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

The most likely reason why Neptune shows significant cloud-forms and associated activity in its atmosphere, compared to the quiet atmosphere of Uranus, is that:

The moons of Uranus orbit the planet in:

The object whose discovery was prefaced by accurate prediction using the measured deviations of known planets from regular orbits and the application of Newton's laws of mechanics, is:

The Kuiper Belt object Pluto was discovered in:

The probable composition of Pluto and its large satellite, Charon, based on their average densities and location in the solar system (which determined their temperature when they formed), is:

Neptune was discovered by:

How has the rotational period of the interior of Uranus been determined?

The pattern of winds observed on Uranus by Voyager 2 is:

The source of the magnetic fields in Uranus and Neptune is probably:

Which planet is characterized by a blue-green appearance, with dark storms and white, high-altitude methane clouds?

Pluto is now classified as each of the following EXCEPT a:

Which major planets rotate about their axes in a retrograde direction, opposite to their orbital directions?

If you were standing on Pluto, how often would you see the satellite Charon rise above your horizon each day?

Charon is about 1200 km in diameter and is about 18,490 km away from the surface of Pluto. How large an angle does it subtend when viewed from Pluto?

How was Uranus discovered?

The blue-green appearance of Uranus is caused by:

In which of the following planets was a ring system first discovered by the occultation or blocking of light from a distant star, as the planet and rings moved in front of it?

The smallest angle in the sky that can be resolved from Earth's surface, using the best telescopes under the best observing conditions, is approximately 0.1 arcsec. (You may wish to review the small-angle formula in Box 1-1 of Universe, 11th ed.) The smallest feature that can be resolved at the distance of Neptune is therefore approximately:

During its flyby of Uranus, Voyager 2 spent many days imaging the planet, but it was able to photograph only the southern hemisphere of Uranus. Why was this?

Which trans-Neptunian object has an extreme semimajor axis of 518 au?