370 Encyclopedia of the Solar System
unaltered matter. In the radiometric dating technique, the
fraction of a radioactive isotope (usually rubidium, argon,
or uranium), which has decayed into its daughter isotope,
is measured. Since the rate at which these isotopes decay
has been measured in the laboratory, it impossible to infer
the time elapsed since formation of the meteorites, and
thus of the solar system. [SeeTheOrigin of theSolar
System.]
The Sun and planets formed from a disk-shaped rotat-
ing cloud of gas and dust known as the protosolar nebula.
When the temperature in the nebula cooled sufficiently,
small grains began to condense. The difference in solidi-
fication temperatures of the constituents of the protosolar
nebular accounts for the major compositional differences
of the satellites. Since there was a temperature gradient as
a function of distance from the center of the nebula, only
those materials with high melting temperatures (e.g., sili-
cates, iron, aluminum, titanium, and calcium) solidified in
the central (hotter) portion of the nebula. Earth’s Moon con-
sists primarily of these materials. Beyond the orbit of Mars,
carbon, in combination with silicates and organic molecules,
condensed to form the carbonaceous material found on C-
type asteroids. Similar carbonaceous material is found on
the surfaces of the martian moon Phobos, several of the
jovian and Saturnian satellites, regions of the Uranian satel-
lites, and possibly Triton and Charon. In the outer regions of
the asteroid belt, formation temperatures were sufficiently
cold to allow water ice to condense and remain stable. Thus,
the jovian satellites are primarily ice–silicate admixtures (ex-
cept for Io, which has apparently outgassed all its water).
For the satellites of Saturn and Uranus, these materials are
predicted to be joined by methane and ammonia, and their
hydrated forms. For the satellites of Neptune and Pluto, for-
mation temperatures were low enough for other volatiles,
such as nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, to
exist in solid form. In general, the satellites that formed
in the inner regions of the solar system are denser than
the outer planets’ satellites because they retained a lower
fraction of volatile materials.
After small grains of material condensed from the pro-
tosolar nebula, electrostatic forces caused them to stick to-
gether. Collisions between these larger aggregates caused
meter-sized particles, or planetesimals, to be accreted. Fi-
nally, gravitational attraction between ever larger aggre-
gates occurred to form kilometer-sized planetesimals. The
largest of these bodies swept up much of the remaining
material to create the protoplanets and their companion
satellite systems. One important concept of planetary satel-
lite formation is that a satellite cannot accrete within the
planet’sRoche limit, the distance at which the tidal forces
of the primary become greater than gravitational forces that
bind loose particles into a satellite.
The formation of the regular satellite systems of the
outer giant planets is sometimes thought to be a smaller-
scaled version of the formation of the solar system. A density
gradient as a function of distance from the primary exists for
the Galilean satellites (see Table 1); this pattern implies that
more volatiles (primarily ice) are included in the bulk com-
position as the distance increases. However, the formation
scenario must be more complicated for Saturn or Uranus
because their regular satellites do not follow this pattern.
The retrograde satellites are probably captured aster-
oids, comets, Kuiper Belt Objects, or large planetesimals
left over from the major episode of planetary formation.
None of the satellites discussed in this chapter have appre-
ciable atmospheres, although the large Saturnian satellite
Titan has an atmosphere with a surface pressure higher than
that of the Earth’s. At least one satellite (Ganymede) has an
internal magnetic field.2.2 Evolution
Soon after the satellites accreted, they began to heat up
from the release of gravitational potential energy. An addi-
tional heat source was provided by the release of mechanical
energy during the heavy bombardment of their surfaces by
remaining debris. The decay of radioactive elements found
in silicate materials provided another major source of heat.
The heat produced in the larger satellites was sufficient to
cause melting and chemical fractionation; the dense ma-
terial, such as silicates and iron, went to the center of the
satellite to form a core, while ice and other volatiles re-
mained in the crust. A fourth source of heat is provided
by tidal interactions. When a satellite is being tidally de-
spun, the resulting frictional energy is dissipated as heat.
Because this process happens very quickly for most satellites
(∼10 million years), another mechanism involving orbital
resonances among satellites is thought to cause the heat
production required for more recent resurfacing events.
Gravitational interactions tend to turn the orbital periods of
the satellites within a system into multiples of each other. In
the Galilean system, for example, Io and Europa complete
four and two orbits, respectively, for each orbit completed
by Ganymede. The result is that the satellites meet each
other at the same point in their orbits. The resulting flexing
of the tidal bulge induced on the bodies by their mutual
gravitational attraction causes significant heat production
in some cases. [SeePlanetaryImpacts;SolarSystem
Dynamics:Regular andChaoticMotion.]
Some satellites, such as the Earth’s Moon, Ganymede,
and several of the Saturnian and Uranian satellites, under-
went periods of melting and active geology within a billion
years of their formation and then became quiescent. The
evolution of these objects was truncated because of lim-
ited amounts of radioactive material, efficient dissipation of
internal heat, or the lack of an ongoing heat source. Oth-
ers, such as Io, Triton, Enceladus, and possibly Europa, are
currently geologically active.
For nearly a billion years after their formation, the satel-
lites all underwent intense bombardment and cratering.