Lecture 8
Moons, planetary rings, and dwarf planets
Tuesday July 15, 2008
Today we covered the moons, rings, and dwarf planets of the
solar system. The powerpoint is on Angel. There are
many excellent online resources for learning more about the solar system; they include
The Nine Planets (now eight!), Solar System Exploration,
The Voyager Probes, and a BBC overview of the solar system
that contains brief video clips describing each planet.
Concepts:
- Galilean moons: Jupiter's four large moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
- Io: Tidal forces generate internal heat; has young surface due to active volcanoes
- Europa: Surface is smooth ice, probably has liquid water ocean underneath. Best candidate for life in solar system
- Ganymede: Largest moon in solar system, cratered surface, has magnetic field
- Titan: Dense nitrogen atmosphere, methane clouds, liquid activity on surface (certainly slush, maybe lakes)
- Triton: Retrograde orbiting moon, composition similar to Pluto, probably captured KBO
- Pluto/Charon: Dwarf planet with relatively large moon, eccentric orbit, nitrogen ice/gas
Vocabulary:
- Shepherd moon: Small moon that influences structure of planetary rings
- Kuiper Belt Object: Member of asteroid belt out past Neptune
- Dwarf planet: Spherical body orbiting sun that cannot clear its neighborhood
Activity:
In-class game of Jeopardy in which teams guessed the solar system object pictured.
Activity is available on Angel (does not count towards course grade).
Random link:
Excerpt from Wikipedia news item titled "NASA to beam Beatles song into deep space"
On February 4 [2008], NASA will digitally transmit the Beatles song Across the Universe in the direction of the star Polaris, commonly known as the North Star.
This will mark the first time music has been sent into deep space. The song will be transmitted from the DSS-63 radio antenna at the Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex in Robledo de Chavela, Spain at 12:00 am UTC.
The broadcast celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song's recording, the 45th anniversary of NASA's Deep Space Network, and the 50th anniversary of NASA itself.
Updated July 15, 2008