The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780134874364
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Megan O. Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, Mark Voit
Publisher: PEARSON
expand_more
expand_more
format_list_bulleted
Textbook Question
Chapter 11, Problem 58EAP
Saturn’s Thin Rings. Saturn’s ring system is more than 270,000 kilometers wide and only a few tens of meters thick; let’s assume it is 50 meters thick for this problem. Assuming the rings could be shrunk down so that their diameter was the width of a dollar bill (6.6 cm), how thick would the rings be? Compare your answer to the actual thickness of a dollar bill (0.01 cm).
Expert Solution & Answer
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionStudents have asked these similar questions
You are making a scale model to visualize the relative sizes of the planets in our solar system. The scale of the model is: 1 cm = 2000 km. The radius of Saturn is 60,000 km. At what radius will Saturn appear on your scale model?
Saturn is the most oblate planet in the solar system. Why is Saturn so oblate and what does this tell you about Saturn’s interior?
Saturn’s E ring is thought to be produced by water erupting from the moon Enceladus.How does its average orbital radius (238,000 km) compare to the Roche limit of Saturn?Enceladus has a density of 1.6 g/cm3 and Saturn has a density of 0.69 g/cm3. Saturn has an average radius of 58,232 km.
Chapter 11 Solutions
The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
Ch. 11 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 11 - Prob. 2VSCCh. 11 - Prob. 3VSCCh. 11 - Prob. 4VSCCh. 11 - Prob. 1EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 2EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 3EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 5EAPCh. 11 - How do clouds contribute to Jupiter's colors? Why...
Ch. 11 - Prob. 7EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 8EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 9EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 10EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 11EAPCh. 11 - Summarize the evidence for and some of the...Ch. 11 - Prob. 13EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 14EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 15EAPCh. 11 - Prob. 16EAPCh. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Prob. 24EAPCh. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Suppose someone claimed la make the discoivries...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Choose the best answer to each of the following-...Ch. 11 - Europan Ocean. Scientists strongly suspect that...Ch. 11 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 11 - The Importance of Rotation. Suppose the material...Ch. 11 - The Great Red Spot. Based on the infrared and...Ch. 11 - Prob. 46EAPCh. 11 - Minor Ingredients Matter. Suppose the jovian...Ch. 11 - Galilean Moon Formation. Look up the densities of...Ch. 11 - Disappearing Moon. Io loses about a ton (1000...Ch. 11 - Ring Particle Collisions. Each ring particle in...Ch. 11 - Prometheus and Pandora. These two moons orbit...Ch. 11 - Orbital Resonances. Using the data in Appendix E,...Ch. 11 - Prob. 56EAPCh. 11 - Titan’s Evolving Atmosphere. Titan’s exosphere...Ch. 11 - Saturn’s Thin Rings. Saturn’s ring system is more...
Knowledge Booster
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, physics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Saturn is about 60,000 km in radius, and its rings are only about 0.01 km thick with ripples 100 m high. Design a really big model with Saturn 60 inches in radius (10 ft in diameter). How thick must the rings be in your model and how high can the ripples be? A sheet of paper is about 0.004 inches thick.arrow_forwardPluto has been hard to measure from Earth because of the atmosphere. In 2007 Young and Buie measured Pluto as having a diameter of 2322 km. In 2015 the New Horizons probe reached pluto and measured it up close and we now know the actual diameter is 2372 km. What was the percent error of the 2007 measurement? Enter your answer as a percent with a negative value if the 2007 measurement was too small and a positive value if it was too large.arrow_forwardEarlier in this chapter, we modeled the solar system with Earth at a distance of about one city block from the Sun. If you were to make a model of the distances in the solar system to match your height, with the Sun at the top of your head and Pluto at your feet, which planet would be near your waist? How far down would the zone of the terrestrial planets reach?arrow_forward
- In the previous lab, we calculated the area in between Mars' and Jupiter's orbit to be ~1.6e18 km2. Since there are roughly 750,000 asteroids, how much area (in km2) is available for one asteroid? Use this calculation to argue whether you are likely (or not) to hit an asteroid while flying through the asteroid belt. (Hint: To answer the first part of the question, find the area per asteroid)arrow_forwardWhy Wait? To explore a planet, we often send first a flyby, then an orbiter, then a probe or a lander. There’s no doubt that probes and landers give the most close-up detail, so why don’t we send this type of mission first? For the planet of your choice, based just on the information in this chap- ter, give an example of why such a strategy might cause a mission to provide incomplete information about the planet or to fail outright.arrow_forwardthe area in between Mars' and Jupiter's orbit to be ~1.6e18 km2. Since there are roughly 750,000 asteroids, how much area (in km2) is available for one asteroid? Use this calculation to argue whether you are likely (or not) to hit an asteroid while flying through the asteroid belt. (Hint: To answer the first part of the question, find the area per asteroid)arrow_forward
- The ratio of charon to pluto's roche limit? or How close is Charon to Pluto's Roche limit? please solve accurate and exactarrow_forwardIf you were to record the spectrum of Saturn as well as the A ring, you would find light from one edge of the rings redshifted and light from the other edge blueshifted. If you observed a spectral line at a wavelength of 505 nm, what difference in wavelength (in nm) should you expect between the opposite edges of the rings? (Hints: The radius of the edge of the A ring is 136,500 km. Use the formula for orbital velocity, V. GM and the formula = for Doppler shift,arrow_forwardIf you were to record the spectrum of Saturn as well as the A ring, you would find light from one edge of the rings redshifted and light from the other edge blueshifted. If you observed a spectral line at a wavelength of 505 nm, what difference in wavelength (in nm) should you expect between the opposite edges of the rings? (Hints: The radius of the edge of the A ring is 136,500 km. Use the formula for orbital velocity, V. GM and the r Vr formula for Doppler shift, C 0.06 X nmarrow_forward
- In 2015, researchers concluded that Enceladus's subsurface ocean is probably global, instead of just being restricted to the south polar region. What had the Cassini spacecraft found, that led them to their conclusion? a Enceladus wobbles slightly as it orbits Saturn, more so than it could if its ice shell were mostly frozen to the rocky interior. b Enceladus is absorbing so much water (which is ejected by Saturn from its atmosphere) that there must be a global ocean under its icy surface. c The number of large, lava-spewing volcanoes on Enceladus's surface is so high that they can only be the result of liquid water under the whole surface. d The magnetic field of Enceladus is so strong that it can only be explained by a global ocean of salty water under the surface.arrow_forwardWhat is the orbital velocity and period (in hr)of a ring particle at the outer edge of Saturn's A ring? Note: The radius of the edge of the A ring is 136,500 km. Hint:Use the formula for orbital velocity,arrow_forwardIf you were to record the spectrum of Saturn as well as the A ring, you would find light from one edge of the rings redshifted and light from the other edge blueshifted. If you observed a spectral line at a wavelength of 480 nm, what difference in wavelength (in nm) should you expect between the opposite edges of the rings? (Hints: The radius of the edge of the A ring is 136,500 km. Use the formula for orbital velocity, Vc = GM r and the formula for Doppler shift, Vr c = Δ? ?0 .arrow_forward
arrow_back_ios
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
arrow_forward_ios
Recommended textbooks for you
- Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage LearningAstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Physics
ISBN:9781337399920
Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Astronomy
Physics
ISBN:9781938168284
Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. Wolff
Publisher:OpenStax
Kepler's Three Laws Explained; Author: PhysicsHigh;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyR6EO_RMKE;License: Standard YouTube License, CC-BY