This topic contains a solution. Click here to go to the answer

Author Question: Most small moons tend to be old and geologically inactive. Explain why Enceladus appears to break ... (Read 135 times)

Mollykgkg

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 529
Most small moons tend to be old and geologically inactive. Explain why Enceladus appears to break that general rule.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe the ring system of Saturn.
 
  What will be an ideal response?



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
Marked as best answer by a Subject Expert

AISCAMPING

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 347
Answer to Question 1

The smaller moons of Saturn are icy worlds battered by impact craters, and you can suspect that they are cold and old. Small worlds lose their heat quickly, and with no internal heat, there is no geological activity to erase impact craters. A small, icy world covered with craters is exactly what you would expect in the outer solar system. Enceladus, however, is peculiar. Although it is small and icy, its surface is highly reflective, and some areas contain fewer craters than you would expect. In fact, some regions seem almost free of craters. Grooves and faults mark some regions of the little moon and suggest motion in the crust. These features should have been destroyed long ago by impact cratering, so you must suppose that the moon has been geologically active at some time since the end of the heavy bombardment at the conclusion of planet building. The water vents discovered at the south pole of Enceladus show the moon is still active.

Answer to Question 2

The brilliant rings of Saturn are made up of billions of ice particles ranging from microscopic specks to chunks bigger than a house. Each particle orbits Saturn in its own circular orbit. From Earth, astronomers see three rings labeled A, B, and C. Voyager and Cassini images reveal over a thousand ringlets within the rings. The C ring contains boulder-size chunks of ice, whereas most particles in the A and B rings are more golf-ball size, down to dust-size ice crystals. Furthermore, C ring particles are less than half as bright as particles in the A and B rings. Cassini observations show that the C ring particles contain less ice and more minerals. The F ring is clumpy and sometimes appears braided
due of two shepherd satellites. The Encke Gap is not empty. A small moon orbits inside the gap.





 

Did you know?

Blastomycosis is often misdiagnosed, resulting in tragic outcomes. It is caused by a fungus living in moist soil, in wooded areas of the United States and Canada. If inhaled, the fungus can cause mild breathing problems that may worsen and cause serious illness and even death.

Did you know?

Malaria mortality rates are falling. Increased malaria prevention and control measures have greatly improved these rates. Since 2000, malaria mortality rates have fallen globally by 60% among all age groups, and by 65% among children under age 5.

Did you know?

GI conditions that will keep you out of the U.S. armed services include ulcers, varices, fistulas, esophagitis, gastritis, congenital abnormalities, inflammatory bowel disease, enteritis, colitis, proctitis, duodenal diverticula, malabsorption syndromes, hepatitis, cirrhosis, cysts, abscesses, pancreatitis, polyps, certain hemorrhoids, splenomegaly, hernias, recent abdominal surgery, GI bypass or stomach stapling, and artificial GI openings.

Did you know?

Alcohol acts as a diuretic. Eight ounces of water is needed to metabolize just 1 ounce of alcohol.

Did you know?

Every flu season is different, and even healthy people can get extremely sick from the flu, as well as spread it to others. The flu season can begin as early as October and last as late as May. Every person over six months of age should get an annual flu vaccine. The vaccine cannot cause you to get influenza, but in some seasons, may not be completely able to prevent you from acquiring influenza due to changes in causative viruses. The viruses in the flu shot are killed—there is no way they can give you the flu. Minor side effects include soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given. It is possible to develop a slight fever, and body aches, but these are simply signs that the body is responding to the vaccine and making itself ready to fight off the influenza virus should you come in contact with it.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library