Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 5/14/2008

Question
Thank you once again, Jayen. Your answers to my several questions under the heading of "the bulge" are really helping me to get a picture of my moon.
Given an atmosphere on that moon, do you think the cyclonic weather system you mentioned would create winds and storms more violent, on average, than those experienced on the planet?
Also, in your answers on "habitable conditions" you mentioned that a planet and its satellite could possibly have ion tails (I assumed those were characteristic of comets only) that lash causing a corona borealis. Would this lashing together occur once in every orbit of the moon? Do our earth and our moon have ion tails? If they do, is there some phenomenon that we see as a result? Our northern and southern lights occur because of the magnetic poles, don't they?

Thank you so much. I appreciate your time and expertise.

Mary

Answer
Hi,
Mary,
Like another lady before you, i get the feeling you are pulling a fast one on me!
That lady always made it a point to say "I really appreciate" etc AND THEN NEVER ACKNOWLEDGE MY ANSWERS BY READING THEM NOR RATING THEM!!
You seem to have developed a knack for doing the same!
Nor one of my answers to you has appeared as "read" to me, nor have any answers been rated.
I have "almost" decided therefore to stop answering.

But having said that, i must say your question, bound as I am by a code of conduct! Even if you are not!!

I suspect you are reading the answers in mail "preview" without actually opening the mail or something..and having got "what you want" are not bothering to rate the answer...after all it is all free, and to hell with the time and effort put in by the "expert"!!

Or to give you the benefit of doubt (ladies deserve that always ..i know), i must somehow think that this site is preventing people from rating my answers! (i have reached second place already).

How else to explain the fact that even though you read my answers, they appear as unread?

Coming to your questions...
1 - yes ..simple! Rule of the jungle! The bigger guys get an easier life!

2 - Sorry, i thought you caught on to what i was saying..only planets with convecting molten cores have magnetic shields to protect them from the strong ion winds coming out of stars.
The fields create a "bow shock" on the leading side and a sort of ion tail on the trailing edge of their motion. As their magnetic fields deflect the charged particles. Trapping many of them that go spiralling to the poles and trigger the aurorae.
In our case, the moon is a dead world magnetically (almost, as a negligible "frozen" magnetic field may be there in its rocks).
But in my example, with both bodies having active magnetic fields, the tails would be there and so would be the massive aurorae twice every orbit of the satellite. once for the main planet and once for the satellite, when each caused a solar eclipse on the other.
(if their orbits werent coplanar with the systemic orbital plane (ecliptic), that wouldnt happen though).

regards,
do make an effort to convert your appreciation into reality for me, and register your answers as "read" and your ratings too.
Else at least acknowledge my help in whatever you are writing!
Jayen