Question 1

Titan is a high-priority candidate for the search for life outside Earth primarily because it has:

Accepted Answer

A)  liquid water 
B)  a dense atmosphere like Earth's 
C)  warm temperatures 
D)  active volcanoes 
E)  organic material 
A)  liquid water 
B)  a dense atmosphere like Earth's 
C)  warm temperatures 
D)  active volcanoes 
E)  organic material

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a way to renew particles in a ring system?

Accepted Answer

A)  shredding an object that came within a planet's Roche limit 
B)  a collision between moons or other objects near the ring system 
C)  eruptions on a nearby moon, sending particles into space 
D)  a planet's gravity drawing particles from the nearby interstellar medium 
E)  impacts on a nearby moon, sending particles into space 
A)  shredding an object that came within a planet's Roche limit 
B)  a collision between moons or other objects near the ring system 
C)  eruptions on a nearby moon, sending particles into space 
D)  a planet's gravity drawing particles from the nearby interstellar medium 
E)  impacts on a nearby moon, sending particles into space

Question 3

Why do we suspect that the inner planets do not have rings?

Accepted Answer

They lack small moons to act a

Question 4

Which of the following moons is thought to have a vast ocean of water beneath its frozen surface?

Accepted Answer

A)  Triton 
B)  Europa 
C)  Ganymede 
D)  Io 
E)  Callisto 
A)  Triton 
B)  Europa 
C)  Ganymede 
D)  Io 
E)  Callisto

Question 5

What are three characteristics of the orbits of irregular moons, and how are irregular moons formed?

Accepted Answer

Irregular moons are probably captured as

Question 6

Of what are Saturn's ring primarily made?

Accepted Answer

A)  water ice 
B)  methane 
C)  nitrogen 
D)  dark organic material 
E)  dark silicate material 
A)  water ice 
B)  methane 
C)  nitrogen 
D)  dark organic material 
E)  dark silicate material

Question 7

Extremophiles on Earth have been found:

Accepted Answer

A)  in the scalding waters of Yellowstone's hot springs 
B)  in the bone-dry oxidizing environment of Chile's Atacama Desert 
C)  in the Dead Sea 
D)  in the deep subsurface ice of the Antarctic ice sheet 
E)  all of the above 
A)  in the scalding waters of Yellowstone's hot springs 
B)  in the bone-dry oxidizing environment of Chile's Atacama Desert 
C)  in the Dead Sea 
D)  in the deep subsurface ice of the Antarctic ice sheet 
E)  all of the above

Question 8

The color of a moon's surface contains clues as to its age. What is the typical relationship between surface color and surface age, and why does this relationship exist?

Accepted Answer

Darker surfaces are typically older and

Question 9

Rings that project to look like they are intertwined (but are not) are caused by:

Accepted Answer

A)  new laws of physics 
B)  ring material on highly elliptical orbits 
C)  the gravitational influence of small moons 
D)  electromagnetic interaction of the rings with Saturn's magnetic field 
E)  meteoroid impacts 
A)  new laws of physics 
B)  ring material on highly elliptical orbits 
C)  the gravitational influence of small moons 
D)  electromagnetic interaction of the rings with Saturn's magnetic field 
E)  meteoroid impacts

Question 10

What are the orbital characteristics of a regular moon?

Accepted Answer

Regular moons orbit in the same directio

Question 11

Of the giant planets, only Saturn and Jupiter have ring systems.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

The oceans under Europa's icy crust could be very deep and could contain more water than all the oceans on the Earth.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Describe some of the effects that moons can have on nearby ring systems.

Accepted Answer

Shepherd moons can create gaps, sharp ed

Question 14

Io is one of the most geologically active moons in the Solar System.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Regular moons orbit in the same direction as their parent planets rotate.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

The presence of shepherd moons keeps the giant planets' ring systems completely stable and the rings will last forever.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Titan's thick atmosphere is believed to have been created when ultraviolet photons broke apart methane molecules, ultimately creating the observed smog-like conditions. This process, though, would likely remove all of the atmospheric methane in roughly 10 million years, yet we still see its presence today. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

A)  Cometary impacts periodically bring new methane to Titan. 
B)  Ethane rains down out of the atmosphere, combines with surface rocks, and creates new methane. 
C)  Infrared photons give atmospheric molecules enough energy to recombine into methane. 
D)  Volcanoes on Titan periodically release new methane into the atmosphere. 
E)  Bacteria on Titan constantly replenish the methane in the atmosphere. 
A)  Cometary impacts periodically bring new methane to Titan. 
B)  Ethane rains down out of the atmosphere, combines with surface rocks, and creates new methane. 
C)  Infrared photons give atmospheric molecules enough energy to recombine into methane. 
D)  Volcanoes on Titan periodically release new methane into the atmosphere. 
E)  Bacteria on Titan constantly replenish the methane in the atmosphere.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of regular moons?

Accepted Answer

A)  They revolve around their planets in the same direction as the planets rotate. 
B)  They have orbits that lie nearly in the planets' equatorial plane. 
C)  They are usually tidally locked to their parent planets. 
D)  They are much smaller than all of the known planets. 
E)  They formed in an accretion disk around their parent planet. 
A)  They revolve around their planets in the same direction as the planets rotate. 
B)  They have orbits that lie nearly in the planets' equatorial plane. 
C)  They are usually tidally locked to their parent planets. 
D)  They are much smaller than all of the known planets. 
E)  They formed in an accretion disk around their parent planet.

Question 19

Why is Io, a moon that is smaller and farther from the Sun than our own Moon, still geologically active?

Accepted Answer

Tidal stresses from Jupiter co

Question 20

If ultraviolet photons destroy methane, why do scientists think Titan has so much of it in its atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

Internal heating drives cryovo

Exam 11: Planetary Adornmentsmoons and Rings

Titan is a high-priority candidate for the search for life outside Earth primarily because it has:

Which of the following is NOT a way to renew particles in a ring system?

Why do we suspect that the inner planets do not have rings?

Which of the following moons is thought to have a vast ocean of water beneath its frozen surface?

What are three characteristics of the orbits of irregular moons, and how are irregular moons formed?

Of what are Saturn's ring primarily made?

Extremophiles on Earth have been found:

The color of a moon's surface contains clues as to its age. What is the typical relationship between surface color and surface age, and why does this relationship exist?

Rings that project to look like they are intertwined (but are not) are caused by:

What are the orbital characteristics of a regular moon?

Of the giant planets, only Saturn and Jupiter have ring systems.

The oceans under Europa's icy crust could be very deep and could contain more water than all the oceans on the Earth.

Describe some of the effects that moons can have on nearby ring systems.

Io is one of the most geologically active moons in the Solar System.

Regular moons orbit in the same direction as their parent planets rotate.

The presence of shepherd moons keeps the giant planets' ring systems completely stable and the rings will last forever.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of regular moons?

Why is Io, a moon that is smaller and farther from the Sun than our own Moon, still geologically active?

If ultraviolet photons destroy methane, why do scientists think Titan has so much of it in its atmosphere?

Why Learn Astronomy

Patterns in the Skymotions of Earth

Motion of Astronomical Bodies

Gravity and Orbits

Light

The Tools of the Astronomer

The Birth and Evolution of Planetary Systems

The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon

Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets

Worlds of Gas and Liquid the Giant Planets

Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies

Taking the Measure of Stars

Our Starthe Sun

Star Formation and the Interstellar Medium

Evolution of Low-Mass Stars

Evolution of High-Mass Stars

Relativity and Black Holes

The Expanding Universe

Galaxies

The Milky Waya Normal Spiral Galaxy

Modern Cosmology

Large-Scale Structure in the Universe

Life

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