ASTR 151 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Ellipse, Metallic Hydrogen, Ring System
Document Summary
Chapter 12 review and discussion questions question #"s 1,2,3,4,5,7,9,11,12,13,14,16,17,18: seen from earth, saturn"s rings sometimes appear broad and brilliant, but as other times seem to disappear. During saturn"s spring and fall, the rings are close to being edge-on, both to the. Sun and to us, so they seem to disappear altogether. The colors of saturn"s cloud layers, as well as the planet"s overall butterscotch hue, are due to the same basic cloud chemistry as on jupiter. Saturn"s clouds are thicker, there are few holes and gaps in the top layer, so we rarely glimpse the more colorful levels below. Saturn"s low average density indicates that, like jupiter, it is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. The total thickness of the three cloud layers in saturn"s atmosphere is roughly. 200 km, compared with about 80 km on jupiter, and each layer is itself somewhat thicker than its counterpart on jupiter. The reason for this difference is saturn"s weaker gravity.
