Comparison of Satellites - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... It has a radius of 2,576±2 (km). Titan takes 15 days and 22 hours to orbit Saturn once. It takes the satellite the same amount of time to complete a single rotation. Titan has a characteristic orange hue as seen from space due to its dense organonitrogen atmosphere (Jugen, 135 – 147).
Miranda is one of Uranus’s five major moons, the innermost and the smallest. It has a mean radius of 235.8±0.7 km. It takes Miranda 1 day and 9 hours to orbit around Uranus. Miranda’s surface is grayish in color. Triton is Neptune’s largest moon and has a radius of approximately 1353 km. It has a retrograde orbit; therefore, the direction of the orbit is opposite to Triton’s rotation. It takes the satellite 5 days and 19 hours to complete a single orbit around Neptune. Triton’s surface color is a mixture of gray, pink, and black (Vogt, 17 – 20).
Io’s surface is covered with smooth, expansive plains dotted with tall mountains, many of them active volcanoes. There are also volcanic lava flows and numerous pits. The surface temperature ranges from 90K to 130K. Io’s surface also contains products of extensive volcanism, which include silicates, sulfur dioxide, and sulfur, which give it a colorful appearance. Titan’s surface has a diverse geology, characterized by both smooth and rough areas. There are streaky features hundreds of kilometers in length, and slight elevations that seem to have a volcanic origin. The surface temperature is approximately 93.7K. Titan’s surface mostly comprises sand and rock made up of silicate compounds. Patchwork regions of rugged terrain, cover Miranda’s surface. Massive canyons also criss-cross the surface. The surface composition of Miranda is not clear, but astronomers believe it is mostly water ice. The surface temperature varies between 60K and 84K. Triton’s surface is relatively flat but contains block outcrops, troughs, ridges, hollows, icy plains, plateaus, and a few craters. The surface ...Download file to see next pagesRead More