Download Outer Planet review Much of what we know about the outer planets

Outer Planet review
1) Much of what we know about the outer planets comes from information gathered by
what spacecraft? Voyager
2) Jupiter’s giant red spot is actually a large storm. 3 times larger than the earth.
3) What minefield lies outside of the orbit of mars and presents a large obstacle for
travelling to the outer solar system? Asteroid belt
4) How does the composition of outer planets differ from that of the inner planets? Inner
planets are rocky, outer planets are comprised of overwhelmingly gas
5) What are the names of Jupiter’s (large) moons? Io, Europa, Ganymede, Calisto
6) What are incomplete planetary rings, similar to those around Neptune, called? Ring Arcs
7) Where does Jupiter’s name come from? Roman god, (Zeus) King of all gods
8) Who first proposed the presence of Neptune and why? Scientists predicted its presence
based on calculations made on Uranus’ orbit
9) Uranus’ axis is roughly 90 degrees different than the rest of the planets. What does this
mean for the change of “seasons” on Uranus? Much more extreme. No night during
summer, no day during winter.
10) If Jupiter’s magnetosphere were visible how large would it appear in our sky? Bigger
than the sun, even though it is 5 times further away.
11) What term is given to the amount of light reflected off of a planet? Albedo
12) What is the currently most widely accepted theory concerning the origin of Saturn’s
ring? A former moon was destroyed and lies in small pieces around the planet
13) Why is Uranus blueish-green? Large amounts of methane, which reflects light in the
blue green range
14) Do Uranus and Neptune have rings? Yes, at least partial rings, Called ring arcs.
15) What is significant about the discovery of Uranus? First planet discovered with a
telescope
16) Triton, the solar system’s largest moon, is special because: It is larger than pluto, it is the
coldest object observed, it orbits in a direction opposite of almost everything else in the
solar system
17) What is the heat source that drives the winds on Neptune? Geologic heat
18) How is Pluto’s orbit different from other planets? Not on the same plane and very
eccentric
19) Does Pluto have an atmosphere? Seasonal. At times during its orbit it is close enough to
the sun for some of the gases to sublime and form a temporary atmosphere.