Astronomy QZ12

Pluto's largest satellite is called Charon Titan Tombaugh Christy

Charon

Pluto was discovered through the patient searching of Percival Lowell Gerard Kuiper Clyde Tombaugh E. E. Barnard

Clyde Tombaugh

The satellite whose surface is characterized by a smooth icy crust with a complex network of cracks is Europa Callisto Ganymede Io

Europa

The largest satellite (moon) in the solar system is Ganymede Io Charon Earth's Moon Titan

Ganymede

The Galileo spacecraft measured that the moon Ganymede has a magnetic field indicating that its interior was at least partly melted and warm. What do scientists think is the most likely reason for this? Ganymede has thousands of volcanoes which then send material downward to heat up its interior Ganymede is a relatively small moon and therefore much easier to heat up than its neighbor moons Ganymede is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter Ganymede is so far away from Jupiter it is an independent world and can compress its core without interference

Ganymede is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter

The world in the solar system that is most active volcanically is Io Mars Neptune Earth

Io

The moon Triton orbits which of the planets? Mars Neptune Saturn Jupiter

Neptune

Which of the following worlds does NOT have a ring? Saturn Neptune Pluto Jupiter Uranus

Pluto

Which of the following statements about Saturn's rings is TRUE? The rings are made of particles no bigger than the particles that make up smoke The structure of the rings is completely indepedent of the moons The rings are made of billions and billions of individual moonlets There is really only one ring which looks unbroken from Earth

The rings are made of billions and billions of individual moonlets

What do astronomers think is the origin of the many irregular moons around the outer planets? These moons were likely formed elsewhere and captured by the giant planets. These moons had an early interaction with the rings of the giant planets and were moved to strange orbits as a result. These moons are fragments of a much larger moon around each planet that exploded. These moons were expelled by volcanoes on the surfaces of the giant planets. Astronomers do not have a complete picture for where these moons originated.

These moons were likely formed elsewhere and captured by the giant planets.

Which of the jovian planets does NOT have any satellites? They all have satellites. Neptune Uranus Jupiter Saturn

They all have satellites.

The satellite which has the thickest atmosphere is: Triton Europa Calisto Titan

Titan

The rings that most resemble Saturn's narrow F ring in the solar system are Saturn's A ring Uranus' rings Jupiter's rings Neptune's rings

Uranus' rings

When two objects in orbit have periods of revolution that are simple ratios of each other (such as 1 to 2 or 1 to 3) we say that we have a resonance a conjunction a tidal stability limit an occultation

a resonance

Which of the following is NOT a way that the moon Titan probably resembles the Earth? sunlight interacts with the chemicals on the moon to create a rich mix of organic molecules the main consituent of its atmosphere is nitrogen at its surface the temperature and pressure are just right for water to exist it has clouds in its atmosphere it has a thick atmosphere

at its surface the temperature and pressure are just right for water to exist

Triton's retrograde orbit is consistent with it having undergone a massive impact formed from a rotating disk of gas and dust around Neptune formed from a rotating disk of gas and dust around Neptune been captured by Neptune's gravity

been captured by Neptune's gravity

The rings of the outer planets consist of sheets of ice that stretch in round planes millions of miles wide around each planet billions of ice chunks that all orbit the equator of each planet many large moons about the size of Io all crowded together subatomic charged particles all kept in line by each planet's magnetic field

billions of ice chunks that all orbit the equator of each planet

Saturn's icy moon Enceladus has a smooth, icy surface crisscrossed like dark cracks has fountains of ice particles and water vapor spraying out from its surface has an ancient, heavily cratered surface reminiscent of our Moon is small and irregular in shape like an asteroid

has fountains of ice particles and water vapor spraying out from its surface

In addition to nitrogen, the other main components of Titan's atmosphere are ammonia and water vapor hydrocarbons like methane and ethane oxygen and carbon dioxide hydrogen and helium

hydrocarbons like methane and ethane

What features are abundant on Callisto and Ganymede and almost absent on Europa and Io? volcanoes lakes markings that show the surface is made of ice impact craters

impact craters

The mountains on Pluto are mode of frozen water which at Pluto temperatures is as hard as a rock. Pluto also has a smooth round basin which could be thought of as a frozen sea. What material is the basin likely to be made of? nitrogen carbon dioxide (dry ice) warmer water complex carbon compounds which are the building blocks of life on Earth

nitrogen

What is believed to have been the main source of Titan's atmosphere? outgassing from the interior gas captured from the solar nebula comet impacts we have no idea

outgassing from the interior

The majority of the moons orbiting the outer (jovian) planets are: small moons spinning in the same direction that their planet turns much warmer than the planet they orbit small moons orbiting in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction their planet turns and orbits) large moons roughly the size of Pluto or Mercury

small moons orbiting in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction their planet turns and orbits)

What method was used to discover Pluto in 1929-1930? use one of the first radio telescopes to measure cold radio waves from Pluto take pairs of photographs several days apart and blink them look at irregularities (wobbles) in the motions of Uranus and Neptune look for paterns in the orbits of the moons of Neptune to see which direction Pluto would have escaped

take pairs of photographs several days apart and blink them

Our modern understanding of Pluto is that it is a member of the Kuiper Belt (of trans-Neptunian objects) the giant planets the asteroid belt the terrestrial planets

the Kuiper Belt (of trans-Neptunian objects)

How does Saturn's F ring stay so thin (narrow) when the other rings are so wide? the further away from Saturn a ring is Saturn's huge magnetic field keeps ice boulders from expanding there are 2 shepherding satellites on either side of it the F ring is in the same orbit as the moon Enceladus

there are 2 shepherding satellites on either side of it

Which of the following statements about the geysers on the moon Triton is TRUE? the are caused by collisions with the rings of Neptune the geysers are sulfur volcanoes which stick out of Triton's crust they involve plums of icy materials on the sunlit side of Triton they are caused by the impact of small comets on Triton's fragile surface

they involve plums of icy materials on the sunlit side of Triton

Which of the following best describes the internal structure of Europa? surface ocean of water, thick rocky mantle, central iron core thin icy crust, thick rocky mantle, central iron core thin icy crust, subsurface ocean of water, thick rocky mantle, central iron core thin icy crust, subsurface ocean of water, thick iron mantle, central rocky core

thin icy crust, subsurface ocean of water, thick rocky mantle, central iron core

Which of the following was NOT a method by which astronomers have learned about the surface of Titan? using an infrared camera aboard Cassini to take images of the surface in infrared using the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit to take a photo of Titan using a radar instrument to penetrate the smog in Titan's atmosphere using instruments on the Huygens spacecraft to take pictures as it was decending

using the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit to take a photo of Titan

What evidence can you give that shows the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa must be relatively young? the interior of Europa is made of metals like iron and nickel we see very few craters compared to the surfaces of Callisto and Ganymede there are thousands of active volcanoes on Europa's surface radioactive rocks from Europa that have been brought back to Earth by our probes show that Europa is a young moon

we see very few craters compared to the surfaces of Callisto and Ganymede