Chapters 7 & 8 (part II)

Terrestrial and Jovian planets

covering section 9.5 (Mercury)

chapter 10 (Venus and Mars)
chapter 11 (Jovian planets) and
section 12.5 (Planetary rings)

from Fraknoi’s Astronomy online book

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 Uranus
-Has a system of rings and more than two dozen moons.
-The entire Uranus system (including the planet, rings and
moon orbits) is tipped on its side, that is, Uranus’ rotation axis
is almost parallel to the planet’s orbital plane. This gives rise to
the most extreme pattern of seasons in the solar system.

Neptune
-Slightly smaller and more massive than Uranus. It shows large
and dark atmospheric spots, similar to that of Jupiter.
-Its largest moon, Triton, has geyser-like features on its surface
and revolves in opposite direction to the planet’s rotation.

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 Planet Uranus.
Note the drastic
inclination of its
main axis of
rotation, which
looks practically
horizontal in this
picture. Uranus’
rings are, as
expected,
confined to the
planet’s
equatorial plane

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 4
A comparison of the axes of rotation of the planets, Pluto and their tilts
Planet Neptune, as seen from its moon Triton. Notice one of the 5
planet’s “dark spots”, similar to Jupiter’s
 Definitions
The albedo of a planet is the ratio of the amount of energy
reflected by a planetary surface/atmosphere over the total
amount of energy received from the Sun.

Similar to the absolute magnitude, the albedo characterizes

how bright a planet really is, not only how bright it looks. A
combination of high albedo and short distance implies a very
bright-looking source, like Venus.

Venus has the highest albedo of the Solar System (a=0.65),

and being the closest planet from Earth this makes it the
third brightest source in the sky after the Sun and the Full
Moon. Earth’s albedo is 0.39.
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 The oblateness of a planet is a measure of how much the
3D shape of the object departs from a perfect sphere (a
measure of its deformation due to rotation). It’s defined as

Oblateness = Equatorial radius - Polar radius

Equatorial radius

Oblateness is determined by:

a) The rotation speed of the planet (the faster the spin,

the higher the oblateness).
b) The physical state of the planet (gaseous, more fluid
bodies are easier to deform with the spin).
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 The atmospheres of Jovian planets

The main features on the atmospheres of the

jovian planets are the zones and belts.

The zones are the light-colored regions on

which the belts (dark-colored regions) create
an obvious contrast visible even with small
telescopes.

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The zones on Jupiter’s clouds are produced by
crystals of frozen ammonia (NH3) in the planet’s
uppermost layer.

The belts may contain sulfur (S) compounds,

which assume different colors depending on
their temperature. Jupiter’s lower atmospheric
layers even contain water vapor.

Jupiter and all jovian planets have a solid

terrestrial core at their very centers.

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Zones and belts in Jupiter’s atmosphere

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The existence of zones and belts are due to a
combination of convective currents and the
fast spin of the planet.

Convection makes the hot gas rise from the

planet’s warm interior whereas the cool gas
sinks.
As convection takes place, the fast rotation of
the planet makes this gas take its band-
shaped trajectory about the planet, parallel to
the planet’s equator.
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The phenomenon of convection (gas rising and sinking) in Jovian atmospheres
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Saturn and Neptune’s atmospheric bands. Saturn’s bands show less contrast
than those of Jupiter and are less evident. In Uranus and Neptune’s
atmospheres, the green/blue color is given by methane, which absorbs the red
colors from the sunlight very efficiently. 14
Saturn’s atmospheric bands and bizarre hexagon-shaped cloud pattern in late 2016.
This unique, symmetric feature lies at the planet’s North Pole and is about 30,000
km wide.
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 The rings of Jovian planets
All Jovian planets have rings about them composed of icy
particles and dust.

The most impressive and complex system of rings is that of

planet Saturn. They are named A,B, C… and are actually
composed of thousands of closely spaced ringlets. The most
important gaps between Saturn’s rings are the Cassini
division (between the A and B rings) and the Encke division
(within the A ring).

J.C. Maxwell demonstrated the rings cannot be a rigid,

single-piece solid structure because they would become
unstable and be broken apart by the planet’s tidal forces.

Shepherd moons provide stability to some rings. 16

 Saturn’s main rings and the shepherd
moons Prometheus and Pandora on F ring
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Saturn eclipses the Sun (Cassini mission, Sept. 2006).
The outermost dusty E ring is visible.

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Why do rings form ?: The Roche limit

The Roche limit is defined as :

The distance within which a celestial body,

held together only by its own gravity, will
disintegrate due to a second celestial
body’s tidal forces exceeding the first
body’s gravitational self-attraction.
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 The Roche limit is given by

where LR is the Roche limit, from the planet’s center

RP is the planet’s radius
ρP is the planet’s density
 ρS is the satellite’s density
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 Qualitatively speaking…
The Roche limit is the boundary surrounding a source inside which other
bodies are destroyed by the source’s tidal forces.

1) The larger the planet, the larger the Roche limit

2) The denser the planet, the larger the Roche limit

(“the volume of destruction” surrounding dense and large

planets is big)

The less dense the satellite, the larger the distance from the planet at
which it can be disintegrated.
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Planetary rings consist of multiple particles (rock, ice,
dust) orbiting on the planet’s equatorial plane. 22
 The Roche limit and the formation of rings
(example)

For practical purposes, let’s simplify the formula for the

Roche limit like this

RL = 2.44 Planet’s density RP

Satellite’s density

where RL : Roche limit in kilometers,

RP : Planet’s radius in kilometers

and the densities of the planet and the satellite are given in
grams/cubic centimeter 23
1) Let’s assume RP= 10,000 km and both densities
are equal to 2 grams/cubic centimeter (in other
words, the satellite is as dense as the planet) .
By substituting in the formula,
RL = 2.44 * (2/2) * (10,000), so
RL = 2.44 * (1) * (10,000)
RL = 24,400 km

Meaning: With the given density of 2 grams/cubic

centimeter, the satellite will be destroyed by the
planet’s tidal forces once it comes closer to it than
24,400 km. 24
2) Now, if the satellite is less dense than the planet
(say, half as dense), what’s the new Roche limit ?
(the satellite now has a density of 1 gram/cubic
centimeter).
In the formula,
RL = 2.44 * (2/1) * (10,000)
RL = 2.44 * (2) * (10,000)
RL = 48,800 km

Meaning: Being less dense, now the satellite can

be destroyed by the planet’s tidal forces at larger
distances from it.
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3) Suppose you want to create a system of two rings
about this planet from the destruction of two small
bodies: a comet and a rocky satellite. Which of
them will form the inner ring ? Why ? (hint: which
of the two bodies is denser ?)

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The size of the particles in Saturn’s rings
change with the ring’s radius (location)

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Currently, volcanic activity takes place in
three bodies of the Solar System:

1) Venus
2) Earth and
3) Io (Jupiter’s satellite)

Volcanism on the two planets above is explained

in terms of tectonic activity, but the volcanoes on
Io require a different explanation: Jupiter’s tidal
forces. At Io’s distance from Jupiter, these forces
are not strong enough to disintegrate the satellite,
but only to create stress inside Io that eventually
translates into heat and lava flowing to the surface
of this small moon. 29
 The different
stages of the
formation of a ring
about a Jovian
planet from the
destruction a
small moon: 1) the
moon approaches
the Roche limit, 2)
the moon gets
deformed by the
strong tidal forces
of the planet, 3)
the moon is finally
disrupted

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The destroyed
moon
becomes the
prime material
to form a ring.
Once it settles
down, the
multiple
particles in the
ring obey
Kepler’s laws
such that the
inner part of
the ring spins
faster about
the planet

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Astronomers suspected that both Uranus and
Neptune should have rings from the occultations of
background stars by such rings seen from Earth.
The Voyager II probe confirmed Uranus’ rings in
1986 and Neptune’s in 1989.

Neptune’s rings looked “clumpy” (more dense in

some regions than others), giving the impression of
incomplete rings (arcs). They contain much more
dust-size particles and are as narrow as Saturn’s F
ring.
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Occultation of a star by the planet’s rings

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Rings and moons of Uranus

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The three main rings of Neptune. The bright disk of the
planet has to be “masked” to detect the faint rings.

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 Why don’t terrestrial planets have rings ?
1) Being small, the Roche limits of terrestrial planets
are small too. To be destroyed by the planet’s tidal
forces, the satellite must be too close to the planet
and the drag caused by the planetary atmosphere
would make the ring unstable.
2) Being low-mass objects, terrestrial planets cannot
keep a family of satellites, some of which could
break apart as they entered the Roche radius to
make the formation of a system of rings possible.
Simply put, there is not enough prime material
around/close to these planets from which rings
can form.

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Possibility of an eventual ring around
Mars
Mars has two satellites, Phobos (Fear) and
Deimos (Anger). Phobos is the largest of the
two and close enough to the planet that
might eventually be destroyed inside Mars’
Roche limit to form a ring.

Phobos and Deimos’ sizes and irregular

shapes strongly support the claim that they
are in fact two asteroids captured by Mars.
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The satellites of Mars: very likely, two captured asteroids 39
A comparison of the sizes of the moons in the solar system, Phobos and Deimos included

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 Review questions, cont.
38) In words, what’s the oblateness of a planet ? Answer: A measure of how much the 3D shape of a planet departs from a perfect sphere
(from the mathematical definition of oblateness, what’s the oblateness of a sphere ?). When defining the eccentricity of an orbit (chapter 2), we used
a similar description (eccentricity is a measure of how much a 2D orbit departs from a perfect circle) and classified orbits according to their
eccentricities: e=0 (circle), e between 0 and 1 (ellipse), e=1 (parabola) and e larger than 1 (hyperbola). Whenever the oblateness of a planet is
different from zero, we speak in general of an ellipsoid of revolution, the 3D shape of an oblate planet. What factors determine the
oblateness of an astro ?
39) Do you expect a larger oblateness in Jovian planets than in terrestrials ? Why ?
40) From the formula, what’s the minimum and maximum oblateness a 3D object can have ? Does oblateness behave the same
way as eccentricity ?
41) The idea of the albedo of a planet makes perfect sense. Why is this concept not applicable to stars ? (it does not make
sense to speak, for example, of the albedo of Sirius or the albedo of Polaris)
42) Which planet of the Solar System has the largest albedo ? Why ?
43) Where in the Solar System does volcanic activity take place ?
44) What’s the sense of motion of planets about the Sun and satellites about planets ?
45) Why is Triton considered an exception to the rule ?
46) Compute the orbital period of Saturn and Ceres using Titius-Bode law and Kepler’s third law (P^2=d^3) :
a) In years b) In days (1 year=365 days)
47) Name and identify the main rings of Saturn and the gaps between/inside them.
48) What explains the Encke division in the A ring of Saturn ? (you can actually visualize this in Celestia)
49) J.C. Maxwell proved that Saturn’s rings cannot be rigid because they would be unstable (they would break apart and
collapse on Saturn or be ejected to space). What are these rings really made of ?
50) Which terrestrial planets have satellites ? Name the satellites of Mars (why do astronomers believe that Mars’ satellites are
actually two captured asteroids ? ).
51) What’s the largest satellite of the Solar System ? (it’s larger than Mercury). Why are Titan and Europa specially interesting
objects ?
52) Describe what the Roche limit of a planet is. Then, how are the rings about planets formed ?
53) Briefly explain why terrestrial planets don’t have rings.
54) Suppose you have two planets with the same size, but one being more dense than the other. The tidal forces of which of
the planets will disintegrate an approaching small comet first ? Why ?
55) Name the three main rings of Neptune.
56) What compounds are responsible for the light-colored zones in Jupiter and the color of Uranus and Neptune’s atmosphere,
respectively ? How are their atmospheric bands formed ?
57) What lies at the centers of all Jovian planets ?
58) Describe the ways the Sun affects/influences the planets of the solar system (hint: gravity, light, solar wind). Suppose that,
for some reason, the Sun disappeared from the solar system. What would the orbits of the planets be ? 41
 Appendix 2: Skepticism
If a car dealer offered you a brand new Rolls-Royce for $10,000…would you be skeptical ? Of course ! Rolls-
Royce cars are so exclusive and expensive that such a price sounds too good to be true even on Black Friday
(most likely the car you are offered is not a real Rolls-Royce).
It's ironic, however, that in our 21st century, surrounded by high tech-
nology (cell phones, tablets, laser medicine, internet), on the verge of
becoming a biplanetary civilization that has already mapped the human
genome, many still believe without reservation in the validity of
astrology, paranormal activity, psychics and aliens among us.

Skepticism is at the core of science in general and astronomy in

particular. We need to dig deeper, beyond illusions such as planets
tracing “loops” in the sky, the Martian “canals”, the Full Moon appearing
“bigger” and “yellowish” when it’s just rising above the horizon…or even
Venus “following” drivers on the highway ! (Venus is commonly mistaken
around the world for an “extraterrestrial spaceship”).

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Below you’ll find the links to some videos where James Randi ("The Amazing
Randi", a magician and devoted skeptic) and other researchers debunk the
unethical claims and activities of astrologers, psychics, fortune tellers and
mediums, whose “powers” can be explained as a result of cold reading and the
Barnum effect, among others:

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Z7KeNCi7g  (a very interesting TED talk by

Randi, 17:50).
2) https://tubitv.com/movies/479036/an_honest_liar?utm_source=google-
feed&tracking=google-feed (“An Honest Liar”, a James Randi documentary)
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySDEvVNQgMU (Tyler Henry, a young psychic,
9:34)
4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lt-GeXPR2Y (Psychic James Van Praagh
tested by Miklos Jako, 14:57)

Finally, a good example of how new ideas can be scientifically tested to explain
ancient mysteries, such as the construction of Egypt’s Great Pyramids (not by
“aliens”, but by organized and clever Egyptians using their own technology):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d83mn1yxCHc

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 Appendix 3: The Flat-Earth Movement
Despite all the observational, experimental and
astronomical evidence that ultimately proves Earth’s
round shape (discussed in Chapter 1), nowadays
there exists an international conspiracy theory that
claims that Earth is a flat, disc-like planet.

Why is the flat-Earth model inconsistent with basic

measurements ? Why is the model fundamentally wrong ? 44