AST 109 Lessons 10 & 11

Why are Jupiter's inner Galilean moons more dense?

'Tides' heat Io most, Callisto least

Which moon of Jupiter has the lowest density?

Callisto

Which of the following is a Galilean moon

Callisto

Which of the following moons has a huge 'bullseye' of frozen water ripples on its surface?

Callisto

Why is Mars' atmosphere (2x) more dense in Spring/Fall than in Winter/Summer?

Carbon dioxide freezes into a polar cap in winter

Which direction has the sun moved most on the sky (relative to the stars), since this time yesterday?

East

Which moon has a thick water ocean beneath a layer of ice?

Europa

Io has a much warmer interior than the other moons of Jupiter. What is the best reason why?

It experiences tidal flexing from the gravity of Jupiter, Europa and Ganymede

Why is Jupiter's albedo so high (50%)?

It has very thick, light colored clouds.

Why is Mars red?

It is covered with rust (iron oxide)

The planet with more mass than the other 7 combined is

Jupiter

Why is Mars so cold?

Mars is 50% farther from Earth away from Sun

The moons of Mars differ from the Earth's Moon most noticeably in that

Mars' moons are not spherical

Which is NOT a reason humans could live on Mars?

Mars' native plants could serve as food

What color is the sky on Mars?

Often pink, like no other place in the solar system.

The only moon that rises in the west and sets in the east in its planet's sky is

Phobos

The moons of Jupiter are

Rock

Mars is generally considered to be the planet (other than Earth) on which a person would have the greatest chance of survival (even if not for long). Which is not a reason for this?

The Viking missions found life which would provide a source of food

Why are craters so rare on Io?

Volcanoes 'paved over' almost all craters

Of the following processes, which is most important now in shaping the Martian surface?

Wind erosion

Which of the following best explains why Mars has relatively few craters?

Wind erosion on Mars wore down most of the craters

The 'belts' and 'zones' on Jupiter are

alternating bands of rising and falling gases, regions of different colors because of temperatures, visible, even in a small telescope, from the earth, like high- and low- pressure weather systems on earth, but stretched out around the planet by rapid differential rotation.

The component of the polar ice caps of Mars that changes with the seasons is primarily:

carbon dioxide

The color changes in Mars' atmosphere are primarily due to changes in atmospheric:

dust

Jupiter is composed primarily of

hydrogen

We think that Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field because deep within the planet there is

liquid metallic hydrogen carrying electrical currents

Considering the state of the materials in its interior, Jupiter is mostly

liquids

The time scale on Mars that is most similar the same period on Earth is

the length of its day

The real 'canals' seen on Mars were probably formed by which of the following mechanisms?

water flow