous hydrogen
- 500,000 Atm–2,000k–liquid hydrogen
- 2,000,000 atm–5,000K–metallic Hydrogen
- 100,000,000 Atm–20,000K–rock,mantle,h
Describe the appearance of Jupiter’s surface and explain the belts and zones and the Great Red Spot.
- The clouds are in bands parallel to the equator called zones and belts.
- belts: lower-pressure areas of sinking gas. dark bands, lower, air is diving down. they are warmer and dark because there is no ice crystals.
- zones: high-pressure regions of rising gas. bright bands of clouds. warm air rises and becomes cold. They are high, bright, and cold. Brightness is caused by frozen ammonia.
- Giant Red Spot: giant circulating hurricane
Describe the interior of Jupiter and draw a labeled sketch of a cross section through Jupiter.
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Be able to identify by sight, and describe the Galilean satellites of Jupiter, including the origin and properties of their surface features.
- Io: No craters. Colorful, yellow, orange, white. this moon is sulfuric and volcanically active. It is 1800 miles across. it is so hot because Jupiter creates tital forces. it streaches the moon and unstreaches, squeezing Io. That is why it is active and hot. The yellow is cold sulfer. The black is Hot Sulfer. Has a rocky core, mantle is like a slush.
- Europa: no craters, alive. surface is covered with water ice. It is completely covered with cracks. Possible due to Europa wobbling as it orbits Jupiter. Beneath the crust, there is liquid water.
- Ganymede: Largest of the moons. Two Surfaces; Lines and streakers, and craters.
- Callisto: Farthest. Highly cratered in out solar system. Dead and cold. Has multi ringed impact basin called valhalla.
Explain the appearance of Saturn’s surface; why does it look so different from Jupiter?
- Saturn’s pale yellow surface is the top
of its thick atmosphere. It is covered by
a thin, smoggy haze. Helium raindrops
within the metallic layer generate heat as
they fall. This heat is transported to the
lower atmosphere, where, coupled with
the planet’s rotation, it generates fierce
winds. Near the equator, these can reach
1,200 mph (1,800 km/h ). Giant storms
are a feature of the upper atmosphere. - AURORA at south pole:An oval aurora, invisible to the human eye, was captured by the Cassini probe in June 2005. Solarwind
particles cause hydrogen to glow blue in ultraviolet light. - Belts and zones on Saturn are less visible than on Jupiter because they occur deeper in the cold atmosphere, below a layer of methane haze.
Describe the rings of Saturn in terms of size, appearance, composition, and motion.
- Size:
- Composition: Made up of Billions of ice particles. Must be debris from collisions between passing comets, or other objects, and Saturn’s icy moons.
Appearance:
Motion: Each particle orbits Saturn in its own circular orbit.
Discuss the Roche Limit, its cause, its effects, and how it depends on the mass of the planets.
- The Roche limit is the minimum distance between a planet and a satellite that can hold itself together by its own gravity. If a satellite’s orbit brings it within its planets Roche limit, tidal forces will pull the satellite apart.
- It depends on the mass of the planet and the distance from its moon because the Roche Limit is the minimum distance between a planet and a satellite that holds itself together by its own gravity,
What is meant by the concept “resonance” and what role has it played in the formation of Saturn’s rings and the asteroid belt?
- Keeps the orbit of Saturn’s rings slightly elliptical and drives tidal heating. Without the moons gravity, there wouldn’t be any rings.
Describe Saturn’s moon Titan, (appearance, atmosphere, and surface features) as observed by the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens Probe.
Has a cold, cloudy nitrogen and methane atmosphere. Sunlight entering Titan’s atmosphere can convert methane into complex carbon-rich molecules to form haze and particles that settle out to coat the surface with dark organic goo. methane lakes may have been detect on Titan’s surface in radar images made by the Cassini probe.
Discuss one special surface characteristic of each of the following moons: Phoebe, Hyperion, Iapetus, Mimas, and Enceladus.
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Describe Uranus in terms of size, composition, appearance, rotation rate, atmosphere, and magnetic field.
- 4 times the size of earth.
- Composed of Hydrogen and Helium.
- appearance: Blue-green
- Core: rocky core, icy liquid mantle liquid
- Unusual cloud formation.
- no Magnetic Field.
Why did Uranus atmosphere appear featureless when the Voyager II spacecraft flew by, and why has it changed since then?
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Describe and explain the appearance the appearance of Uranus’ moon Miranda.
- Lots of Craters.
* V-shape, “Chevrons” and Ovoids
How were the rings of Uranus first discovered?
- Uranus passed in front of a star
* Dips in the brightness of the surrounding stars.
