Suppose That a Lone Asteroid Happens to Be Passing Jupiter

question 61

Multiple Choice

Suppose that a lone asteroid happens to be passing Jupiter on an unbound orbit (well above Jupiter's atmosphere and far from all of Jupiter's moons.) Which of the following statements would be true?

• A)Jupiter's gravity would capture the asteroid, making it a new moon of Jupiter.
• B)Jupiter's gravity would suck in the asteroid, causing it to crash into Jupiter.
• C)The asteroid's orbit around Jupiter would not change, and it would go out on the same unbound orbit that it came in on.
• D)There is no way to predict what would happen.