AST101H5 Lecture Notes - Galilean Moons, Tidal Heating, Tidal Force
Document Summary
Jupiter"s moon io: brilliant yellow, red, orang, black and white, no impact craters resurfaced by constant volcanic eruptions, lave is rich in sulfur which changes color with temperature. Io should have lost its heat but : io orbits jupiter, very large ass 00> strong tides, in the large family of moon, which interact with each other gravitationally, cannot synchronize its spin to its orbit, tidal heating continues. Slightly smaller than our moon should be cold. Surface has almost no craters: surface must be new. Surface is water ice with many fractures: tidal heating keeps water liquid below the ice, crack allow water to flow to the surface and fills in craters. Largest moon in the solar system larger than diameter of mercury. Surface has: many craters less resurfacing, dark zones with many craters and lighter regions with few craters, has different ages. Craters revel water ice below the surface. Less tidal stretching make satellites cooler and less active less.
