ASTR HMWK 7
According to Figure 7.21 in the textbook, Jupiter's magnetosphere extends about
5 AU beyond the planet
Some jovian storms such as Jupiter's Great Red Spot have been observed to last for years to decades. The reason why these large storms live so long is not well understood, but astronomers have begun to monitor these storms more closely with spacecraft and have discovered some common properties among them. Which of the following properties does not contribute to the longevity of large jovian storms?
Atmosphere composed mainly of hydrogen and helium
Starting with the hypothesis that a planet near Uranus was the cause of the orbital discrepancy, scientists had to develop a plan to find the unidentified planet. They started with what they knew about the discrepancies in the orbit of Uranus. Rank the steps in the order that scientists would take to discover the planet.
First: Calculate the mass, orbit, and likely position of the unidentified planet. Use optical telescope to search a region of the sky where the unidentified planet is predicted to be. Compare current observations to existing star charts to locate any new objects Make continued observations to determine if the new object changes position relative to background stars.
Astronomers have detected storms in the atmospheres of the jovian planets, including giant storms that are larger than the entire planet Earth. Listed below are characteristics of storms. Sort these characteristics according to whether they are associated with jovian storms only, terrestrial storms only, or both jovian and terrestrial storms.
Jovian storms only Associated with oppositely-directed high-speed atmospheric flows Hosted by rapidly-rotating planet Terrestrial storms only Powered by solar radiation Short-lived (hours to days) Both jovian and terrestrial storms Involve upwelling gasses Involve circulating winds
Jupiter's differential rotation and complex atmospheric structure induce turbulent storms, such as the Great Red Spot. Identify the statements that correctly describe the characteristics of storm systems on Jupiter.
On Jupiter, the larger the storm, the longer it can last. Individual storm systems can interact, resulting in the storm growing or fading out. Storms are localized features, confined and powered by zonal flow.
The magnetic fields in all planets are generated by the dynamo effect, caused by rapidly rotating and conducting material flowing in the interiors of the planets. We have just seen that all four of the jovian planets have magnetic fields. Earth also has a planetary magnetic field, but Venus does not, although it is very similar to Earth in mass. Which of the following would be a reason why Venus does not have a magnetic field?
Venus's very slow rotation rate does not allow a magnetic field to form.
All four jovian planets have storm systems in their atmospheres. From the list below, select the atmospheric characteristics that are found on all four jovian planets.
small oval shaped storm systems banded atmospheric patterns consisting of light colored zones and dark colored belts rapid winds
After the discovery of Uranus, astronomers calculated its orbit and predicted its position in the sky using Kepler's laws of planetary motion, which had been known since the early 17th century. However, they soon discovered a small discrepancy between the predicted and actual positions of Uranus. As a scientist, what should you do when presented with such a conflict between prediction and observation?
think about what else might cause the observed discrepancy consider whether Kepler's laws need to be modified to account for the new observations verify that your observations are correct consider that Uranus may not be a planet
