Question 1

The rings of Saturn occupy the region inside Saturn's Roche limit.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Saturn has a surface magnetic field weaker than Earth's.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

What is interesting about Saturn's large moon Titan?

Accepted Answer

A) It is one of Saturn's two large moons. 
B) It has a 2:1 resonance with Mimas and a 4:1 resonance with the Cassini gap. 
C) It has its own moon. 
D) It orbits Saturn in a retrograde sense. 
E) It has an atmosphere. 
A) It is one of Saturn's two large moons. 
B) It has a 2:1 resonance with Mimas and a 4:1 resonance with the Cassini gap. 
C) It has its own moon. 
D) It orbits Saturn in a retrograde sense. 
E) It has an atmosphere.

Question 4

In what two ways is Titan's atmosphere like our own? Name two differences.

Accepted Answer

Like the Earth's, Titan's atmosphere is

Question 5

Why does Saturn radiate even more excess energy than Jupiter?

Accepted Answer

A) Saturn is still radiating heat left over from its formation. 
B) Saturn's thick cloud layer contributes to a larger greenhouse effect. 
C) Helium rain gives off heat as it differentiates toward Saturn's center. 
D) Saturn's atmosphere contains much methane, creating a large greenhouse effect. 
E) Saturn can fuse hydrogen into helium in its core, like the Sun. 
A) Saturn is still radiating heat left over from its formation. 
B) Saturn's thick cloud layer contributes to a larger greenhouse effect. 
C) Helium rain gives off heat as it differentiates toward Saturn's center. 
D) Saturn's atmosphere contains much methane, creating a large greenhouse effect. 
E) Saturn can fuse hydrogen into helium in its core, like the Sun.

Question 6

The wind speeds found in the bands and zones of Saturn, compared to those on Jupiter, areabout:

Accepted Answer

A) 3 times faster. 
B) 2 times faster. 
C) the same. 
D) 2 times slower. 
E) 3 times slower. 
A) 3 times faster. 
B) 2 times faster. 
C) the same. 
D) 2 times slower. 
E) 3 times slower.

Question 7

Contrast the orbital eccentricity and axial tilt of Jupiter and Saturn.

Accepted Answer

Saturn has a more ec

Question 8

The lakes on Titan are almost pure methane.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Which two of Saturn's moons lie in Tethys' Langrangian Points?

Accepted Answer

A) Enceladus and Titan 
B) Janus and Epimetheus 
C) Telesto and Calypso 
D) Helene and Dione 
E) None; this is not possible. 
A) Enceladus and Titan 
B) Janus and Epimetheus 
C) Telesto and Calypso 
D) Helene and Dione 
E) None; this is not possible.

Question 10

Relate differentiation to Saturn's excess internal heat.

Accepted Answer

Saturn's atmosphere has conspicuously le

Question 11

If you could find a bathtub big enough for Saturn, the planet would:

Accepted Answer

A) precipitate more helium. 
B) float. 
C) explode due to its liquid metallic hydrogen. 
D) catch fire, as liquid sodium reacts with water. 
E) sink due to its metallic interior. 
A) precipitate more helium. 
B) float. 
C) explode due to its liquid metallic hydrogen. 
D) catch fire, as liquid sodium reacts with water. 
E) sink due to its metallic interior.

Question 12

Rains on Titan are mostly made of:

Accepted Answer

A) ethane. 
B) methane. 
C) propane. 
D) water. 
E) carbon dioxide. 
A) ethane. 
B) methane. 
C) propane. 
D) water. 
E) carbon dioxide.

Question 13

The Cassini spacecraft found evidence that the E Ring is related to Enceladus through:

Accepted Answer

A) the gravitational interactions by Enceladus on the particles in the E Ring. 
B) the deposition of gases from Enceladus on the particles of the E Ring making them morereflective as the gas condenses on the particles. 
C) a continual supply of icy particles spewed via volcanism on Enceladus. 
D) the impact history of Enceladus-a major impact caused parts of the moon to be ejected fromthe surface and cross the Roche Limit to become the E Ring. 
E) their common origin: both the E Ring and Enceladus have a common "ancestral" cometparent. 
A) the gravitational interactions by Enceladus on the particles in the E Ring. 
B) the deposition of gases from Enceladus on the particles of the E Ring making them morereflective as the gas condenses on the particles. 
C) a continual supply of icy particles spewed via volcanism on Enceladus. 
D) the impact history of Enceladus-a major impact caused parts of the moon to be ejected fromthe surface and cross the Roche Limit to become the E Ring. 
E) their common origin: both the E Ring and Enceladus have a common "ancestral" cometparent.

Question 14

At the surface of Saturn's atmosphere the strength of the magnetic field is:

Accepted Answer

A) about the same as Mercury's magnetic field at its surface. 
B) about the same as Venus's magnetic field at its surface. 
C) about the same as Earth's magnetic field at its surface. 
D) about the same as Mars' magnetic field at its surface. 
E) about the same as Jupiter's magnetic field at its atmospheric surface. 
A) about the same as Mercury's magnetic field at its surface. 
B) about the same as Venus's magnetic field at its surface. 
C) about the same as Earth's magnetic field at its surface. 
D) about the same as Mars' magnetic field at its surface. 
E) about the same as Jupiter's magnetic field at its atmospheric surface.

Question 15

Saturn's upper atmosphere has an apparent helium surplus.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Why do scientists think Titan has an atmosphere while the large moons of Jupiter(Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io)do not?

Accepted Answer

A) The jovian satellites lost their atmospheres because of Jupiter's thermal radiation. 
B) The jovian satellites never formed atmospheres because the solar nebula was too hot there. 
C) The jovian satellites had their atmospheres stripped by Jupiter's gravitational pull. 
D) The jovian satellites experienced too many collisions in their lifetimes to maintainatmospheres. 
E) Titan got its atmosphere by accreting gases from Saturn. The jovian satellites were competingwith one another to do this, so it was unsuccessful for any of them. 
A) The jovian satellites lost their atmospheres because of Jupiter's thermal radiation. 
B) The jovian satellites never formed atmospheres because the solar nebula was too hot there. 
C) The jovian satellites had their atmospheres stripped by Jupiter's gravitational pull. 
D) The jovian satellites experienced too many collisions in their lifetimes to maintainatmospheres. 
E) Titan got its atmosphere by accreting gases from Saturn. The jovian satellites were competingwith one another to do this, so it was unsuccessful for any of them.

Question 17

Which moon of Saturn constantly changes its rotational speed and rotational axis?

Accepted Answer

A) Mimas 
B) Iapetus 
C) Hyperion 
D) Calypso 
E) Janus 
A) Mimas 
B) Iapetus 
C) Hyperion 
D) Calypso 
E) Janus

Question 18

Saturn's rings are widest open, doubling the planet's brightness, when it is at:

Accepted Answer

A) opposition. 
B) quadrature. 
C) greatest elongation. 
D) equinox. 
E) solstice. 
A) opposition. 
B) quadrature. 
C) greatest elongation. 
D) equinox. 
E) solstice.

Question 19

Why are Saturn's rings much brighter than any other jovian's ring system?

Accepted Answer

They are made of bri

Question 20

When Cassini entered orbit around Saturn, it caused the planet's orbit to change.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 12: Saturn: Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons

The rings of Saturn occupy the region inside Saturn's Roche limit.

Saturn has a surface magnetic field weaker than Earth's.

What is interesting about Saturn's large moon Titan?

In what two ways is Titan's atmosphere like our own? Name two differences.

Why does Saturn radiate even more excess energy than Jupiter?

The wind speeds found in the bands and zones of Saturn, compared to those on Jupiter, areabout:

Contrast the orbital eccentricity and axial tilt of Jupiter and Saturn.

The lakes on Titan are almost pure methane.

Which two of Saturn's moons lie in Tethys' Langrangian Points?

Relate differentiation to Saturn's excess internal heat.

If you could find a bathtub big enough for Saturn, the planet would:

Rains on Titan are mostly made of:

The Cassini spacecraft found evidence that the E Ring is related to Enceladus through:

At the surface of Saturn's atmosphere the strength of the magnetic field is:

Saturn's upper atmosphere has an apparent helium surplus.

Why do scientists think Titan has an atmosphere while the large moons of Jupiter(Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io)do not?

Which moon of Saturn constantly changes its rotational speed and rotational axis?

Saturn's rings are widest open, doubling the planet's brightness, when it is at:

Why are Saturn's rings much brighter than any other jovian's ring system?

When Cassini entered orbit around Saturn, it caused the planet's orbit to change.

Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science

Radiation: Information From the Cosmos

Spectroscopy: the Inner Workings of Atoms

Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

The Solar System: Comparative Planetology and Formation Models

Earth: Our Home in Space

The Moon and Mercury: Scorched and Battered Worlds

Venus: Earths Sister Planet

Mars: a Near Miss for Life

Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System

Uranus and Neptune: The Outer Worlds of the Solar System

Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin

Exoplanets: Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own

The Sun: Our Parent Star

The Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Gas and Dust Among the Stars

Star Formation: a Traumatic Birth

Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star

Stellar Explosions: Novae, Supernovae, and the Formation of the Elements

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

The Early Universe: Toward the Beginning of Time

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

Filters