UMD ASTR 120 - Class 23 Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn

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1Class 23Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn Jovian system Galilean satellites The four inner satellites The other satellites Saturnian system Titan The six wierd satellites of SaturnI : Jovian System Current total… 63 moons known 4 small inner satellites Rocky objects orbiting in equatorial plane 4 large Galilean satellites (ice) Icy planet-sized satellites in equatorial plane 55 other small satellites Out of plane 48 are in retrograde orbits Probably captured asteroids23Galilean satellites… Io Have already come across this moon… most volcanicbody in solar system due to tidal heating Undergoes interesting electromagnetic interactionswith Jupiter Europa Galileo revealed icy surface Evidence for liquid water ocean below 1-10km of ice(ice rafts) Most likely rocky interior (density 3000kg/m3) Probably best bet for terrestrial life Quarantined by NASA… only fully sterilized spaceprobes will be allowed to land there.456 Ganymede Density (1936kg/m3) suggests ice/rock mix Varied terrain Old dark cratered regions Young light less cratered regions Ice volcanism? Callisto Dark surface… seems to be covered in some darkmineral deposit Europa, Ganymede and Callisto all haveinduced magnetic fields… suggests liquid waterpresent in all of these moons78II : Saturnian system Current total… 60 moons 1 planet-sized moon (Titan) 6 moderate size moons (500-1500kmdiameter) 53 small moons (including irregular moonsand shephard satellites)9 Titan Has thick atmosphere (95% N2, rest is CH4) Surface pressure of 1.5 atm Surface temperature 95K Exotic “methane-based weather”… Huygen’sdiscovered evidence for… Past (possibly present) rivers & lakes of methane Recent methane rain at landing


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