Jupiter Flashcards
What are the basic information about Jupiter?
- At an average distance of over 5 AU, Jupiter
takes nearly 12 years to orbit the Sun - Jupiter receives less than 1/25th of the radiation
the Earth receives so its outer layers are cold - Jupiter is by far the largest and most massive
planet in the solar system being over 11x the size and 318x the mass of the Earth. - Jupiter has a much lower density than the
Terrestrial planets since it is made mostly of gases and liquids - Jupiter is the strongest source of gravity in the
solar system after the Sun with an escape velocity of more than 60 km/s
What is Jupiter internal rotation period?
9 hr. 55 min
What is Jupiter’s atmospheric composition?
Hydrogen: 98.8%
Helium: 10.2%
Very similar to the sun
What is Zonal Flow?
Clouds in belts and zones travel in opposite directions
What are Jupiter’s weather patterns?
Belts and Zones.
Belts (hotter): cool air sinking
Zones (cooler): warm air rising
Zones higher than Belt
What are the three layers of clouds in J’s atmosphere?
Ammonia Ice, Ammonium Hydro sulfide Ice, Water Ice
What did The Galileo Mission (1995-2003) do?
Orbiter and atmospheric entry probe
What does the Juno Orbiter do?
Currently studying Jupiter’s gravity, magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and composition
What caused Jupiter’s magnetic field?
The rapid rotation of Jupiter causes the liquid metallic hydrogen to flow
Result:
A very powerful magnetic field 20,000x stronger than the Earth’s
What are the Galilean Moons?
Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
How do the Galilean Moons orbit Jupiter?
Synchronous Rotations: Same side always faces Jupiter
What are the Galilean Moons Physical Properties?
Two small higher density moons close to Jupiter (Io and Europa) and two larger lower density moons far from Jupiter (Ganymede, Callisto)
How is the surface of Io?
Highly colored surface covered with sulfur compounds
Like a moldy pizza!
Not a single impact crater!
What is the geological activity in Io?
Super hot volcanism.
More than 80 active volcanoes (Patera)
Are the orbital periods of Io, Europa and
Ganymede related to each other?
1:2:4 resonance
1 G orbit = 2 Europa orbit = 4 Io orbit
How does Europa look like?
Very smooth, icy surface with few impact craters
Covered with cracks called linements and dark debris from meteoroid impacts
What is Europa’s Linements?
Cracks caused by tidal flexing
Icy crust must be very thin or would not crack
What cause Tidal Heating (source of internal heating in Io and Europa)?
The tidal force constantly changes in strength and
direction distorting and flexing the interior which
generates an enormous amount of internal heat
How are the size and densities of Ganymede and Callisto?
Similar in size to Mercury
Lower densities consistent with being made of a mixture of ice and rock
How does Ganymede look like? Explain some basic information about this moon.
Craters seen as bright spots;
The solar system’s largest moon;
Larger than Mercury;
The only moon to have its own magnetic field;
Activity ended about 3 billion years ago when crust thickened
How does Callisto look like?
Very old and heavily cratered surface
Describe structure of Jupiter’s ring
Consists of a thick inner halo, a thin bright main ring and two wide, faint outer gossamer rings;
The ring particles are made of dust grains ejected from the inner moons by impacts
What was the first spacecraft to make direct observations and obtain close-up images of Jupiter?
Pioneer 10 (1972-2002)
