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Don't Earth-sized moons of gas-giants have a few others problems? Less consistent weather patterns due to a more complicated relationship with the sun, strippin

by lxmorj 13y ago

Don't Earth-sized moons of gas-giants have a few others problems? Less consistent weather patterns due to a more complicated relationship with the sun, stripping of the atmosphere due to gas giants gravity, and crazy huge tidal forces from the same.

ceejayoz 13y ago
I'm not an expert, so take these with a grain of salt. There are plenty of spots on Earth with unusual weather patterns (not to mention extremophiles). I'm not sure what sorts of weather changes a gas giant moon would see but I'd imagine they're surmountable via evolution. Titan has a nice atmosphere, so it's possible for a gas giant moon to retain one. Gravitational force diminishes pretty quickly with distance, so if a moon's a reasonable distance from the giant it'll likely be fine there. Tidal forces give Io troubles, but the other moons of Jupiter seem to be fairly stable geologically.
- gliese1337 13y ago
  Titan is a good existence proof that moons can retain dense atmospheres, but the exact reasons for it are complicated. Why don't any of Jupiter's large moons have dense atmospheres? Maybe radiation around Jupiter causes more atmosphere loss. Maybe it's just random. There's actually an argument that gas giant moons might be more capable of retaining atmospheres, all other things being equal, than equivalent free bodies, because gas molecules they lose will remain in orbit about the gas giant and eventually re-join the moon. So, moons with atmospheres are clearly possible, but it's very unclear how frequent they might be, or how their prospects compare to those of regular planets.
- yongjik 13y ago
  Tidal force can be a blessing instead. Some says that plate tectonics plays a vital role in making Earth a habitable planet. It requires continuous source of heat from inside, which is supplied by radioactive elements[1] on Earth, but in a gas giant moon, tidal force could play the same role. [1]: (Off-topic) The fact that our whole planet's life basically survived thanks to the gigantic amount of radioactivity buried inside, hot enough to keep the whole planet's core molten for 4.6 billion years, gives me endless amusement whenever I see someone ranting about how radioactivity has no place in nature and is a deadly scourge we're inflicting on Earth.

by lxmorj 13y ago

ceejayoz 13y ago

I'm not an expert, so take these with a grain of salt. There are plenty of spots on Earth with unusual weather patterns (not to mention extremophiles). I'm not sure what sorts of weather changes a gas giant moon would see but I'd imagine they're surmountable via evolution. Titan has a nice atmosphere, so it's possible for a gas giant moon to retain one. Gravitational force diminishes pretty quickly with distance, so if a moon's a reasonable distance from the giant it'll likely be fine there. Tidal forces give Io troubles, but the other moons of Jupiter seem to be fairly stable geologically.

gliese1337 13y ago
Titan is a good existence proof that moons can retain dense atmospheres, but the exact reasons for it are complicated. Why don't any of Jupiter's large moons have dense atmospheres? Maybe radiation around Jupiter causes more atmosphere loss. Maybe it's just random. There's actually an argument that gas giant moons might be more capable of retaining atmospheres, all other things being equal, than equivalent free bodies, because gas molecules they lose will remain in orbit about the gas giant and eventually re-join the moon. So, moons with atmospheres are clearly possible, but it's very unclear how frequent they might be, or how their prospects compare to those of regular planets.
yongjik 13y ago
Tidal force can be a blessing instead. Some says that plate tectonics plays a vital role in making Earth a habitable planet. It requires continuous source of heat from inside, which is supplied by radioactive elements[1] on Earth, but in a gas giant moon, tidal force could play the same role. [1]: (Off-topic) The fact that our whole planet's life basically survived thanks to the gigantic amount of radioactivity buried inside, hot enough to keep the whole planet's core molten for 4.6 billion years, gives me endless amusement whenever I see someone ranting about how radioactivity has no place in nature and is a deadly scourge we're inflicting on Earth.