GenS 4001 Astronomy
Tutorial Questions 2:
The Solar System
These questions are for discussion during the tutorial on the above topic.
- The Moon's surface is riddled with craters. Since the Earth and the
Moon were formed at the same time, under similar conditions, why is the
Earth not also riddled with craters?
- Why do you suppose that no Apollo mission landed on the far side of
the Moon?
- What geological features on Mars have convinced scientists that, unlike
the Earth, plate tectonics have not significantly shaped the
Martian surface?
- Could life once have existed on Mars?
- Is Mars jinxed? About half the satellites sent to Mars have failed to
complete their mission safely, whereas all satellites sent to Jupiter
and Satellite have been successful. Is there something unusual about Mars
which causes this high failure rate?
- Why are there numerous impact craters on Jupiter's moons Ganymede and
Callisto, but not on Io or Europa?
- Why must Saturn's rings be composed of a myriad of ice and rock particles,
rather than be a solid disk?
- Uranus has its rotational axis along its orbital plane, unlike the
other planets whose axes are roughly perpendicular to it. Discuss how
its seasons change in comparison with those of the Earth? How might Uranus
have got this way, since presumably it formed with its axis perpendicular
to its orbital plane, just like all the other planets?
- Suppose it were discovered that the Asteroid Hermes had been perturbed
in such a way as to put it on a collision course with the Earth. Discuss
what you would do to counter such a catastrophe using current day technology.
Note: you are not Bruce Willis, and therefore must obey the laws
of physics!
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