Download Rings, Moons and Pluto and more Schemes and Mind Maps Astronomy in PDF only on Docsity! Rings, Moons and Pluto September 30, 2002 1) Introduction 2) Rings 3) Moons 4) Pluto Review Outer Planets Interior/Exterior Gas Giants Jupiter & Saturn Ice Giants Uranus & Neptune Tides Forces Tidal Resonances Other Rings Jupiter best seen lit from behind diffuse Uranus 10 narrow rings one wide ring close to planet Neptune 3 narrow, 3 wide arc-like segments within rings Ring Material Different rings, different materials, different appearance Rings made of ice appear bright (reflect light) Rings made of dust are visible when backlit Dark, dim rings made of heavier materials, carbon and silicon Ring material comes from moons and comets Material released from moons (volcanic plumes) Material from moons and comets which break apart in giant planets gravitational field How do we know this Saturn’s rings are composed of materials similar to its moons Rings of Uranus and Neptune are similar to material of carbon rich comets Ring Stability Rings want to spread out and disappear Can be held together by gravity and collisions Temporary Can be held together by moons Remember shepherd moons in To Boldly Go Moon of Jupiter Very close to Jupiter Tidal forces heat the interior Very volcanically active Most volcanically active object in the Solar System Several plumes observed by Voyager More than 300 volcanic sites have been identified Probably has turned itself inside out at least once Io May Be Active No observed activity, but evidence of activity at one time less craters, more smooth surfaces Europa (Jupiter) rock with icy crust may contain liquid water below surface evidence of internal heating Titan (Saturn) dense atmosphere (35% denser than Earth’s) evidence of water ice and liquid methane Active in the Past Evidence of past geological activity, but not recent some reshaped surfaces, but lots of craters can be volcanic, tectonic or ice flow Ganymede (Jupiter) largest moon in the Solar System intense tectonic activity in the past Tethys & Mimas (Saturn) Dione & Rhea (Mars) Miranda & Ariel (Uranus) Other Bodies The solar system contains a number of other small bodies Planetesimals from the formation of the Solar System which did not become part of a planet or moon or pieces of a planet or moon which have broken apart Comets icy objects from the far outer solar system Asteroids rocky planetesimals from the inner solar system Meteors pieces of comets or asteroids which fall to Earth Meteors Parts of the Solar System that come to us some of the most studied astronomical objects Categories stony meteorites iron meteorites stony-iron meteorites category depends upon source of meteor Asteroids Classification depends upon formation C-type cooled without differentiation snapshot of material of early Solar System S-type differentiated – iron core, silicate crust M-type iron core without crust
