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PHYS260 Quiz 5: Ch 9
PHYS 260 Quiz #5
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How many total moons of the Jovian planets have been discovered as of now? | 282 moons |
| Of the 282 moons of the Jovian planets, how many of them are large? | Six moons |
| List the four largest Moons of Jupiter | Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto |
| List the single largest moon of Saturn of interest | Titan |
| List the single largest moon of Neptune of interest | Tritan |
| Of the four largest moons of Jupiter, which moon do we exclude? Why? | We exclude Io as this moon is not considered habitable under earth standards |
| Which moon of Saturn do we instead focus on? | Enceladus |
| What is the geological description of a TYPICAL outer solar system moon (Jovian moon)? | - Composed of half ice/ half rock and metal - No geologic activity |
| What do craters on the surface of some of the outer jovian moons indicate | Indicate no current geological activity |
| Some Jovian moons are atypical in that they have geological activity on their surfaces. What would be an example of such activity? | Volcanic activity |
| True or false: ice at further distances will not be just pure water ice | True |
| What type of ice are some of the moons of Saturn composed of? | Methane ice |
| What energy source is responsible for the internal heating of some of Jupiter's moons? | Tidal heating |
| Describe the process of tidal heating | The gravitational field of a planet is so strong that the rock of its moons can also be flexed, generating internal heat |
| Which direction are the tidal bulges of the moons of Jupiter oriented to? | Oriented closest to Jupiter |
| Why did we chose to eliminate Io from our list of habitable moons of Jupiter? | Io contained too much internal heat due to significant tidal heating |
| What is the solar system's best case for a large, subsurface, liquid water ocean? | Europa (moon of Jupiter) |
| How is the water beneath Europa's surface formed? | Formed by the internal heating of ice |
| What do the cracks on Europa signify? | Are most likely due to the movement of liquids underneath Europa's surface |
| What four pieces of evidence point to a subsurface liquid ocean on Europa? | 1. Europa has a known heating mechanism (tidal heating) 2. Has a low number of impact craters 3. Contains flooded/cracked terrains, icebergs, and ice rafts on the surface 4. Induced Magnetic Field due to Jupiter |
| What are the requirements for the production of a planetary magnetic field? | Requires a liquid conductor close to the surface |
| How does Europa acquire an induced magnetic field? | Europa becomes magnetized when it. is in strong enough region of Jupiter's magnetic field |
| What is the best model for the layering of Europa? | Europa consists of an ice layer 20 km thick with a 100+ km thick liquid water ocean |
| By about how many times more water does Europa have than Earth? | About double the amount of Earth's water |
| What two methods have scientists used to prove that an ocean is present under Europa's icy layer? | 1. Powerful radar that will reflect off of the ice/water boundary 2. A magnetometer device |
| What is a magnetometer? | Measures the volume and salinity of oceans using induced magnetic fields of Europa |
| When will the earliest launch to Europa be? What will be launched? When will it arrive? | The soonest launch to Europa will be in 2024. The Europa Clipper will be launched and will be anticipated to arrive on Europa's surface in 2030 |
| Describe the geological composition of Ganymede | - Contains a mix of old and young surface regions - Has an intrinsic (permanent) magnetic field - Contains a subsurface ocean beneath a 150 km thick ice layer |
| Why does Ganymede end up having less energy than Europa? | Less tidal heating takes place on Ganymede resulting in less internal heat and a much much colder subsurface ocean |
| Describe the surface composition of Callisto | The entire surface is cratered and no surface activity exists to fill the craters |
| True or false: Callisto does not have an induced magnetic field | False |
| What is the composition of Callisto's interior liquid layer? | Interior layer consists of liquid water and ammonia |
| Of the three moons of Jupiter: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which is most likely to be the least habitable ? | Callisto |
| Of the three moons of Jupiter: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which is most likely to be the most habitable ? | Europa |
| True or false: Titan has an atmosphere but Ganymede does not | True |
| Although Titan and Ganymede both have the same mass, why is it that they don't have the same atmosphere? | Mass is not the only factor in determining the existence of a planet's atmosphere, we also require temperatures to be lower so that gases do not fly out |
| Describe the atmospheric conditions of Titan | Is the only moon with a thick atmosphere consisting of orange haze |
| What are the chemical ingredients that form Titan's orange haze? List these in order of most abundant to least abundant | 1. Methane (CH4) 2. Ethane (C2H6) 3. Small amounts of propane (C3H8) 4. Acetylene (C2H2) 5. Hydrocarbons such as smog |
| What are the general physical properties of Titan? | - Titan is 1.5 times the pressure of earth - Titan is composed of 90% N2 (molecular nitrogen) |
| How did Titan's Atmosphere originate? | Small icy planetesimals and rocky planetesimals formed the outer planets. we are left with outgassing of materials such as ammonia and methane that were in the icy planetesimals |
| True or false: Titan contains the right temperature for certain liquids to exist on Titan's surface | True |
| Which two liquids formed on the surface of Titan? Why could these liquids form? | Liquid methane and liquid ethane. The surface temperatures on Titan fell into the appropriate liquid range |
| How have scientists and astronomers been able to detect what is underneath Titan's thick, photochemical atmosphere? | Through the use of orbiters and landers |
| Which orbiter studied Titan's atmosphere in detail from 2004-2017? | The Cassini orbiter |
| Which lander visited in Titan in 2005? | The Huygens lander |
| What did the Huygens lander confirm on Titan? | Confirmed liquid features as it descended. More specifically, the Lander detected and mapped large lakes of liquid methane |
| What three reasons suggest that life might be possible on Titan's surface? | - There exists and abundant surface liquid - There is possible chemical energy in the atmosphere - There are large deposits of organic compounds |
| What about the surface liquids on Titan might make it more of a challenge for life to exist? | Lakes are composed of liquid methane, which we found in a previous activity results in very slow metabolic processes, too slow to be considered possible by our standards |
| Wear are the three most important properties of Enceladus? | - Is relatively small and is a moon of Saturn - Is tidally heated by Saturn - Fountains of ice particles and vapor spray out from the surface |
| What are these fountains of ice particles and vapor composed of? | Composed of Ammonia and water mixture |
| Which method might be the easiest in order to detect for signs of life on Enceladus? | We can check for life by looking at the surface ejections of ice particles |
| List the most important characteristics of Triton | - Is a LARGE moon of Neptune - Orbits Neptune in the backwards direction - Planet is heated by tidal heating - Is the furthest moon from the sun that we are discussing |
| Although Triton is the furthest moon in our solar system and thus would lack sufficient direct sunlight, what other property is responsible for Triton's heating up? | Tidal heating |
| What is the significance of Triton's backwards (retrograde) orbit? | Titan's backwards orbit signifies that. it was captured by Neptune and could contain features that we did not expect if this observation were not made |
| True or false: there have been no signs of any recent activity on Triton's surface | False |
| Why might Triton have regions of recent activity on its surface? | Triton probably has interior layers of liquid water, ammonia, and methane |
| Rank the following eight planets/moons in our solar system in terms of habitability along with the reasons for such. This card lists 1-4 | 1. Earth (contains present surface liquid water) 2. Mars (contains past surface liquid water) 3. Europa (contains present interior liquid water) 4. Ganymede (contains present interior liquid water) |
| Rank the following eight planets/moons in our solar system in terms of habitability along with the reasons for such. This card lists 5-8 | 5. Titan (contains present surface liquid methane) 6. Enceladus (contains present interior liquid water/ammonia) 7. Callisto (contains present interior liquid water/ammonia) 8. Triton (contains present interior liquid water/ammonia/methane) |
Created by:
jpazier