Explorations: An Introduction to Astronomy (Arny), 7th Edition

Chapter 10: The Outer Planets

Thought Questions

1
If Jupiter were moved closer to the Sun, what do you think would happen to it?
2
Why do the relatively uncratered surfaces of Europa and Enceladus imply that these moons may have been "active" recently?
3
Ganymede and Callisto orbiting Jupiter and Tethys and Dione orbiting Saturn appear in many ways similar to our Moon. If one of these satellites were located close to the Earth, would the similarities remain? What might happen? How would the gas giant satellites then differ from our Moon?
4
Approximate the Roche limit as 2.44 times a planet's radius. Using the Appendix Tables 3 and 5, calculate the Roche limit distances for Saturn and Uranus and make a list of the moons found inside these distances. How it is possible for these moons to orbit there? Would you expect these moons to be spherical or irregular? Why?
5
Saturn's moon Titan exhibits an atmosphere, lakes, clouds, rocks, dunes, and at least one volcano. Explain how these features are substantially similar to or different from what we expect based on Earth's geology.
6
Is Uranus's sky blue for the same reason our sky is blue? Compared to the yellow-white we see on Earth, would the Sun look redder or bluer from inside Uranus's atmosphere?
7
How is the fact that Uranus's moons orbit its equator evidence that Uranus was in a collision with an asteroid or planetesimal? What if the moons had formed prior to the collision?
8
Why might Uranus and Neptune have proportionally less hydrogen than their more massive companions, Jupiter and Saturn?
9
Describe in detail why Neptune clearly shows bands of atmospheric circulation and Uranus does not. Explain when, if ever, Uranus could show such features.
10
If only one new mission could be funded to visit or revisit one of the planets in this chapter, and land a rover on one of that planet's moons, make a case for which planet and moon would be most worth exploring.
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