Exam 14: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the Kuiper Belt: Remote Worlds

Small bodies are expected to have little internal heating and thus to be geologically dead, with heavily cratered surfaces. Surprisingly, only two of the five moderate-sized moons fit this description. They are:

The Great Dark Spot on Neptune, photographed by Voyager 2 during its flyby of the planet, was a:

In which of the following characteristics is Uranus significantly different from the rest of the jovian planets?

We often think of the solar system as an unchanging mechanical system. But only one of the following features has remained unchanged over the past few decades. Which one?

Miranda, a satellite of Uranus:

The presently favored theory of the origin of Uranus and Neptune is that they:

Miranda, a satellite of Uranus:

If Uranus has an orbital period of about 84 years, how far does it appear to move across our sky in 1 year?

Each of the following statements comparing Neptune with Jupiter and Saturn is true EXCEPT ONE. Which one is NOT true?

We have determined that the temperatures in the high atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune are, on the average, about the same. How do we explain this?

How do the densities of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune compare?

How do the global wind patterns compare on Uranus and Neptune?

Which one of the following has been found on Pluto?

Which planet has among its satellites one large moon, which orbits in a retrograde direction, and one moderate-sized moon with a highly elliptical orbit?

In 1990, if you had looked for large bodies in solar orbit outside the orbit of Uranus, the first you would have come to would have been:

Which planetary satellite shows strong evidence of having undergone partial chemical differentiation as a result of tidal heating some time in its past?

How were the rings of Uranus first discovered?

When Couch Adams, the English student, and Le Verrier, the French astronomer, independently predicted the existence of Neptune on the basis of measured deviation of Uranus's motion by gravitational interaction, what factor ultimately led to Neptune's discovery by Galle at Berlin Observatory rather than by Challis at Cambridge, England, even though Challis was told of the prediction much earlier than Galle?

Which of the following does NOT describe Triton, the strange moon of Neptune?

We expect that a massive planet will eventually pull its satellites into circular orbits. What is the situation with the moons of Neptune?