ASTRON 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Tidal Force, Atmospheric Pressure, Roche Limit
14 Aug 2018
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Document Summary
Moons and rings of the giant planets 3/20. They are illuminated by much less light (inverse square law) Cold: do not emit much energy in visible or infrared. And the light has to travel back to earth (inverse square law again) The four largest moons of jupiter are called the galilean satellites, in honor of. From their orbital period and distance from jupiter, we can determine jupiter"s mass. The seven giant moons in the solar system. Seven moons (including our own) are larger than pluto. Two larger than mercury. (but not as massive) Most have densities that imply they are made of mostly ice and rock. Most icy satellites > 400 km across are massive enough to pull themselves into a spherical shape. Most large moons are in regular orbits : Orbit in the same direction that plant spins. Orbits close to plane of planet"s equator. Satellites in irregular orbits may be captured bodies.
