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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Jovian Planets |
large, massive low-density worlds in the outer solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) have extensive satellite systems and moons (regular/irregular) |
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Belt-zone circulation |
cloud belts parallel to the planets equator |
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Liquid Giants |
Jupiter and Saturn are composed mostly of liquid metallic hydrogen |
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Ice Giants |
Uranus and Neptune are abundant in solid water |
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Regular Satellites |
large, close to parent planet, move in prograde direction (with the rest of the solar system)
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Irregular Satellites |
small, far from parent planet, and have high orbital inclinations
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Jupiter |
core made of heavy elements surrounded by a deep mantel of liquid metallic hydrogen -large and strong magnetic field |
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Magnetosphere |
around Jupiter; traps high-energy particles from the sun to form intense radiation belts |
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Atmosphere (Jupiter) |
-three layers of clouds formed of hydrogen-rich molecules -cloud layers are located at certain temperatures within the atmosphere -cloud stripes parallel to equator are light/dark |
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Jupiter atmosphere cloud stripes |
1. light-colored, high-pressure regions of rising gas 2. darker belts, lower-pressure areas of sinking gas |
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Spots in Jupiter's atmosphere |
includes the Great Red Spot, are circulation weather patterns |
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Jupiter's Moons |
-Galilean moons -linked together in orbital resonances -Io, Europa, Ganymede |
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Io (Jupiters Moon) |
active volcanoes, orbits Jupiter 4 times |
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Europa (Jupiters Moon) |
smooth ice and cracks, orbits Jupiter 2 times |
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Ganymede (Jupiters Moon) |
grooved terrain, orbits Jupiter once |
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Jupiter's ring |
composed of small particles that are bright when illuminated from behind (forward scattering) |
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Roche limit |
distance from a planet within which the tidal stress can destroy or prevent one from forming (Jupiter's ring lies within Jupiter's Roche limit) |
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Saturn |
-less dense than water -contains a small core with less metallic hydrogen than Jupiter, therefore magnetic field is 20 times weaker -moons are icy and mostly heavily cratered |
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Titan (Saturn's moon) |
Saturn's largest moon; cold, cloudy nitrogen atmosphere (so cold that gas molecules do not travel fast enough to escape) |
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Enceladus (Saturn's moon) |
has a light surface with some uncratered regions |
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Saturns rings |
composed of icy particles ranging in size from boulders to dust -composition and brightness of the rings particles vary -grooves in the rings can be produced by orbital resonances, or waves, that propagate through the rings caused by moons near or within the rings |
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Shephard satellites |
the gravitational effect of small moons; can cause narrow rings and sharp ring edges |
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Jovian planets rings |
cant be material left over from the formation of the planet rings are replenished occasionally with material produced by meteoroids, asteroids, and comets colliding with moons |
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Uranus |
-1/3 diameter of Jupiter, 1/20 as massive -internal pressure cannot produce liquid hydrogen -heavy-element core, mantle of solid or slushy ice and rocky material below a hydrogen-rich atmosphere -atmosphere is almost featureless at visible wavelengths (pale blue color is caused by traces of methane which absorbs red light) -rotates on its side (possibly due to major impact or tidal interactions with other planets during its early history) -larger moons are icy and heavily cratered |
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Ovoids |
grooves on Miranda, the innermost moon, caused by internal heat driving convection in the icy mantle |
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Occultations |
the passage of the planet in front of a star during which the rings momentarily blocked the stars light (how the rings of Uranus were discovered) |
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Rings of Uranus |
narrow hoops of ice with traces of methane confined by shepherd satellites |
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Neptune |
-ice giant with no liquid hydrogen -has heat flowing from its interior -atmosphere is rich in hydrogen and colored blue by traces of methane |
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Nereid (Neptunes Moon) |
far off and follows a large elliptical orbit |
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Triton (Neptunes Moon) |
-orbits backwards -icy with a thin atmosphere and frosty polar caps -smooth areas suggest past geological activity -dark smudges mark the location of active nitrogen geysers |
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Neptunes rings |
made up of icy particles in narrow hoops and contains arcs produced by the gravitational influence of one or more moons |
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Pluto |
-small world with 3 moons, one of which, Charon, is quite large in relation to Pluto -mostly rock with a substantial amount of ice -redefined as a dwarf planet -member of a family of Kuiper belt objects orbiting beyond Neptune |
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Plutinos |
Kuiper belt objects that follow orbits like Pluto that have an orbital resonance with Neptune |
