Exam 12: Jupiter and Saturn: Lords of the Planets

Spectroscopy of Jupiter and Saturn has revealed atmospheres containing large quantities of which of the following gases, in addition to hydrogen and helium?

Assuming all objects listed are visible, on a clear, moonless night the brightest object in the sky is:

The lifetime of the Great Red Spot appears to be:

Saturn's A ring appears bright when viewed from Earth due to direct reflection of sunlight. The orbital period of Saturn is about 30 years. From where can we view the shadowed side of the A ring and how will it appear?

Saturn appears to emit heat as infrared radiation in excess of the energy absorbed from sunlight and also the Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction. The most likely major cause of this excess heating is:

Where might you find liquid helium on Jupiter?

Suppose one of the outer planets begins retrograde motion every 12.5 months. From this we can determine that the orbital period of the planet is approximately:

The mass of Jupiter is 317.8 times that of Earth. What would be the force of gravity exerted by Jupiter on a spacecraft at a distance of 1 au from Jupiter compared to that exerted on the same spacecraft by Earth at 1 au from Earth?

Jupiter subtends an angle of 50 arcsec at opposition. What is the angular size of Jupiter's magnetosphere viewed from Earth at opposition?

Some of the small shepherd satellites within Saturn's ring system are also inside Saturn's Roche limit. Why are they not torn apart by tidal forces due to Saturn's gravity?

Saturn's oblateness is about half again as large as Jupiter's. Which one of the following changes would result in Jupiter having the same oblateness as Saturn?

The Galileo Probe made all of the following measurements, most of which gave unexpected results. Which result was expected?

No heavy materials (iron, nickel, etc.) have been found in the atmosphere of Jupiter. This is because:

Suppose a planet is discovered in a prograde circular orbit with an orbital radius of 100 au. The time from opposition to opposition, viewed from Earth, will be longer than 1 Earth year. How much longer?

The ammonia and methane in the atmosphere of Jupiter proved hard to detect because:

How thick are the cloud layers on Jupiter's visible "surface"?

Compared to the brown ovals in Jupiter's atmosphere, the white ovals are:

What are zonal winds on Jupiter?

Which of the following exhibits differential rotation?

The Cassini division was observed in 1675 as a visible gap between Saturn's A and B rings. What we have discovered since then is that the Cassini division: