NSCI 314LIFE IN THE COSMOS11 - SEARCHING FOR LIFE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM:MOONS OF THE OUTER PLANETSPLUS: WHY IS PLUTO NO LONGER CNSIDERED A PLANET?Dr. Karen KolehmainenDepartment of Physics CSUSBhttp://physics.csusb.edu/~karen/DIAMETER: 20% OF EARTHMASS: 0.2% OF EARTHDENSITY: 2.1 gm/cm³SUNLIGHT: 0.06% OF EARTHTEMP: 45 K (-230 oC OR –380 oF)ATMOSPHERE: VERY THIN, METHANE (CH4) ICE CRYSTALSSURFACE: ICE AND ROCK, METHANE (CH4) ICEMOON: ONE LARGE ONE (CHARON), PLUS TWO SMALL ONESNOTE: PLUTO IS NO LONGER CONSIDERED TO BE A PLANET. IT IS JUST A LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT.PLUTOPLUTO AND CHARONPLUTO IS SMALLER THAN ANY PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM - ONLY 2/3 SIZE OF EARTH’S MOONMOON (CHARON) IS HALF THE SIZE OF PLUTOBOTH ARE ICY/ROCKY BODIESBOTH IN SYNCHRONOUS ROTATIONSIZE AND COMPOSITION SIMILAR TO MOONS OF OUTER PLANETS OR LARGEST KUIPER BELT OBJECTS (COMETS) WAY TOO COLD FOR LIFE (NO WARMER AREAS LIKE GAS GIANT PLANETS DEEP DOWN IN ATMOSPHERE)NO OFFICIAL NAME YETUNOFFICIALLY CALLED XENA BY SOME, BUT THIS IS UNLIKELY TO BE THE OFFICIAL NAMEDIAMETER: 20 TO 25% OF EARTH (A LITTLE LARGER THAN PLUTO)MASS: PROBABLY 0.2 TO 0.3% OF EARTHDENSITY: PROBABLY ABOUT 2 gm/cm³SUNLIGHT: 0.01% OF EARTHTEMPERATURE: ABOUT 3O K (-245 oC OR –405 oF)ATMOSPHERE: ?? (NOT MASSIVE ENOUGH TO HOLD ONTO MUCH OF ONE)SURFACE: ICE AND SOME ROCK, METHANE (CH4) ICEMOON: HAS ONE (NOT NAMED YET EITHER)NEW LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECTTHIS OBJECT AND PLUTO ARE SIMILAR. BOTH ARE:•SMALLER THAN ALL 8 PLANETS (MERCURY THROUGH NEPTUNE)•MOSTLY ICE, SOME ROCK•ORBITS AREN'T AS CIRCULAR AS THOSE OF THE 8 PLANETS•ORBITS ARE TIPPED SLIGHTLY RELATIVE TO THE DISK FORMED BY THE PLANE OF THE 8 PLANETSSEEM MORE LIKE BIG KUIPER BELT OBJECTS •RECALL THAT THE KUIPER BELT IS THE INNER GROUP OF COMETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. (THE OORT CLOUD IS THE OTHER GROUP OF COMETS FARTHER FROM THE SUN.)NEW LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECTTHE DISCOVERY OF THIS OBJECT PROMPTED RECONSIDERATION OF THE DEFINITION OF A PLANET. •THERE MAY BE MANY KUIPER BELT OBJECTS THIS LARGE WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED. •DO WE WANT TO CALL THEM ALL PLANETS?•IF NOT, THEN TO BE CONSISTENT, PLUTO SHOULDN'T BE CALLED A PLANET EITHER. OFFICIAL DECISION (RECENT): NEITHER PLUTO NOR THIS OBJECT ARE PLANETS. INSTEAD, THEY ARE LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECTS (COMETS).THE RULES ASTRONOMERS HAVE ESTABLISHED FOR NAMING PLANETS ARE DIFFERENT THAN FOR NAMING OTHER OBJECTS, SO NO DECISION ON THE NAME OF THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED OBJECT WAS MADE BEFORE THE DEFINITION OF A PLANET WAS DECIDED UPON.NEW LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECTMOONS OF OUTER PLANETSMIXTURE OF ICE AND ROCKLOTS OF THEMEACH PLANET WITH ITS MOONS RESEMBLES A MINIATURE SOLAR SYSTEMSMALL MOONS ARE IRREGULARLY SHAPED, WITH NO ATMOSPHERES, NOT GOOD CANDIDATES FOR LIFELARGER ONES ARE SPHERICAL, SOME HAVE ATMOSPHERES OR ARE INTERESTING IN OTHER WAYSCHARACTERISTICS OF LARGE MOONSPlanet NameDensity (g/cm3)Mass (Moon=1)Diameter(Moon=1)EarthJupiterJupiterJupiterJupiterSaturnNeptuneMoonIoEuropaGanymedeCallistoTitanTriton(Pluto)3.33.53.01.91.91.92.12.111.20.72.01.51.80.30.1711.10.91.51.41.50.80.65TIDAL FORCES AND THE MOONS OF JUPITERTHE SIDE OF THE MOON CLOSEST TO JUPITER EXPERIENCES A STRONGER GRAVITATIONAL PULL FROM JUPITER THAN DOES THE SIDE OF THE MOON FARTHEST FROM JUPITER.JUST LIKE WITH THE EARTH’S MOON, THIS HAS LOCKED THE MOON INTO “SYNCHRONOUS ROTATION” WITH JUPITER. ONE SIDE OF THE MOON ALWAYS FACES TOWARDS JUPITER, AND THE OTHER SIDE FACES AWAY FROM JUPITER.AS THE ORIGINAL ROTATION OF THE MOON WAS SLOWING (BEFORE THEY WERE LOCKED INTO SYNCHRONOUS ROTATION), INTERNAL FRICTION HEATED MOONS ENOUGH TO MELT THEM, LEADING TO A DIFFERENTIATED (LAYERED) STRUCTURE.TIDAL EFFECTS ON JUPITER’S MOONSTIDAL FORCES ALSO AFFECTED ORBITS, LOCKING THEM INTO “RESONANCES.”–EXAMPLE: MOON FARTHER OUT ORBITS IN TWICE THE TIME OF ONE CLOSER IN. ORBITS ARE ELLIPTICAL (NOT CIRCULAR), SO SHAPE OF MOON VARIES SLIGHTLY THROUGHOUT ITS ORBIT AROUND JUPITER.–MORE ELONGATED WHEN CLOSER TO JUPITER–MORE SPHERICAL WHEN FARTHER AWAY–THIS LEADS TO CONTINUING INTERNAL FRICTION, HEATING THE INTERIOR OF THE MOON.AS A RESULT, JUPITER'S LARGE MOONS ARE WARMER THAN WE WOULD EXPECT BASED ON DISTANCE FROM THE SUN.THE LARGER THE MOON IS AND THE CLOSER IT IS TO JUPITER, THE GREATER THE AMOUNT OF TIDAL HEATING.MAJOR MOONS OF JUPITER (IN ORDER OUT FROM JUPITER, THEREFORE HOTTEST TO COLDEST)IOEUROPAGANYMEDECALLISTOIOCLOSEST MOON TO JUPITER, SO TIDAL EFFECTS ARE LARGESTHIGHEST DENSITY - ROCKIER THAN OTHER MOONS, TEMPERATURE IS TOO HIGH FOR ICE HOT ENOUGH TO BE COMPLETELY MOLTEN INSIDELOTS OF SULFUR ON SURFACEMANY ACTIVE VOLCANOES ERUPTING CONSTANTLYMORE VOLCANOES THAN ANY OTHER OBJECT IN THE SOLAR SYSTEMNOT A GOOD PROSPECT FOR LIFE: NO WATER, LITTLE OR NO ATMOSPHERE, AND LARGE TEMPERATURE EXTREMESEUROPANEXT LARGE MOON OUT FROM JUPITER WARM INTERIOR, NOT AS HOT AS IOCOMPOSITION:–ROCKY AND/OR METALLIC CORE –SURROUNDED BY LIQUID WATER OCEAN(?) 50 TO 150 KM DEEP–COVERED BY CRUST OF CRACKED ICE 5 TO 25 KM THICK–NO ATMOSPHERE, BUT ICE CRUST PREVENTS WATER FROM BOILING INTO SPACE FEW CRATERSEVIDENCE FOR OCEAN ON EUROPAFEW IMPACT CRATERS–IMPACT BREAKS THROUGH ICE, WATER FROM BELOW FILLS IN CRATER AND FREEZESCHAOTIC TERRAIN–PATCHWORK RIDGED PATTERN OF ICEBERGS FROZEN IN PLACESTAINS ON CRUST INDICATE UPWELLING OF WATER CONTAINING DISSOLVED (ORGANIC?) MATERIALSMAGNETIC FIELD–IMPLIES PRESENCE OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING LIQUID MATERIAL (SALT WATER)LIFE ON EUROPA?NO ATMOSPHERE, BUT ICE PREVENTS WATER FROM BOILING AND PROVIDES UV PROTECTION ENERGY SOURCE:–HYDROTHERMAL VENTS?–UNDERSEA VOLCANOES?–RADIOACTIVE DECAYIN INTERIOR OF MOON?–PHOTOSYNTHESIS COULD OCCUR IN POCKETS OF WATER DIRECTLY UNDER THINNER ICE? (BUT NOT MUCH SUNLIGHT)PROBABLY NO COMPLEX LIFE, BUT MAYBE SIMPLE LIFE FORMS–PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH ENERGY TO SUPPORT LARGE AND COMPLEX ECOSYSTEMSPACECRAFT MISSION PLANNED, FUNDING CUT–WILL DRILL THROUGH ICE AND RELEASE SUBMARINEGANYMEDENEXT LARGE MOON OUT FROM JUPITERLARGEST MOON IN SOLAR SYSTEMICE CRUST WITH A MIXTURE OF:–LIGHTER YOUNGER GROOVED TERRAIN (SIMILAR TO EUROPA), AND –DARKER OLDER CRATERED TERRAINMAY BE AN OCEAN UNDER THE ICE, BUT EVIDENCE IS WEAKER THAN FOR EUROPA–MAGNETIC FIELDCOLDER THAN EUROPA, SO ICE IS
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