Questions about moons of the solar system

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the electric flux between Io and Jupiter, exploring its potential effects like lightning, auroras, and radio communication interference. It highlights the significant energy required to reach Io, approximately 25 km/s, compared to Earth's 11 km/s, suggesting that clever orbital maneuvers can reduce this speed. The conversation also touches on the destruction of Deimos in the fictional context of "Rise of the Leviathan," questioning whether a bomb like the Tsar could obliterate a moon. The gravitational binding energy of Deimos is noted to be about 1.4 x 10^16 J, which is significantly less than the Tsar bomb's yield. It is suggested that detonating a bomb at Deimos's center could fragment it, while surface detonation would require much greater power to achieve similar results. The aftermath of such an explosion would likely result in debris impacting Mars or escaping into space, rather than providing useful cover for spacecraft.
GTOM
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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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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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
"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.
 
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