Name - 

Astronomy 3 - Problem Set 7

1.  Why is Jupiter oblate?  Do you expect all Jovian planets to be
  oblate?  Why or why not?

2.  The core of Jupiter has a mass three times larger than that of the
  Earth.  How can the center of Jupiter sustain a pressure which is more
  than a thousand times higher than that of the Earth?

3.  Explain how Jupiter managed to radiate more energy than it
  receives from solar radiation.

4.  Jupiter's surface is covered with planet-wide bands of red and white 
  belts.  What causes their differences in color? and in flow speed? 

5.  Why are there no craters on Io and few on Europa?  Why should we
  expect Io to suffer more impacts per square kilometer than Callisto?

6. What are the ratio of periods between Io and Europa?  what about
  Europa and Ganymede?  Explain how do these ratios affect their 
  eccentricity and internal structure.

7. Saturnian-moon Titan's mass is comparable to that of planet Mercury.  
  How is it possible for Titan to have an atmosphere comparable to that of 
  the Earth whereas Mercury has essentially no atmosphere?

8. Saturn's rings are composed of particles.  If the particles in the
  A ring travel at 10 km/s, how fast would they travel in the C ring
  which has a radius 4 times smaller than the A ring?  Even though these
  particles are traveling at very high speeds, can they survive the
  collisions they frequently have with their neighbors?