THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249      usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N    70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
2022-2023: XXII
Sunrise: 6:37 a.m.
Sunset: 6:24 p.m.
Civil twilight ends: 6:52 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Virgo the Maiden
Moon phase: Waxing crescent (23% illuminated)
Moonrise: 12:01 p.m.
Moonset: 8:58 p.m.
Julian date: 2459852.21
"A skunk is better company that a person who prides himself on being
'frank.'"
-Robert Heinlein


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, September 30, 2022
Quiz # 5: Jupiter!


_________________________
Correction:
In yesterday's article, I said that 1.2 million M+M candies would weigh
126,750 pounds. That is a grievous error. I had intended to say that 1.2
million packages of M+Ms would weigh 126,750 pounds.
__________________________

[image: JWST_2022-07-27_Jupiter.png]
*JUPITER!  *A now famous photo captured by the James Webb
Space Telescope.  As the image was captured in infrared light,
the giant planet looks profoundly different from the visual-band
photos with which we're familiar.   Notice the Great Red Spot, which
hardly looks red, the banded atmosphere and the gorgeous aurora ovals at
either poles.
The Jupiter photo that has entranced the world.


Have you seen Jupiter?!
Well, we suspect you have. We should ask: have you seen Jupiter LATELY? If
not, please rush outside this evening for a glimpse because it will be well
worth the effort. This gargantuan planet is brighter than it has been in
about sixty years! Jupiter is that dazzlingly bright orb that begins the
evening in the east, progresses through the south around midnight and
descends in the western pre-dawn sky. Today's quiz focuses on this blazing
beacon of the eastern evening and western morning skies.

Some questions might seem comically easy, others, less so.

*1. "Jupiter" is named for the Roman counterpart to the Greek god
__________*
a. Apollo
b. Poseidon
c. Zeus
d. Hades

*2. Approximately how many Earth-sized spheres could fit inside Jupiter?*
a. 780
b. 1029
c. 1100
d. 1300

*3. On average, what is the closest planet to Jupiter?*
a. Mars
b. Uranus
c. Saturn
d. Mercury

*4. _______________ is Jupiter's largest moon*
a. Io
b. Europa
c. Ganymede
d. Callisto

*5. How much time does Jupiter require to complete one orbit around the
Sun?*
a. 5.6 years
b. 7.8 years
c. 11.9 years
d. 13.1 years

*6. Jupiter is at its brightest because it is at "opposition." Which of the
following statements is/are true about opposition? *a. a superior planet is
at opposition when Earth passes between it and the Sun.
b. a planet at opposition will be visible all night
c. a planet at opposition will always be moving along a retrograde path
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

*7. Jupiter is about __________ times more massive than Earth.*
a. 100
b. 210
c. 318
d. 1100

*8. When will Jupiter next transit the Sun from Earth's perspective?*
a. 3,490 AD
b. 7,113 AD
c. 13,145 AD
d. none of the above

*9. Galileo Galilei first discovered Jupiter's four largest moons in the
years __________.*
a. 1537-1538
b. 1609-1610
c. 1634-1635
d. Actually, Galileo only discovered two of Jupiter's moons. Simon Marius,
the astronomer who actually gave each of these moons their names,
discovered the other two.

*10. True or false: Jupiter is more massive than all the planets put
together?*


ANSWERS

*1. "Jupiter" is named for the Roman counterpart to the Greek god
__________*
c. Zeus

*2. Approximately how many Earth-sized spheres could fit inside Jupiter?*
d. 1300

*3. On average, what is the closest planet to Jupiter?*
d. Mercury
On average, Mercury is the closest planet to every other planet, including
Neptune! Refer to the Daily Astronomer article on August 29, 2022

*4. _______________ is Jupiter's largest moon*
c. Ganymede

*5. How much time does Jupiter require to complete one orbit around the
Sun?*
c. 11.9 years

*6. Jupiter is at its brightest because it is at "opposition." Which of the
following statements is/are true about opposition?*
d. all of the above
[Note: a superior planet appears to be moving in a retrograde manner
before, during and just after opposition. Imagine being in a fast car that
is moving ahead of a slower one. From your perspective inside the faster
car, the slower car seems to move relative to the background objects, even
though it is still moving forward.]


*7. Jupiter is about __________ times more massive than Earth.*
c. 318

*8. When will Jupiter next transit the Sun from Earth's perspective?*
d. none of the above
Jupiter, as a superior planet -i.e. one farther away from the Sun than
Earth- can never transit the Sun from our perspective.

*9. Galileo Galilei first discovered Jupiter's four largest moons in the
years __________.*
b. 1609-1610
Simon Marius did name these four moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto),
but Galileo was the first to discover them. Or, perhaps more correctly, the
first to publish his discovery of these moons.

*10. True or false: Jupiter is more massive than all the planets put
together?*

*False!*If you put all the planets together, you have to include Jupiter!
Jupiter is more massive -actually twice as massive- as all the OTHER
planets put together.


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