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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
All jovian planets
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-are composed mostly of gas
- are larger than the terrestrial planets -have rings -have many moons |
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How do we explore the Jovian planets?
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we send probes in much the way as we do with the terrestrial planets. except we use GRAVITY ASSIST to slingshot the probes around planets (Jupiter).
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Gaileleo was launched in an effort to study which planet/
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Jupiter
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Cassinni was sent to study which planet?
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Saturn
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Huygen's probe was sent to study which planet?
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Saturn's moon Titan.
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Jovian planet characteristics
-atmospheric composition? - inner core - differential rotation |
Mostly hydrogen and helium
Not solid... dense gas or liquid. outer regions rotate differently than the inner rotation of the same planet. |
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All Jovian planets have strong magnetic fields. Why?
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Because like earth they have liquid conductive cores.
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Which planet has the most extreme tilt?
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Uranus- EXTREME SEASONS!
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On average how much denser are terrestrial planets than jovian planets?
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5 times denser
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Jupiter's atmosphere is composed of?
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hydrogen (85%) and helium
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What are the dark and light stripes around jupiter called?
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Dark- belts
Light- Zones |
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What accounts for such divisions?
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belts are of low pressure and zones are of high pressure. The wind patterns thus create the seperation.
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Why then are the colors different?
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Color difference is a result of temperature differences.
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Jupiter's Atmosphere
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-white ammonia clouds
-clouds lower than those are hotter and release ammonium hydrosulfide. -at the lowest level clouds release ice or water vapor |
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Weather on Jupiter
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Great Red spot- a hurricane twice the diameter of Earth that has been circulating for 300 years.
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How is it possible for the Great Red Spot to continue without dying?
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There are no continents on Jupiter to break it apart.
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Saturn's atmosphere is composed of
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Molecular hydrogen (93%) with some helium, argon, and ammonia.
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Saturn's atmosphere
-first layer -3 cloud layers -thickness of atmosphere -temperature -what accounts for the thickness? |
a layer of haze (like Jupiter)
Ammonium, Ammonium hydrosulfide, and ice. 3 times thicker than Jupiter cooler than jupiter (further from sun) Because of Saturn's lower surface gravity. |
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Weather on Saturn
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Same spots as those on Jupiter have been found.
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Atmospheric composition of Uranus and Neptune includes of hydrogen and helium. But also _________ and the difference in the above molecule accounts for ______.
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Methane
Uranus (2%) less blue Neptune (3%) More blue |
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Uranus surface features?
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Featureless.
Cold clouds (rise) form haze and block lower clouds. |
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Neptune's surface features?
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less dense haze and some features were seen including the dark spot which has vanished.
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Neptune has a less dense haze which suggests it is warmer. How is this possible?
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Despite it being further from the sun, Neptune generates its own heat.
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Jupiter's internal structure.
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Rocky core? metallic hydrogen is like liquid metal.
bulges 7% at the radius. |
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Saturn's internal structure?
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Just like Jupiter with less assymetry.
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Uranus and Neptune's internal structures?
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Slushy
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Internal heating in Neptune and Jupiter. How?
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Primordial heat- Jupiter is still losing its heat from its formation.
Generation of heat: Neptune is heating because of gravitational effects on its drops of liquid helium. |
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What are the names of Jupiter's four moons?
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Io- active volcanoes (b/c of Jupiter's wavering gravitational pull)
europa- covered with frozen water. Possibly liquid water underneath. Ganamede and Callisto- large moons |
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Saturn's moon titan is importnat why?
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evidence of erosion by liquid has been found. its atmosphere is of methane and ammonia.
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Neptune's moon triton is important. Why?
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has a retrograde motion. Also has active geysers.
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Jovian rings
-solid or not? -what are its main constituents -why do they form? |
Not solid
Mostly ice gravity pulls a moon close and breaks it apart and keeps pieces surrounding planet. |
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Pluto
-mass -distance -formed where -eccentricity of orbit. |
20% of earth's moon's mass.
40 AU from the sun Kuiper belt (short term comet very eccentric deviant from a circle and way off the ecliptic |
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The discovery of other Kuiper belt objects such as ____________ led to the declassification of pluto as a planet.
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Eris
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