Jupiter Flashcards
What is the volume of jupiter compared to earth?
1330 x
what is the mass of jupiter compared to earth?
318 x (2/3 total mass of all planets)
how long does it take for jupiter to orbit the sun? mean distance?
12 years, 5.2 AU (780 million km)
what is the density?
only 1.33 g/cm^3 (gas giant)
what does jupiter look like through a telescope?
flattened yellow ish disc crossed by dark streaks ‘‘cloud belts’’ and bright bands ‘‘zones’’.
what is the length of a jovian day?
less than 10 hours, spins fast
what are the observable effects on jupiter regarding rotation?
1: rapid spin cause planet to be flattened slightly. Equator budges out, producing elipsoidal shape.
2: jupiter is gaseous does not spin same way as a solid body. outer regions of planet spin differently, surface goes round quicker at equator than poles.
what is the equatorial diameter of jupiter?
142800 km
what is the polar diameter ?
134200 km
what is the speed of travel for the equator?
4500 km/h
when was the pioneer 10 and 11 launched and what did they study?
late 1973, late 1974. studied atmosphere, magnetic field and radiation belts and satellites. flyby
when was the voyager 1 and 2 launched and what did they study?
march and july 1979. similar search to pioneer but higher resolution. 30,000 images taken. flyby
when did Galileo launch and what did it study?
october 1989, arrived december 1995 and orbited. encountered two asteroids. entry probe descended to atmosphere. observed satellites in more detail than voyager.
when did new horizons fly by jupiter?
2007 on way to pluto
when did juno launch and what did it study?
july 2016, took measurements of gravitational field, magnetosphere and trying to establish whether rocky core
what is the atmosphere of jupiter like?
similar to sun, 86% hydrogen, 14% helium and traces of water vapour and methane and ammonia.
how cold are the cloud tops?
-140 degrees
what are the belts and zones caused by?
molecular composition, due to small diff in temp and pressure
what are the wind speeds near equator?
350 km/h
what is the current diameter of great red spot?
14,000 km, getting smaller was 18,000
what is the surface like of Jupiter?
thin layer of clouds, no solid surface 1000 km thick
what is the structure of jupiter a third way to the centre? what is the pressure and temp?
zone of liquid molecular hydrogen. Pressure 3 million atmospheres, temp over 10000 degrees
what is the structure of the core of jupiter? what is the pressure and temp?
14000 km in radius.
could consist of rocky material that captured gas which the planet is made up of. pressure 100 million atmospheres. temp 30, 000 degrees.
what is the mass of jupiter in comparison to earth?
mass could be 10 to 20 times of earth
how small is jupiter getting every year?
2cm/year. twice the size when it formed
why does jupiter emit twice as much energy (IF) as it recieves from the sun.
the contraction releases gravitational potential energy.
why is jupiter named a failed star?
never become hot enough to ignite its nuclear fuel (brown dwarf)
how many solar masses are jupiter?
0.001
what is the radiation at the cloud tops in relation to earth?
ten times
how many satellites does jupiter have?
79 satellites
what do tidal forces do for io?
cause surface to flex and friction produces heat to make interior molten
what is io’s rotation like in comparison to orbit?
rotation is synchronous with orbit
how is heat released on io?
through crust as volcanic eruptions. most geologically active object in solar system.
when was an active volcano seen?
4 march 1979 by voyager 1
what is the features of io s active volcano?
rising 280 km above surface. Consisting of sulfur particles. 8 eruptions seem by voyager 1.
what is the surface composition of io?
sulfur, crust sulfur and sulfur dioxide. interior molten sillicates, solid core
why cant io retain an atmosphere?
low escape velocity
how is the io torus formed?
sulfur rich gas from volcanoes ionised by charged particles- subjected to effects of jupiters magnetic field. rapid rotation fulls this ahead of io forming doughnut shape
what are the features of europa?
whitish, no volancoes and not many craters, smooth.
has bright and dark lines
surface is ice- only 3 craters
18-25km in diameter
silicate core- icry crust about 10-30 km- slushy water underneath about 100km
what is the earth mass of europa?
10-20
which is the largest moon?
ganymede
features of ganymede?
large darkish region- galileo regio.
craters - ray systems and brighter regions.
differentiated core and magnetic field
surface icy but dirty with age.
interior- ice crust less than 100km thick
maybe has huge salty ocean
then rocky mantle and iron-rich core- partially liquid
what is the diameter of ganymede?3
3200 km
how old is callisto?
4000 million years old
what are the features of callisto?
dirty ice surface
craters
some have rays
some large cenentric rings (valhalla north of equator)
formed from impact- shock waves formed by melting and refreezing of ice
what is the interior like of callisto?
partially differentiated
little tidal heating
thick crust of ice and rock 200-300km deep
thick mantle of water or soft ice 1000km deep- maybe salty ocean.
silicate rocky core 1200 km radius
how was jupiters ring confirmed? what are their features?
voyager 1 and 2
radius 2-4 times that of jupiter, no more than 30km thick.
