Essential Cosmic Perspective 7th

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MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1) If Jupiter were scaled to the size of a basketball, Earth would be the closest to the size of 1)
A) a marble.
B) a basketball.
C) a grapefruit.
D) a pinhead.
E) a baseball.

2) How many more times is the atmospheric pressure in Jupiter's core greater than the atmospheric 2)
pressure at Earth's surface?
A) 100 thousand
B) 10 million
C) 10 thousand
D) 100 million
E) 1 million

3) How do astronomers think Jupiter generates its internal heat? 3)

A) radioactive decay
B) by contracting, changing gravitational potential energy into thermal energy
C) chemical processes
D) nuclear fusion in the core
E) internal friction due to its high rotation rate

4) How do the size and mass of Jupiter's core compare to the size and mass of Earth? 4)
A) It is about 10 times larger in size and the same mass.
B) It is about the same size but is 10 times more massive.
C) It is about 10 times larger both in size and mass.
D) It is the same size and mass.
E) Jupiter doesn't have a coreit is made entirely from hydrogen and helium.

5) Why is Jupiter denser than Saturn? 5)

A) It has a greater proportion of helium to hydrogen compared to Saturn.
B) The extra mass of Jupiter compresses its interior to a greater extent than that of Saturn.
C) Its core is much larger than Saturn's.
D) It is made of a different composition than Saturn, including a higher proportion of hydrogen
compounds and rocks.
E) Scientists do not know why this is so.

6) Why is Neptune denser than Saturn? 6)

A) It has a different composition than Saturn, including a higher proportion of hydrogen
compounds and rocks.
B) Its hydrogen is molecular, whereas Saturn's hydrogen is atomic.
C) It has a greater proportion of hydrogen than Saturn.
D) The extra mass of Neptune compresses its interior to a greater extent than that of Saturn.
E) It is not denser than Saturn.

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 7) Why is Saturn almost as big as Jupiter, despite its smaller mass? 7)
A) Jupiter's strong magnetic field constrains its size.
B) Saturn has a larger proportion of hydrogen and helium than Jupiter, and is therefore less
dense.
C) Saturn's rings make the planet look bigger.
D) Saturn is further from the Sun, thus cooler, and therefore less compact.
E) Jupiter's greater mass compresses it more and increases its density.

8) How do the jovian planet interiors differ? 8)

A) The composition changes from mostly ammonia in Jupiter and Saturn to mostly methane in
Uranus and Neptune.
B) All have about the same amount of hydrogen and helium but the proportion of rocks is
greater in those planets closer to the Sun.
C) The composition changes from mostly hydrogen in Jupiter and Saturn to mostly helium in
Uranus and Neptune.
D) All have cores of about the same mass, but differ in the amount of surrounding hydrogen
and helium.
E) The core mass decreases with the mass of the planet.

9) Why do the jovian planet interiors differ? 9)

A) Accretion took longer further from the Sun, so the more distant planets formed their cores
later and captured less gas from the solar nebula than the closer jovian planets.
B) They differ due to giant impacts at the late stages of planet formation.
C) The more distant planets formed in a cooler region of the solar nebula and therefore contain
a greater proportion of ices than the closer jovian planets.
D) The more distant planets had longer to form than the closer planets, since the solar nebula
lasted longer at greater distances from the Sun.

10) Why does Jupiter have several distinct cloud layers? 10)
A) Clouds form randomly, so on average there are always several layers.
B) Different layers represent the various regions where the temperature is cool enough for
liquid water to condense.
C) Winds prevent clouds from forming at some altitudes, so we see clouds only at the other
altitudes.
D) Different layers represent clouds made of gases that condense at different temperatures.
E) Different gases are present at different altitudes in Jupiter's atmosphere.

11) Why are there no impact craters on the surface of Io? 11)
A) It is too small to have been bombarded by planetesimals in the early solar system.
B) Jupiter's strong gravity attracted the planetesimals more strongly than Io, and thus none
landed on its surface.
C) Any craters that existed have been eroded through the strong winds on Io's surface.
D) Io's thick atmosphere obscures the view of the craters.
E) Io did have impact craters, but they have all been buried in lava flows.

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12) What is the most important reason why an icy moon is more likely to be geologically active than a 12)
rocky moon of the same size?
A) Ice contains more radioactive elements than rock.
B) Ice has a lower melting point than rock.
C) Ice is less dense than rock.
D) Ice is affected by tidal forces to a greater extent than rock.
E) Ice is less rigid than rock.

13) What mechanism is most responsible for generating the internal heat of Io that drives its volcanic 13)
activity?
A) bombardment
B) differentiation
C) accretion
D) radioactive decay
E) tidal heating

14) Which of the following is not due to tidal forces? 14)

A) the grooved terrain of Enceladus (a moon of Saturn)
B) the retrograde orbit of Triton (a moon of Neptune)
C) the volcanos on Io (a moon of Jupiter)
D) the synchronous rotation of the Moon around Earth
E) the rings of Saturn

15) What is the most abundant gas in Titan's atmosphere? 15)

A) methane
B) argon
C) hydrogen compounds
D) nitrogen
E) oxygen

16) Which of the following statements about Titan is not true? 16)
A) Its atmosphere is mostly nitrogen.
B) Its surface is hidden from view by its thick atmosphere.
C) It is the coldest moon in the solar system.
D) It may have an ocean of liquid ethane.
E) Its temperature is too cold for liquid water to exist.

17) Which moon did the Huygens spacecraft land on? 17)
A) Ganymede
B) Europa
C) Titan
D) Triton
E) Callisto

18) What did the Huygens probe photograph as it landed on Titan? 18)
A) hills, valleys and rivers
B) nothing; there was zero visibility due to the methane smog
C) a pockmarked surface covered with volcanos
D) a water world of frozen ice sheets
E) dry, featureless plains

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19) How thick are Saturn's rings from top to bottom? 19)
A) a few million kilometers
B) a few tens of thousands of kilometers
C) a few tens of meters
D) a few kilometers
E) a few hundred kilometers

20) Which of the following best describes the composition of the particles forming Saturn's rings? 20)
A) metallic grains
B) hydrogen and helium
C) methane ice
D) water ice
E) volcanic rock

21) Why are Saturn's rings so thin? 21)

A) Saturn's gravity prevents particles from migrating upwards out of the rings.
B) Solar radiation pressure keeps particles pressed into the rings.
C) The current thinness is a short-lived phenomenon that is special to this time.
D) The "gap" moons shepherd the particles and maintain its thin profile.
E) Any particle in the ring with an orbital tilt would collide with other ring particles, flattening
its orbit.

22) Planetary rings are 22)

A) composed of a large number of individual particles that orbit their planet in accord with
Kepler's third law.
B) orbiting in the equatorial plane of their planet.
C) known to exist for all of the jovian planets.
D) all of the above

23) What is the Cassini division of Saturn's rings? 23)

A) a large gap, visible from Earth, produced by an orbital resonance with the moon Mimas
B) the most opaque ring of Saturn, made of highly reflective ice particles
C) the widest ring of Saturn, located between two large ring gaps
D) the imaginary circle marking the halfway point of Saturn's rings
E) a dark ring, visible from Earth, composed of dark, dusty particles

24) Which of the jovian planets has/have rings? 24)

A) Saturn
B) Uranus
C) Jupiter
D) Neptune
E) all of the above

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25) 25)

What would be the approximate radius of a hydrogen/helium planet with a mass one-tenth that
of Jupiter?
A) about 0.7 times the radius of Jupiter B) about 1 time the radius of Jupiter
C) about 0.5 times the radius of Jupiter D) about 0.9 times the radius of Jupiter

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26) 26)

If a planet is found with a radius 5% greater than Jupiter, which is the best first estimate of that
planet's mass?
A) about 1 times Jupiter's mass B) about 10 times Jupiter's mass
C) about 0.3 times Jupiter's mass D) about 3 times Jupiter's mass

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27) 27)

The Galileo spacecraft dropped a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere that survived 200 km, or 0.3% of
Jupiter's radius. Which is the deepest layer that this probe was able to directly sample?
A) rocky core B) liquid hydrogen layer
C) gaseous hydrogen layer D) metallic hydrogen layer

28) Where is Jupiter's strong magnetic field generated? 28)

A) cloud tops
B) metallic hydrogen layer
C) rocky core
D) liquid hydrogen layer
E) gaseous hydrogen layer

29) Why do Uranus and Neptune appear blue? 29)

A) Methane snowflakes absorb all colors except blue, which they reflect.
B) Gas molecules in their atmosphere preferentially scatter blue light.
C) Small dust grains preferentially scatter blue light.
D) Methane gas absorbs all colors except blue.

30) What kind of observations can astronomers use to study Io's volcanoes? 30)
A) spectroscopy to determine the composition of the plumes
B) visible-light images to study the distribution of sulfur compounds on its surface
C) infrared images to study warm plumes on Io's night-side
D) visible-light images to study plumes using reflected sunlight
E) all of the above

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 31) The large Jovian satellites have sizes comparable to Mercury. Why do they have an icy 31)
composition compared to Mercury's rocky composition?
A) They formed beyond the frost line, where ices were three to four times more abundant than
metals and rock.
B) They experienced many more cometary impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment.
C) They formed from hydrogen compounds expelled by the Jovian planets.
D) They are captured comets.

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

32) If Jupiter were 10 times more massive, it would actually have a smaller radius. 32)

33) Hydrogen exists as a gas, liquid, and solid within Jupiter. 33)

34) If Jupiter were 10 times more massive, it would generate nuclear fusion in its core and be a star 34)
instead of a planet.

35) Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a low-pressure storm, like a hurricane on Earth. 35)

36) Some of the moons of the jovian planets have significant atmospheres. 36)

37) The water-ice particles forming Saturn's rings are frozen together into a thin sheet that rotates 37)
around Saturn like a solid body.

38) The mass of Saturn can be determined by applying Kepler's 3 rd Law to the motion of a single ice 38)
particle in its rings.

39) No spacecraft has landed on a Jovian planet moon. 39)

40) The Huygens landing showed that the surface of Titan is as hard as a rock. 40)

41) Titan's surface may contain lakes of liquid methane. 41)

42) Jupiter is the only Jovian planet with large storms. 42)

43) Ganymede is larger than Mercury, but it is not classified as a planet because it orbits Jupiter as 43)
opposed to the sun.

44) If the Jovian planets had solid surfaces, their large storms would likely dissipate faster. 44)

ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.

45) Unification in Science: One of the true pleasures of science is to discover that two rather different phenomena are
really manifestations of the same set of physical principles. To this end, explain how the volcanoes on Io, the
subsurface ocean on Europa, and the gaps in Saturn's rings reflect the operation of the same physical principle.

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 46) Io's Volcanoes Predicted? The intense volcanic activity on Io came as somewhat of a surprise to many when it
was discovered by the Voyager mission in 1979. Nevertheless, argue that all of the elements where in place to
make a prediction of intense volcanic activity on Io before the Voyager mission. Search on the web for the history
of Io's volcanism to see if such a prediction was actually made.

47) Probing the Interior of Jupiter: Astronomers claim to have a reasonable model for interior structure of Jupiter.
What is the observational basis for this model? Does it make any predictions that have been put to
observational tests? How is the interior structure of the Earth known (review Chapter 7 if necessary)? Do you
think the interior structure of Jupiter is more or less well-tested than that of the interior structure of the Earth?
Explain.

48) Observing Galilean moons: The Galileo spacecraft launched towards Jupiter carried a small telescope (about 25 cm
diameter) for collecting visible light images. Explain why these collect images with much better spatial
resolution than even the largest Earth-bound telescopes (for example, the 10 meter Keck telescopes).

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.

49) Why does it make sense that the jovian planets farther from the Sun have less mass? 49)

50) The satellite Amalthea orbits Jupiter at just about the same distance in kilometers at which 50)
Mimas orbits Saturn. Yet Mimas takes almost twice as long to orbit. What can you deduce
from this difference qualitatively? Since Jupiter and Saturn are not very different in radius,
what else can you conclude?

51) Suppose the jovian planet atmospheres were composed 100 percent of hydrogen and 51)
helium rather than 98 percent of hydrogen and helium. How would the atmospheres be
different in terms of color and weather?

52) Describe the possible origins of Jupiter's vibrant colors. Contrast these with the origins of 52)
the colors of the other jovian planets.

53) Contrast Jupiter's magnetosphere with that of Earth and of the other jovian planets. 53)

54) Explain how the resonance among Io, Europa, and Ganymede makes their orbits slightly 54)
elliptical.

55) What is "ice geology"? Give an example illustrating why it is important in the outer solar 55)
system.

56) Describe some of the results from the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons. 56)

57) Describe two leading scenarios for the origin of the planetary rings. What makes us think 57)
that ring systems must be continually replenished?

58) Why is Triton such an unusual satellite? 58)

59) How would Jupiter be different if it rotated slowly? 59)

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 60) Explain why Titan is of great interest to astronomers. 60)

Use these choices for the following questions.

A. the most volcanically active body in the solar system

B. thought to have a deep, subsurface ocean of liquid water
C. probably a captured Kuiper Belt object
D. the target of the Huygens probe, which landed on its surface.
E. the largest moon in the solar system

61) Which of the above applies to Io? 61)

62) Which of the above applies to Europa? 62)

63) Which of the above applies to Triton? 63)

64) Which of the above applies to Titan? 64)

65) Which of the above applies to Ganymede? 65)

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

66) Which of the following is not a general characteristic of the four jovian planets in our solar system? 66)
A) They are much more massive than any of the terrestrial planets.
B) They lack solid surfaces.
C) They are composed mainly of hydrogen, helium, and hydrogen compounds.
D) They are higher in average density than are the terrestrial planets.

67) Which of the following best describes the internal layering of Jupiter, from the center outward? 67)
A) liquid core of hydrogen compounds; liquid hydrogen layer; metallic hydrogen layer; gaseous
hydrogen layer; cloud layer
B) core of rock, metal, and hydrogen compounds; thick layer of metallic hydrogen; layer of
liquid hydrogen; layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud layer
C) solid rock core; layer of solid metallic hydrogen; layer of pure liquid hydrogen; cloud layer
D) core of rock and metal; mantle of lower density rock; upper layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud
layer

68) Which of the following statements comparing the jovian interiors is not thought to be true? 68)
A) They all have cores that contain at least some rock and metal.
B) Deep inside them, they all have pressures far higher than that found on the bottom of the
ocean on Earth.
C) They all have the same exact set of internal layers, though these layers differ in size.
D) They all have cores of roughly the same mass.

69) Overall, Jupiter's composition is most like that of ________. 69)

A) Earth B) the Sun C) a comet D) an asteroid

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70) Jupiter's colors come in part from its three layers of clouds. Which of the following is not the 70)
primary constituent of one of Jupiter's cloud layers?
A) clouds of ammonia B) clouds of water
C) clouds of sulfuric acid D) clouds of ammonium hydrosulfide

71) How do typical wind speeds in Jupiter's atmosphere compare to typical wind speeds on Earth? 71)
A) They are about the same as average winds on Earth.
B) They are slightly slower than average winds on Earth.
C) They are slightly faster than average winds on Earth.
D) They are much faster than hurricane winds on Earth.

72) What is the Great Red Spot? 72)

A) a hurricane that comes and goes on Jupiter
B) a place where reddish particles from Io impact Jupiter's surface
C) a long-lived, high-pressure storm on Jupiter
D) a region on Jupiter where the temperature is so high that the gas glows with red visible light

73) What atmospheric constituent is responsible for the blue color of Uranus and Neptune? 73)
A) water B) hydrogen C) methane D) ammonia

74) How does the strength of Jupiter's magnetic field compare to that of Earth's magnetic field? 74)
A) Jupiter's magnetic field is about 20,000 times as strong as Earth's.
B) Jupiter's magnetic field is about twice as strong as Earth's.
C) Jupiter's magnetic field strength is about the same as Earth's.
D) Jupiter's magnetic field is much weaker than Earth's.

75) Which of the following statements about the moons of the jovian planets is not true? 75)
A) One of the moons has a thick atmosphere.
B) Most of the moons are large enough to be spherical in shape, but a few have the more
potato-like shapes of asteroids.
C) Some of the moons are big enough that we'd call them planets (or dwarf planets) if they
orbited the Sun.
D) Many of the moons are made largely of ices.

76) Which statement about Io is true? 76)

A) It is thought to have a deep, subsurface ocean of liquid water.
B) It is the only moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere.
C) It is the most volcanically active body in our solar system.
D) It is the largest moon in the solar system.

77) Which moon has a thick atmosphere made mostly of nitrogen? 77)
A) Titan B) Triton C) Europa D) Ganymede

78) The Huygens probe took numerous pictures as it descended to Titan's surface in 2005. What did 78)
the pictures show?
A) primitive life forms
B) lava flows of molten basalt
C) features of erosion, including what appeared to be dry river valleys and lakebeds
D) a densely cratered surface

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79) Which moon is considered likely to have a deep, subsurface ocean of liquid water? 79)
A) Triton B) Io C) Miranda D) Europa

80) Which large jovian moon is thought to have been captured into its present orbit? 80)
A) Io B) Titan C) Callisto D) Triton

81) Suppose you could float in space just a few meters above Saturn's rings. What would you see as 81)
you looked down on the rings?
A) a solid, shiny surface, looking much like a piece of a DVD but a lot bigger
B) countless icy particles, ranging in size from dust grains to large boulders
C) dozens of large "moonlets" made of metal and rock, each a few kilometers across
D) Nothing-up close; the rings would be so completely invisible that you'd have no way to
know they are there. They can be seen only from a distance.

82) Which statement about planetary rings is not true? 82)

A) Rings are always located closer to a planet's surface than any large moons.
B) All four jovian planets have rings.
C) Saturn's rings formed along with its moons 4.6 billion years ago.
D) Individual ring particles orbit their planet in accord with Kepler's laws, so that particles closer
in orbit faster than particles farther out.

83) Which of the following gases is not a significant ingredient of the jovian planet atmospheres? 83)
A) helium B) hydrogen C) carbon dioxide D) water

84) Jupiter and the other jovian planets are sometimes called "gas giants." In what sense is this term 84)
misleading?
A) They actually contain relatively little material in a gaseous state.
B) They are not in any sense "giants."
C) The materials they are made of are not the kinds of thing we usually think of as gases.
D) Actually, it's a great description, because these worlds are big and gaseous throughout.

85) What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass? 85)
A) Its density would decrease, and its diameter would double.
B) Its density would increase, but its diameter would barely change.
C) It would become a star, with nuclear fusion in its core.
D) Its density would stay about the same, and its volume would double.

86) According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be 86)
much less massive than Jupiter and Saturn?
A) The colder gas in the outer regions of the solar nebula had less gravity and therefore could
not gather up into such large balls as it could closer in.
B) Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so that accretion took
longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula.
C) The size differences are thought to be a random coincidence.
D) Ices were able to condense at the distance of Jupiter and Saturn, but only rock and metal
could condense at the distances of Uranus and Neptune.

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87) Why does Jupiter have three distinct layers of clouds? 87)
A) Clouds form randomly, so on average there are always three layers.
B) Jupiter has three different types of wind, each of which makes a different type of cloud.
C) The three layers represent clouds made of gases that condense at different temperatures.
D) The three layers reflect regions of Jupiter's atmosphere with different overall chemical
compositions.

88) Which of the following best explains why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and 88)
Saturn?
A) Dark stripes are those in which there is a stratosphere and light stripes are those with no
stratosphere.
B) The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see
down to deeper, darker clouds.
C) There are three different color stripes corresponding to the three different types of clouds
found on these planets.
D) The dark and light stripes correspond to alternating bands of different chemical composition.

89) Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. Which factor explains 89)
why?
A) Jupiter and Saturn do not contain any methane gas.
B) The rapid rotation of Jupiter and Saturn prevents methane clouds from forming.
C) Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense.
D) The stronger gravity on Jupiter and Saturn pulls methane downward so that it can't form
clouds.

90) Which jovian planet should have the most extreme seasonal changes? 90)
A) Saturn B) Neptune C) Jupiter D) Uranus

91) Why is the radiation so intense in the region that traces Io's orbit around Jupiter (the Io torus)? 91)
A) Io's gravity allows this region to capture huge numbers of charged particles from the solar
wind.
B) Jupiter's strong magnetic field makes the radiation intense everywhere, and the region
around Io is no different than any other region.
C) The region is full of gases that become ionized after they are released from volcanoes on Io.
D) An orbital resonance between Io, Europa, and Ganymede makes the radiation intense.

92) Which of the following best explains why many jovian moons have been more geologically active 92)
than the Moon or Mercury?
A) The jovian moons are considerably larger than the Moon and Mercury and therefore have
retained much more internal heat.
B) Jovian moons are made mostly of ice that can melt or deform at lower temperatures than can
the rock and metal that make up the Moon and Mercury.
C) Because of their greater distances from the Sun, the jovian moons receive much less heat
from the Sun.
D) The jovian moons probably have far more internal heat generated by radioactive decay than
do the Moon or Mercury.

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93) All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous 93)
tidal heating that occurs on Io?
A) Io exhibits synchronous rotation, meaning that its rotation period and orbital period are the
same.
B) Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical orbit, due to orbital resonances with other satellites.
C) Io orbits Jupiter in the Io torus, and therefore has a surface that is bombarded by many
charged particles.
D) Io is the closest to Jupiter of Jupiter's large moons.

94) Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Europa may have a 94)
subsurface ocean?
A) Photos of Europa's surface show regions that appear to consist of jumbled icebergs frozen in
place.
B) Europa's surface shows very few impact craters.
C) Astronomers have detected small lakes of liquid water on Europa's surface.
D) Europa has a magnetic field that appears to respond to Jupiter's magnetic field.

95) Which of the following is most unlikely to be found on Titan? 95)

A) lakes of liquid methane ethane
B) rain or snow consisting of methane or ethane droplets or ice crystals
C) lakes of liquid water in the warmer equatorial regions
D) volcanic outgassing of methane and other gases

96) Why do astronomers believe that Triton is a captured moon? 96)

A) Triton is too large to have been formed in the "miniature solar nebula" thought to have
surrounded Neptune in its very early history.
B) Triton appears to be made mostly of ice.
C) Triton orbits Neptune in a direction opposite that of Neptune's rotation.
D) Triton is very small and potato-shaped, which is common of captured moons.

97) Which statement about Saturn's rings is not true? 97)

A) The rings are so thin that they essentially disappear from view when seen edge-on.
B) The large gap known as the Cassini Division is shaped by an orbital resonance with the
moon Mimas, which orbits well outside the rings.
C) Some features of the rings are shaped by small moons that actually orbit within the ring
system.
D) The rings must look much the same today as they did shortly after Saturn formed.

98) According to current understanding, which of the following is required in order for a planet to 98)
have rings?
A) The planet must have many small moons that orbit relatively close to the planet in its
equatorial plane.
B) The planet must orbit its star at a distance greater than Mars orbits the Sun.
C) The planet must be at least as massive as Saturn.
D) The planet must once have had a large moon that came too close to it, shattering the moon
and creating the ring particles.

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Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED36

1) A
2) D
3) B
4) B
5) B
6) A
7) E
8) D
9) A
10) D
11) E
12) B
13) E
14) B
15) D
16) C
17) C
18) A
19) C
20) D
21) E
22) D
23) A
24) E
25) A
26) D
27) C
28) B
29) D
30) E
31) A
32) TRUE
33) TRUE
34) FALSE
35) FALSE
36) TRUE
37) FALSE
38) TRUE
39) FALSE
40) FALSE
41) TRUE
42) FALSE
43) TRUE
44) TRUE
45) Will vary.
46) Will vary.
47) Will vary.
48) While they have much worse angular resolution due to their small size, these telescopes are so much closer to the
moons as to compensate. The physical size of a resolved feature is a function of both the angular resolution and the
distance to the feature.
15
Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED36

49) The differences in the sizes of the jovian planets are due to their capturing different amounts of gas from the solar
nebula, since their cores are all about the same size. Icy planetesimals took longer to accrete in the outer solar system,
because they were more spread out there. Thus, more distant jovian planets didn't have as much time as Jupiter to
capture gas from the solar nebula before the nebula was cleared by the solar wind.
50) The gravitational attraction of Saturn on Mimas is less than that of Jupiter on Amalthea; therefore, Saturn's mass must
be less than Jupiter's. If Saturn is less massive but almost as large as Jupiter, its density must be lower.
51) Without ingredients besides hydrogen and helium, the jovian planets would all be gray in color, and there would be
no clouds or precipitation.
52) The white zones of Jupiter's atmosphere are white because of ammonia clouds. The red and brown colors of the belts
are produced by light reflected from deeper ammonium-hydrosulfide clouds. Saturn's reds and tans probably come
from the same compounds that produce these colors on Jupiter. However, they are more muted because these cloud
layers lie deeper within Saturn's atmosphere, under a thicker layer of tan "smog." The blue colors of Uranus and
Neptune are produced by methane gas, which absorbs red light and transmits blue.
53) Jupiter has the strongest magnetic field by far among the planets. It is 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. Its strong
field is able to deflect the solar wind about 40 Jupiter radii in front of Jupiter. The magnetosphere around Saturn is
smaller because it has a much thinner layer of metallic hydrogen. Uranus and Neptune have no metallic hydrogen,
and therefore much weaker magnetic fields generated in their cores.
54) For every orbit that Ganymede completes around Jupiter, Europa completes exactly two orbits and Io completes
exactly four. Therefore, all three planets line up for every orbit of Ganymede, and Io and Europa line up twice each
Ganymede orbit. The gravitational tugs from their sister moons add up over time, and these tugs are always in the
same direction. Therefore, the moons' orbits become slightly elliptical over time.
55) Ice geology is the formation of surface features due to ice melting and flowing, similar to lava flows on Earth. The
jovian moons are made of ices, and since these melt at far lower temperatures than rock, even small amounts of
heating (from tidal effects for example) can sustain a surprising amount of geologic activity. An example is the
sparsely-cratered regions on Ganymede, whose presence suggest that liquid water erupted and refroze on the surface
relatively recently.
56) Cassini has found a surprisingly active geology on many Saturn moons, e.g. Enceladus. The Huygens probe landed on
Titan and photographed hills, valleys, and possibly rivers. It showed pictures of ice rocks on the surface of the planet
and its soft landing suggested a slushy ice/rock surface. Radar mapping of Titan showed what appear to be lakes of
liquid methane and ethane and Cassini has also photographed Saturn's rings and the gap moons in great detail.
57) One scenario is that the material near the planet was prevented from forming a moon in the first place because of the
strong tidal forces. However, frequent collisions between particles or between particles and their planet's upper
atmosphere cause ring particles to disintegrate within a few million years. Therefore, since the ring particles are
rapidly disappearing, they must be continually replenished. The leading scenario, then, is one in which numerous
small moons orbiting the planets continuously supply new material for the rings.
58) Triton's orbit around Neptune is retrograde (opposite to the planet's rotation) and highly inclined. It is a large, round
satellite with an apparently active geology. Its large size and round shape suggests it formed from the accretion of
large numbers of planetesimals, yet its orbit argues that it did not form in situ around Neptune as the planet
condensed from the protosolar nebula. It appears to have formed in the outer regions of the solar system, perhaps in
the Kuiper belt like Pluto, and was subsequently captured.
59) Jupiter's rapid rotation is key for both the formation of cloud bands and it's magnetic field. As seen in the comparison
of Venus and Earth, rotation helps drive organized circulation of the metallic hydrogen, which in turn generates the
magnetic field. The rapid rotation also helps form the organized cloud bands.
60) It's thick atmosphere provides another testbed for our understanding of the greenhouse effect. It's complex
atmospheric chemistry produces many compounds of astrobiological interest. It's the only other world known to have
a hydrologic cycle, though it is too cold for water to ever be liquid - the cycle involves methane and ethane.
61) A
62) B
63) C
64) D
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Answer Key
Testname: UNTITLED36

65) E
66) D
67) B
68) C
69) B
70) C
71) D
72) C
73) C
74) A
75) B
76) C
77) A
78) C
79) D
80) D
81) B
82) C
83) C
84) A
85) B
86) B
87) C
88) B
89) C
90) D
91) C
92) B
93) B
94) C
95) C
96) C
97) D
98) A

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