Physics 20073 - Fall 2009 Current Study Guide (Evening Class)
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Questions from the lecture on Wednesday, November 18.
(172)
Why is Jupiter's magnetic field so much stronger than Earth's? As part of your answer, explain why much of the Hydrogen in Jupiter is in liquid or molten form (in which it behaves like a metal).
(173)
Explain the origin of the belts and zones on the visible surface of Jupiter.
(174)
Although Io is similar in many ways to Earth's Moon, it orbits much more quickly around Jupiter (once every 40 hours as opposed to the Moon's 27.3 day sidereal period). Use the equation of orbital velocity to help explain why.
(175)
Visit http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html and describe what is thought to be the main source of Jupiter's internal heat. (TQ)
(176)
From the same web site mentioned above, what is the origin of Jupiter's faint ring system? In other words, where do the rocky particles come from that make up this thin, dark ring? (TQ)
(177)
Seen here and explained more fully here are the aurorae on Jupiter. What is the origin of the auroral ovals, streaks and dots on Jupiter? (TQ)
The next two thought questions are from a series of SETI-related articles found at the Sky and Telescope magazine website: http://skytonight.com/resources/seti
(178)
From the article "SETI Searches Today": What are two reasons to search for SETI signals near the 21-cm wavelength at which Hydrogen atoms naturally emit light? (TQ)
(179)
From the article "A Big New Step in the Search for ET": Describe two arguments in favor of Optical SETI searches and why other civilizations might try to use optical wavelengths instead of radio to communicate with us. (TQ)
(180)
What is the origin of the plasma (plasma just means hot, ionized gas) torus that marks out the path of Io's orbit?
(181)
Although Europa is completely covered by ice (giving it the highest albedo of any object in the solar system), we know that it is mostly rocky. Explain how we know this.
(182)
What makes the surface of Europa so young (such a low crater density, bright coloring)? Explain why we think Europa is one of the most likely objects in the solar system besides Earth to have life as we know it.