Astronomy
Pluto was discovered in
1930
Titan's surface has been mapped using Earth based visual telescopes.
False
Titan's surface is obscured by thick clouds of ammonia ice.
False
The largest moon in the solar system is
Ganymede
The two names most associated with the discovery of Pluto are
Lowell and Tombaugh
If Saturn's rings consisted only of chunks of coal, they would appear ___________.
darker
What is thought to be the cause of lo's volcanoes?
gravitational tidal stresses from both Jupiter and Europa
Ganymede
heavily cratered terrain adjacent to much younger terrain, largest moon in the solar system
lo
hot, glowing lava visible in some photos, volcanoes currently erupting, source of ionized gas in the donut shaped charged particle belt around Jupiter.
Europa
ice covered surface with few impact craters, surface features provide evidence of a subsurface liquid ocean
The fact that Europa orbits Jupiter twice for every one orbit of Ganymede is an example of a(n) ___
orbital resonance
In size and density, both Io and Europa resemble
our moon
Kepler's third law tells us that __________.
planet's nearer to the Sun orbit at higher speed than planets farther from the Sun and particles in the inner rings orbit Saturn at a faster speed than particles in the outer rings.
The mare on Ganymede were formed by
water erupting and spreading over the surface
orbital resonance
A situation in which one object's orbital period is a simple ratio of another object's period, such as 1/2, 1/4, or 5/3. In such cases, the two objects periodically line up with each other, and the extra gravitational attractions at these times can affect the objects' orbits.
tidal heating
A source of internal heating created by tidal friction. It is particularly important for satellites with eccentric orbits such as Io and Europa.
Of the Jovian satellites, which shows the oldest, most cratered surface?
Callisto
__________ is the most distant of Jupiter's four Galilean moons.
Callisto
At Titan, the oceans are made of liquid
Ethane
Strong evidence of both from surface features and magnetic field data support the existence of a subsurface ocean on
Europa
Of all the Galilean satellites, the surface of Europa is the youngest in age.
False
Pluto is visible to the naked eye on extremely dark nights.
False
The surface of lo looks most like the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean of Earth
False
Europa
Galilean moon second closest orbit to Jupiter
lo
Galilean moon with the closest orbit around Jupiter
Callisto
Galilean moon with the farthest orbit around Jupiter
Ganymede
Galilean moon with the third closest orbit to Jupiter
The largest moon in the solar system, bigger but not as massive as Mercury, is
Ganymede
Which are the four Galilean moons of Jupiter?
Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
What is so unusual about Pluto's orbit?
It is more inclined to the ecliptic than any of the eight planets.
What is true of Titan's atmosphere?
It is similar to Earth's in composition and density.
The atmosphere of Titan is composed mostly of
Nitrogen
Which statement about Jupiter's rings is true?
They lie inside Jupiter's Roche Limit.
__________ is responsible for the tremendous volcanic activity on lo.
Tidal heating
Only moon with a thick atmosphere
Titan
Which of these moons has the densest atmosphere?
Titan
Pluto is most similar to
Triton
Alone among all the large moons, Triton orbits Neptune retrograde, and also at a 20 degree inclination to Neptune's equator.
True
Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system.
True
Like Titan, Triton has a nitrogen atmosphere.
True
Lo's internal heat is due to tidal interactions with Jupiter and Europa
True
Methane drives the weather of Titan, for there it can be liquid, solid, or gas.
True
Pluto is probably one of the largest of the Kuiper Belt bodies beyond Neptune.
True
Pluto is smaller than many moons in the solar system.
True
Pluto's classification as a planet has been called into question.
True
Probably the next satellite to get turned into ring debris will be Neptune's backward moon, Triton.
True
Saturn's rings exist because they lie within the planet's Roche limit.
True
The composition of Saturn's ring particles is predominantly water ice
True
Triton and Pluto both probably originated in the Kuiper Belt.
True
Triton's orbit is unusual because it is retrograde.
True
Two small shepherd satellites are responsible for the unusually complex form of Saturn's F ring.
True
The atmospheric pressure at the surface of Titan is
about one and a half times greater than the atmospheric pressure at Earth's surface.
The erupting geysers of nitrogen gas on Triton
are caused by a not yet determined internal energy source.
Charon's orbit
is highly inclined to Pluto's orbital plane.
Evidence that Triton probably did not form around Neptune is
it orbits around Neptune in retrograde (backwards), opposite to the rotation of Neptune.
Inside the Roche Limit
large moons are torn apart.
Saturn's rings look bright because __________.
light from the Sun reflects off the material in the rings
The jovian moon with the most geologically active surface is
lo
The moon that experiences the most tidal heating is
lo
Which of the Galilean moons is the densest and most geologically active?
lo
Saturn's rings are composed of
lots of individual particles of ice and rock
Pluto's density is most similar to
moons of the jovian planets.
Generally, you would expect that the closer a moon is to a large planet
the warmer its interior
