AST 309 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Tidal Locking, Roche Limit, Retrograde And Prograde Motion
Document Summary
Satellite systems of the earth-moon type - catastrophic collisions. normal giant planet satellite systems = miniature solar systems. The normal satellite systems around the gas/ice giants all orbit in the same direction as the planets around the sun, and they have low inclinations. These moons formed out of the disk-shaped nebula that surrounded the giant planets. Also see slight differences in composition of the galilean satellites (4 main moons of jupiter) Suggests more rocky material closest to jupiter and more ices farther away from jupiter - condensation process. Usually relatively small moons, mostly the outermost satellites in a system. Includes the two moons of mars, possibly 8 moons of jupiter, and a couple of moons of both neptune and saturn. Of these moons, half orbit in retrograde motion (backwards) and most (except for mars" moons) have relatively high inclinations out of the plane of the solar system.
