WQ #12

The largest satellite (moon) in the solar system is: a. Ganymede b. Titan c. Earth's Moon d. Charon e. Io

a. Ganymede

What do astronomers think is the origin of the many irregular moons around the outer planets (irregular meaning they are orbiting backwards and/or have eccentric orbits)? a. These moons were likely formed elsewhere and captured by the giant planets b. These moons are fragments of a much larger moon around each planet that exploded c. These moons were expelled by volcanoes on the surfaces of the giant planets d. These moons had an early interaction with the rings of the giant planets and were moved to strange orbits as a result e. Astronomers have no idea about why these irregular moons exist; it's a complete mystery

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

The largest and most massive of Saturn's rings is the a. A ring b. B ring c. C ring d. D ring e. F ring

b. B ring

Pluto was discovered through the patient searching of a. Percival Lowell b. Clyde Tombaugh c. E. E. Barnard d. Gerard Kuiper e. Sherlock Holmes

b. Clyde Tombaugh

The four large moons of Jupiter were first discovered by: a. ancient people, seeing Jupiter in dark, cloudless skies b. Galileo with his early telescope c. Isaac Newton with his improved telescope d. William Herschel, in the 18th century e. the Voyager spacecraft

b. Galileo with his early telescope

How does Saturn's F ring stay so thin (narrow), when the other rings are so wide? a. the further away from Saturn a ring is, the narrower it gets b. there are 2 shepherding satellites on either side of it c. Saturn's huge magnetic field keeps ice boulders from expanding d. the F ring is in the same orbit as the moon Enceladus e. we don't know the answer, because Saturn keeps its diet tips to itself

b. there are 2 shepherding satellites on either side of it

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. an occultation b. a conjunction c. a resonance d. a tidal stability limit e. a traffic problem

c. a resonance

What features are abundant on Callisto and Ganymede and almost absent on Europa and Io? a. volcanoes b. markings that show the surface is made of ice c. impact craters d. lakes and pools of liquid ammonia e. rings

c. impact craters

The mountains on Pluto are made of frozen water, which at Pluto temperatures, is as hard as rock. Pluto also has a smooth, round basin which could be thought of as a frozen sea. What material is in the basin (nicknamed Sputnik) likely to be made of? Section 12.5: Planetary Rings a. warmer water b. carbon dioxide (dry ice) c. nitrogen d. complex carbon compounds which are the building blocks of life on Earth e. helium

c. nitrogen

Callisto, the fourth moon of Jupiter's, takes 17 days to orbit Jupiter. If I stand on the surface of Callisto and see Jupiter high in the sky over my head, and then wait 8.5 Earth days in the same spot, where will I see Jupiter? a. you won't see it; it will only be visible from the other side of Callisto b. setting in the west c. overhead, where it was before d. rising in the east e. we need more information to give even a rough estimate of where Jupiter will be

c. overhead, where it was before

The same astronomer wrote extensively about canals on Mars and about the possibility of a ninth planet in our solar system. The observatory named after this astronomer is the: a. Keck Observatory b. Hubble Telescope c. Lick Observatory d. Lowell Observatory e. Wells Observatory

d. Lowell Observatory

Which of the following worlds does NOT have a ring? a. Jupiter b. Saturn c. Uranus d. Pluto e. Neptune

d. Pluto

Which of the following statements about Charon is FALSE? a. it takes the same amount of time to rotate and revolve b. it keeps the same face toward Pluto c. it takes the same time to go around Pluto as Pluto takes to rotate d. it has a significant atmosphere e. it has a retrograde orbit (revolves in a direction opposite to the sense that most satellites in the solar system revolve)

d. it has a significant atmosphere

If I stood on the surface of Pluto, observing its big moon, I would see that moon: a. rise in the east b. rise in the west c. get smaller day by day d. remain in the same place in the sky e. Come on! Pluto has no moons!

d. remain in the same place in the sky

The majority of the moons orbiting the outer (jovian) planets are: a. large moons, roughly the size of Pluto or Mercury b. small moons orbiting in the same direction that their planet turns c. much warmer than the planet they orbit d. small moons orbiting in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction their planet turns and orbits) e. not in good working order, since they were made in Bayonne, New Jersey

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

What makes the rings of Neptune different from those of other planets we know? a. they are much thinner b. they have gaps and divisions in them c. they are much darker d. they are clumpy (or bulging) in places e. there is more than one ring in the system

d. they are clumpy (or bulging) in places

For a while, after the space age began, astronomers did not know what the surface of Titan looks like, but today they do. Which of the following was NOT a method by which astronomers have learned about the surface of Titan? a. using instruments on the Huygens spacecraft to take pictures as it was descending b. using an infrared camera aboard Cassini to take images of the surface in infrared c. using a radar instrument to penetrate the smog in Titan's atmosphere d. using the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit to take a photo of Titan e. taking a photograph of the surface from a spacecraft that landed on Titan

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

Which of the following is NOT one of the largest moons in the Solar System? a. Titan (around Saturn) b. Triton (around Neptune) c. Ganymede (around Jupiter) d. the Earth's Moon e. Atlas (the shepherd moon near Saturn's A ring)

e. Atlas (the shepherd moon near Saturn's A ring)

The moon Triton orbits which of the planets? a. Mars b. Jupiter c. Saturn d. Uranus e. Neptune

e. Neptune

Which planet has the biggest moon relative to its own size? Not the biggest moon in terms of kilometers, but the biggest as a percentage of the size of the planet it orbits. a. Jupiter b. Neptune c. Uranus d. Saturn e. Pluto

e. Pluto

Two worlds in the outer solar system that seem remarkably similar to each other are: a. Titan and Ganymede b. Io and Europa c. Titan and Triton d. Callisto and Io e. Pluto and Triton

e. Pluto and Triton

The spacecraft that visited Pluto and send back our first images: a. was called New Horizons b. got a gravity boost from Jupiter to get it to Pluto faster c. used plutonium to keep it warm d. is returning to Earth in the 22nd century e. more than one of the above

e. more than one of the above

Which of the jovian planets does NOT have any satellites? a. Jupiter b. Saturn c. Uranus d. Neptune e. you can't fool me, all the jovian planets are accompanied by satellites

e. you can't fool me, all the jovian planets are accompanied by satellites