Questions about moons of the solar system

In summary: Do you know what the radius of the moon is?Thanks for the clarification. Io is about 1/5 the size of Earth and has a radius of about 1,500 miles.
  • #1
GTOM
955
64
At first, i would have questions about Io.
How should i imagine the electric flux between it and Jupiter?
Does it make a series of lightnings, aurora borealis, jam nearby radio communications?

In an Asimov book they needed some magitech to reach Io, is it really so deep in the gravity well?

I read Rise of the Leviathan, where Deimos was destroyed in the battle between Earth and Mars.
Could a bomb like the Tsar destroy a moon like Deimos?
 
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  • #2
GTOM said:
At first, i would have questions about Io.
How should i imagine the electric flux between it and Jupiter?
Does it make a series of lightnings, aurora borealis, jam nearby radio communications?
Looks like a system of continuous currents, but I'm sure there are books about that.

In an Asimov book they needed some magitech to reach Io, is it really so deep in the gravity well?
~25km/s with a direct approach, neglecting Io itself (compared to ~11km/s for earth), but a clever choice of orbits allows to approach it with less delta-v. The Jupiter Europa Orbiter would have done something similar to reduce its speed.

I read Rise of the Leviathan, where Deimos was destroyed in the battle between Earth and Mars.
Could a bomb like the Tsar destroy a moon like Deimos?
1.4*10^16J gravitational binding energy, a factor 10 below the Tsar bomb. Could be possible if you let it explode in the center. You might get multiple large fragments.
 
Last edited:
  • #3
Note: there are reasons to believe Tsar bomb was designed to be scalable, so in principle it should be not difficult to make it even more powerful.
 
  • #5
GTOM said:
Does that mean if you couldn't drill to the center, just bomb the surface, it would require much more firepower than the Tsar Bomb to shatter it?
Yes. The bomb would mainly emit some high-energetic radiation to space and melt a part of the surface.
(And still the large fragments can be used as cover for spacecraft ?)
Cover of what? If the explosion is violent enough, most of them would hit the surface of Mars within an orbit, or escape to interplanetary space.
 
  • #6
"If the explosion is violent enough, most of them would hit the surface of Mars within an orbit, or escape to interplanetary space. "

Thanks i haven't thought about that.
 

Related to Questions about moons of the solar system

1. What are the moons of the solar system?

The moons of the solar system are natural satellites that orbit around planets and dwarf planets. Some of the most well-known moons include Earth's moon, Jupiter's four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), and Saturn's Titan.

2. How many moons are there in the solar system?

As of 2021, there are 218 known moons in the solar system. However, there may be more undiscovered moons, especially around the outer planets.

3. Which planet has the most moons?

Jupiter currently holds the record for the most moons in the solar system, with 79 known moons. This is followed by Saturn with 82 known moons.

4. Can moons have moons?

While it is possible for moons to have smaller objects orbiting around them, these are not considered moons in the traditional sense. They are more commonly known as moonlets or moonmoons.

5. What is the role of moons in the solar system?

Moons play a variety of roles in the solar system. Some help stabilize the rotation and orbit of their parent planet, while others have potential for hosting life. They also have important effects on tidal forces and can provide valuable information about the history and composition of their parent planet.

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