Chapter 12 Astrology

1. Which of the jovian planets does NOT have any satellites?

a. Jupiter

b. Saturn

c. Uranus

d. Neptune

e. you can't fool me, all the jovian planets are accompanied by satellites

e. you can't fool me, all the jovian planets are accompanied by satellites

2. Which planet has the biggest moon relative to its own size? Not the biggest moon in terms of kilometers, but the biggest as a percentage of the size of the planet it orbits.

a. Jupiter

b. Neptune

c. Uranus

d. Saturn

e. Pluto

e. Pluto

3. The majority of the moons orbiting the outer (jovian) planets are:

a. large moons, roughly the size of Pluto or Mercury

b. small moons orbiting in the same direction that their planet turns

c. much warmer than the planet they orbit

d. small moons orbiting in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction their planet turns and orbits)

e. not in good working order, since they were made in Bayonne, New Jersey

d. small moons orbiting in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction their planet turns and orbits)

4. What do astronomers think is the origin of the many irregular moons around the outer planets (irregular meaning they are orbiting backwards and/or have eccentric orbits)?

a. These moons were likely formed elsewhere and captured by the giant planets

b. These moons are fragments of a much larger moon around each planet that exploded

c. These moons were expelled by volcanoes on the surfaces of the giant planets

d. These moons had an early interaction with the rings of the giant planets and were moved to strange orbits as a result

e. Astronomers have no idea about why these irregular moons exist; it's a complete mystery

a. These moons were likely formed elsewhere and captured by the giant planets

5. The four large moons of Jupiter were first discovered by:

a. ancient people, seeing Jupiter in dark, cloudless skies

b. Galileo with his early telescope

c. Isaac Newton with his improved telescope

d. William Herschel, in the 18th century

e. the Voyager spacecraft

b. Galileo with his early telescope

6. The largest satellite (moon) in the solar system is:

a. Ganymede

b. Titan

c. Earth's Moon

d. Charon

e. Io

a. Ganymede

7. Which of the following is NOT one of the largest moons in the Solar System?

a. Titan (around Saturn)

b. Triton (around Neptune)

c. Ganymede (around Jupiter)

d. the Earth's Moon

e. Atlas (the shepherd moon near Saturn's A ring)

e. Atlas (the shepherd moon near Saturn's A ring)

8. The satellite which has the thickest atmosphere (so thick that it's quite a surprise for a satellite) is:

a. Triton

b. Titan

c. the Earth's Moon

d. Europa

e. Callisto

b. Titan

9. Callisto, the fourth moon of Jupiter's, takes 17 days to orbit Jupiter. If I stand on the surface of Callisto and see Jupiter high in the sky over my head, and then wait 8.5 Earth days in the same spot, where will I see Jupiter?

a. you won't see it; it will only be visible from the other side of Callisto

b. setting in the west

c. overhead, where it was before

d. rising in the east

e. we need more information to give even a rough estimate of where Jupiter will be

c. overhead, where it was before

10. When astronomers say that Ganymede is a differentiated body, they mean that it:

a. has a northern hemisphere which is different from its southern hemisphere

b. has more of the larger crater types than the smaller ones

c. has a magnetic field that is not centered on its axis of rotation

d. has a heavier core, surrounded by a lighter, icy mantle and crust

e. has a color that is surprising among outer solar system satellites

d. has a heavier core, surrounded by a lighter, icy mantle and crust

11. What features are abundant on Callisto and Ganymede and almost absent on Europa and Io?

a. volcanoes

b. markings that show the surface is made of ice

c. impact craters

d. lakes and pools of liquid ammonia

e. rings

c. impact craters

12. The Galileo spacecraft measured that the moon Ganymede had a magnetic field, indicating that its interior was at least partly melted and warm. What do scientists think is the most likely reason for this?

a. Ganymede is so far away from Jupiter, it is an independent world, and can compress its core without interference

b. Ganymede has thousands of volcanoes, which then send material downward to heat up its interior

c. Ganymede is a relatively small moon, and therefore much easier to heat up than its neighbor moons

d. Ganymede is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter

e. Scientists have no idea what causes the inner part of Ganymede to be warm; this is an unsolved mystery

d. Ganymede is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter

13. The satellite whose surface is characterized by a smooth icy crust with a complex network of cracks is:

a. Europa

b. Callisto

c. Triton

d. Io

e. Ganymede

a. Europa

14. What evidence can you give that shows the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa must be relatively young?

a. there are thousands of active volcanoes on Europa's surface

b. we see very few craters compared to the surfaces of Callisto and Ganymede

c. radioactive rocks from Europa that have been brought back to Earth by our probes show that Europa is a young moon

d. the interior of Europa is made of metals like iron and nickel

e. Europa was not orbiting Jupiter when Galileo observed its moons, but now it is

b. we see very few craters compared to the surfaces of Callisto and Ganymede

15. The world in the solar system that is most active volcanically is:

a. Earth

b. Neptune

c. Io

d. Mars

e. Ganymede

c. Io

16. What is the cause of its many volcanic/geyser-like eruptions on the moon Io?

a. its surface is at the triple point of methane, where it can be gas/liquid/solid

b. Jupiter's magnetic field causes huge bolts of lightning to hit Io and heat the surface

c. the gravitational stress of being so close to Jupiter and its other large moons heats the Io's inside

d. there is a metallic magnetic layer inside Io which is explosive

e. inhabitants of Io are intercepting Earth TV transmissions; it's making them throw up

c. the gravitational stress of being so close to Jupiter and its other large moons heats the Io's inside

17. Which of the following is NOT a way that the moon Titan probably resembles the Earth?

a. it has a thick atmosphere

b. the main constituent of its atmosphere is nitrogen

c. sunlight interacts with the chemicals on the moom to create a rich mix of organic molecules

d. it has clouds in its atmosphere

e. at its surface the temperature and pressure are just right for water to exist in all three phases (gas, liquid, and ice)

e. at its surface the temperature and pressure are just right for water to exist in all three phases (gas, liquid, and ice)

18. Which element plays the same role on Titan as water does on Earth (existing as gas, liquid, and solid)?

a. carbon dioxide

b. methane

c. ammonia

d. hydrogen cyanide

e. propane

b. methane

19. For a while, after the space age began, astronomers did not know what the surface of Titan looks like, but today they do. Which of the following was NOT a method by which astronomers have learned about the surface of Titan?

a. using instruments on the Huygens spacecraft to take pictures as it was descending

b. using an infrared camera aboard Cassini to take images of the surface in infrared

c. using a radar instrument to penetrate the smog in Titan's atmosphere

d. using the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit to take a photo of Titan

e. taking a photograph of the surface from a spacecraft that landed on Titan

d. using the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit to take a photo of Titan

20. The lakes found in the north polar region of Titan are filled with liquid

a. water

b. ammonia

c. methane

d. nitrogen

e. you can't fool me, all the lakes on cold Titan are frozen solid; none are liquid

c. methane

21. The moon Triton orbits which of the planets?

a. Mars

b. Jupiter

c. Saturn

d. Uranus

e. Neptune

e. Neptune

22. Which of the following statements about the geysers on the moon Triton is true?

a. they are caused by the impact of small comets on Triton's fragile surface

b. the geysers are sulfur volcanoes which stick out of Triton's crust

c. they involve plumes of nitrogen on the sunlit side of Triton

d. they are caused by collisions with the rings of Neptune

e. they are only visible when it is winter on Triton

c. they involve plumes of nitrogen on the sunlit side of Triton

23. The same astronomer wrote extensively about canals on Mars and about the possibility of a ninth planet in our solar system. The observatory named after this astronomer is the:

a. Keck Observatory

b. Hubble Telescope

c. Lick Observatory

d. Lowell Observatory

e. Wells Observatory

d. Lowell Observatory

24. Pluto was discovered through the patient searching of

a. Percival Lowell

b. Clyde Tombaugh

c. E. E. Barnard

d. Gerard Kuiper

e. Sherlock Holmes

b. Clyde Tombaugh

25. What method was used to discover Pluto in 1929-1930?

a. look at irregularities (wobbles) in the motions of Uranus and Neptune

b. use one of the first radio telescopes to measure cold radio waves from Pluto

c. look for patterns in the orbits of the moons of Neptune to see in which direction Pluto would have escaped

d. take pairs of photographs several days apart and "blink" them

e. you can't fool me; Pluto was discovered by Galileo through one of his first telescopes

d. take pairs of photographs several days apart and "blink" them

26. Pluto's big satellite is called

a. Charon

b. Titan

c. Ganymede

d. Christy

e. Tombaugh

a. Charon

27. Two worlds in the outer solar system that seem remarkably similar to each other are:

a. Titan and Ganymede

b. Io and Europa

c. Titan and Triton

d. Callisto and Io

e. Pluto and Triton

e. Pluto and Triton

28. Which of the following statements about Charon is FALSE?

a. it takes the same amount of time to rotate and revolve

b. it keeps the same face toward Pluto

c. it takes the same time to go around Pluto as Pluto takes to rotate

d. it has a significant atmosphere

e. it has a retrograde orbit (revolves in a direction opposite to the sense that most satellites in the solar system revolve)

d. it has a significant atmosphere

29. If I stood on the surface of Pluto, observing its big moon, I would see that moon:

a. rise in the east

b. rise in the west

c. get smaller day by day

d. remain in the same place in the sky

e. Come on! Pluto has no moons!

d. remain in the same place in the sky

30. The spacecraft that visited Pluto and send back our first images:

a. was called New Horizons

b. got a gravity boost from Jupiter to get it to Pluto faster

c. used plutonium to keep it warm

d. is returning to Earth in the 22nd century

e. more than one of the above

e. more than one of the above

31. Our modern understanding of Pluto is that it is a member of

a. the asteroid belt

b. the giant planets

c. the Kuiper Belt (of trans-Neptunian objects)

d. the terrestrial planets

e. no grouping within our solar system; it is completely one-of-a-kind

c. the Kuiper Belt (of trans-Neptunian objects)

32. The mountains on Pluto are made of frozen water, which at Pluto temperatures, is as hard as rock. Pluto also has a smooth, round basin which could be thought of as a frozen sea. What material is in the basin (nicknamed Sputnik) likely to be made of?

a. warmer water

b. carbon dioxide (dry ice)

c. nitrogen

d. complex carbon compounds which are the building blocks of life on Earth

e. helium

c. nitrogen

33. Which of the following worlds does NOT have a ring?

a. Jupiter

b. Saturn

c. Uranus

d. Pluto

e. Neptune

d. Pluto

34. The rings of the outer planets consist of

a. sheets of ice that stretch in round planes millions of miles wide around each planet

b. billions of chunks (of various sizes) that all orbit the equator of each planet

c. many large moons, about the size of Jupiter's moon Io, all crowded together

d. subatomic charged particles, all kept in line by each planet's magnetic field

e. millions of alien spacecraft, some of which occasionally make it to the Earth and pick up humans to experiment on

b. billions of chunks (of various sizes) that all orbit the equator of each planet

35. Which of the following statements about Saturn's rings is TRUE?

a. There is really only one ring, which looks unbroken from Earth

b. The structure of the rings is completely independent of Saturn's moons

c. The rings are made of billions and billions of individual "moonlets" (small chunks)

d. The rings are made of particles no bigger than the particles that make up smoke

e. If the rings were put on Earth, they would stretch from about New York to Boston

c. The rings are made of billions and billions of individual "moonlets" (small chunks)

36. The largest and most massive of Saturn's rings is the

a. A ring

b. B ring

c. C ring

d. D ring

e. F ring

b. B ring

37. Saturn's ring particles are composed mainly of:

a. silicate rocks

b. frozen carbon dioxide

c. droplets of very cold methane

d. carbon that has been compressed until it is highly reflective

e. water ice

e. water ice

38. How were the rings of Uranus discovered?

a. They were seen through a small telescope at the same time the planet was

b. They were discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope

c. They were discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft when it flew by Uranus

d. Through the radio waves given off as they interact with the magnetic field

e. by using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (the telescope aboard an airplane) to observe Uranus moving in front of a distant star

e. by using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (the telescope aboard an airplane) to observe Uranus moving in front of a distant star

39. The rings that most resemble Saturn's narrow F ring in the solar system are:

a. Uranus' rings

b. Neptune's rings

c. Jupiter's rings

d. Saturn's A ring

e. the diamond anniversary rings at Macy's

a. Uranus' rings

40. What makes the rings of Neptune different from those of other planets we know?

a. they are much thinner

b. they have gaps and divisions in them

c. they are much darker

d. they are clumpy (or bulging) in places

e. there is more than one ring in the system

d. they are clumpy (or bulging) in places

41. When two objects in orbit have periods of revolution that are simple ratios of each other (such as 1 to 2 or 1 to 3) we say that we have:

a. an occultation

b. a conjunction

c. a resonance

d. a tidal stability limit

e. a traffic problem

c. a resonance

42. How does Saturn's F ring stay so thin (narrow), when the other rings are so wide?

a. the further away from Saturn a ring is, the narrower it gets

b. there are 2 shepherding satellites on either side of it

c. Saturn's huge magnetic field keeps ice boulders from expanding

d. the F ring is in the same orbit as the moon Enceladus

e. we don't know the answer, because Saturn keeps its diet tips to itself

b. there are 2 shepherding satellites on either side of it