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Author Question: Why do astronomers think that Saturn's rings are not a permanent feature that has existed since the ... (Read 79 times)

roselinechinyere27m

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Why do astronomers think that Saturn's rings are not a permanent feature that has existed since the formation of the planet?
 
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Question 2

What do astronomers think is the cause of the active volcanism occurring on Jupiter's moon Io?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



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lauravaras

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Answer to Question 1

Saturn's rings can't be leftover material from the formation of Saturn. The rings are made of ice particles, and the planet would have been so hot when it formed that it would have vaporized and driven away any icy material. Rather, the rings must be debris from collisions between Saturn's icy Moons and passing comets or asteroids. Impacts large enough to scatter ice throughout the Saturn system are estimated to occur every 100 million years or so. The ice would quickly settle into the equatorial plane, and some would become trapped in rings.

Answer to Question 2

The activity you see in the Galilean moons must be driven by energy flowing outward, yet these objects are too small to have remained hot from the time of their formation. Io's volcanism seems to be driven by tidal heating. Io follows a slightly elliptical orbit caused by its interactions with the other moons. As Io's distance from Jupiter varies, the planet's gravitational field flexes the moon with varying tidal force, and the resulting friction heats Io's interior. That heat flowing outward causes the volcanism.





 

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