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Chapter 7: Problem 29

Saturn's satellite Titan has an appreciable atmosphere, yet Jupiter's satellite Ganymede-which is about the same size and mass as Titan-has no atmosphere. Explain why there is a difference.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Titan has an atmosphere because its low temperature and high mass create a low escape velocity for gases, thereby trapping them to form an atmosphere. Meanwhile, Ganymede, although having a similar size and mass as Titan, lacks an atmosphere because its proximity to Jupiter and the Sun leads to higher temperatures, which provide the gases with enough speed to overcome the escape velocity and leave the satellite.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the implications of being a satellite

Being a satellite means that the celestial body is within the gravitational field of a larger body. This means that there is a constant force pulling it towards the larger body, which could affect whether or not it has an atmosphere.
02

Understand the properties of an atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding a planet or other material body, held in place by the gravity of that body. It is based on the mass and temperature of the celestial body, which influence the escape velocity of gases from that body. The lower the temperature and the higher the mass of the celestial body, the higher the chance of having an atmosphere.
03

Compare Titan and Ganymede

Both Titan and Ganymede are similar in terms of size and mass, but they exist in different conditions. Titan is further from the Sun and therefore has lower temperatures than Ganymede, which is closer to the very radiative Jupiter. As a result, the escape velocity for molecules on Titan is lower than the speed at which they gain from heat, which allows gases to be trapped and form an atmosphere. On Ganymede, however, the higher temperature from Jupiter's proximity means that gases there gain enough speed to overcome the escape velocity, thus failing to form an atmosphere.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

What are the characteristics of a terrestrial planet?

Use the Stamy Night Enthusiast TM program to examine the Jovian planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Select each of these planets from the Solar System submenu in the Favourites menu. If you desire, you can remove the image of the astronaut's feet by selecting Feet in the View menu. Position the mouse cursor over the planet and click and drag the image to examine the planet from different views. Describe each planet's appearance. Which has the greatest color contrast in its cloud tops? Which has the least color contrast? What can you say about the thickness of Saturn's rings compared to their diameter?

The Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003 discovered that Ganymede (Table 7-2) has a magnetic field twice as strong as that of Mercury. Does this discovery surprise you? Why or why not?

Imagine a trans-Neptunian object with roughly the same mass as Earth but located \(50 \mathrm{AU}\) from the Sun. (a) What do you think this object would be made of? Explain your reasoning. (b) On the basis of this speculation, assume a reasonable density for this object and calculate its diameter. How many times bigger or smaller than Earth would it be?

What are the characteristics of a Jovian planet?
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