cH 11-2 Jupiter vital stats atmosphere

Jupiter

• 5th largest planet

• 200x that of all planets combined

• oldest

  • dust and gas from Suns formation

• 2nd brightest

• roman god of sky

• if hollowed out it can fit roughly 1000 Earths fit

Where are the Jovian planets located in the Solar System?

• In the outer Solar System, beyond the asteroid belt.

Which planets are classified as Jovian planets?

• Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

What separates the terrestrial planets from the Jovian planets?

• The asteroid belt.

Why were Jovian planets able to become much larger than terrestrial planets?

• They formed in the colder outer Solar System, where ice and gas were abundant.

how long does it take for the sun to reach Jupiter?

• 43 minuets become it is outside asteroid belt but inside Kuiper

some characteristics of Jupiter

• orbital period 8.6 years

• orbit: 5.2 AU

• closest Jovian to Sun

• many moons that vary in site and properties

What do observations of Jupiter reveal about its atmosphere?

• Jupiter has a dynamic atmosphere with cloud bands, strong winds, and large storms such as the Great Red Spot.

What are three ways Jupiter has been observed (L-R)?

• By spacecraft, space telescopes, and ground-based telescopes.

• Cassini spacecraft

• Hubble space telescope

• small telescope from Earth

why is Jupiter easy to locate?

• because bright

• light and dark bands due to atmosphere

• giant “eye”

what is the mass of Jupiter?

• 1.9 × 1027 kg (more than twice as much as all other planets put together)

  • 2 ½ x of all planets combined

what is the radius of Jupiter?

• 69,886 km (10.9 times Earth’s)

  • 11x wider than Earth

what is the density of Jupiter?

• 1300 kg/m3 (cannot be rocky or metallic)

  • ¼ average of Earths primarily H and He (lower d)

size comparison of Jupiter to Earth

• if Earth was a grape, Jupiter would be a basketball

Why is Jupiter's rotation period difficult to determine?

• Jupiter has no solid surface, and different parts of its atmosphere rotate at different rates.

How do scientists determine Jupiter's true rotation period?

• By measuring the rotation of Jupiter's magnetic field.

What is Jupiter's rotation period?

• Approximately 9 hours 55 minutes.

  • shortest day in Solar System

how long would it take Jupiter to orbit?

• 12 Earth years

how is Jupiter tilted to orbital path?

• 3°

  • spins upright

what is the result of Jupiter’s short rotation period?

• less extreme seasons

• equatorial atmosphere rotates faster

Jupiter’s atmosphere

• colourful stirpes and spots

• ever changing bands of cloud circular planets, parallel to equator

• cyclonic storms pole to pole

chemical composition of Jupiter

• 86.1% molecular H (CH2)

• 13.8% He

• small amounts of methane, ammonia, and water vapor

What are Jupiter's zones?

• Bright, cooler, high-altitude bands in Jupiter's atmosphere.

• above upward moving convection currents

What are Jupiter's belts?

• Dark, warmer, lower-altitude bands in Jupiter's atmosphere.

• regions representing the other part of convection cycle material generally shrinking

How do zones differ from belts on Jupiter?

• Zones are brighter, cooler, and higher, while belts are darker, warmer, and lower.

What is zonal flow?

• A stable pattern of east-west atmospheric circulation that produces Jupiter's zones and belts.

Which are higher in Jupiter's atmosphere: zones or belts?

• Zones are higher than belts.

What causes Jupiter's bands?

• Different wind speeds and directions in Jupiter's atmosphere create alternating zones and belts.

How many major atmospheric bands does Jupiter have?

• About 16 major bands, which can change over time.

What are Jupiter's bright zones believed to contain?

• Ammonia ice clouds.

What gases make up most of Jupiter's atmosphere?

• Hydrogen and helium.

What are Jupiter's jet streams like?

• They reach extreme speeds and help maintain the planet's zones and belts.

What is zonal flow on Jupiter?

• The motion of Jupiter's atmospheric bands relative to the planet's internal rotation rate.

What causes Jupiter's zones and belts?

• Strong east-west winds called zonal flows.

How is zonal flow measured?

• By comparing atmospheric wind speeds to Jupiter's internal rotation rate.

where do zones lie?

• slightly higher in atmosphere than belts

How do Jupiter's atmospheric winds vary with latitude?

• They alternate between eastward and westward jet streams.

What happens to Jupiter's wind speeds toward the poles?

• Wind speeds generally decrease toward the poles.

What creates Jupiter's zones and belts?

• Alternating eastward and westward zonal winds create the banded appearance.

what is the composition of Jupiter’s atmosphere

• mostly molecular hydrogen (90%) and helium (10%); small amounts of methane, ammonia, and water vapor

  • cannot account for color

what may be the result of Jupiter’s colour?

• probably due to complex chemical reactions

• colorful plumes of sulfurs containing gases raising from interior and ammonia ice clouds

Does Jupiter have a solid surface?

• No. Jupiter is a gas giant with no solid surface.

What is considered 0 km on Jupiter?

• The top of Jupiter's troposphere.

Why can't optical telescopes see Jupiter's lowest cloud layer?

The upper cloud layers block the view.

What did the Galileo probe discover about Jupiter's winds?

• Wind speeds remain very high even deep within the atmosphere.

What is the likely source of Jupiter's atmospheric energy?

• Internal heat from the planet rather than solar heating.

where does the troposphere lie?

• thin faint layer of haze created by photochemical reactions

Jupiter’s stratopshere

• dynamic

• temp. inversion

• polar winds

• 4-5 years

Jupiter’s haze layer

• sunlight reaction with methane

• thin

what are the three cloud layers of Jupiter?

• ammonia ice

• ammonium hydrosulfide ice

  • sulfur

• water ice

  • lowest cloud

  • 80km below troposphere

What is the Great Red Spot?

• A giant, long-lived storm in Jupiter's atmosphere.

How long has the Great Red Spot existed?

• At least 300 years and possibly much longer.

Why is the Great Red Spot scientifically interesting?

• its red color and long-term energy source are still not fully understood.

Why can the Great Red Spot last for centuries?

• Jupiter has no solid surface to slow the storm or remove its energy.

How large is the Great Red Spot?

• It is larger than Earth.

What are conditions like at the center of the Great Red Spot?

• the center is relatively calm compared with the surrounding winds.

What is upwelling in the Great Red Spot?

• The upward movement of gas that cools and forms ammonia clouds.

Why is the Great Red Spot able to persist for centuries?

• Jupiter lacks a solid surface to weaken storms, and internal energy helps maintain the giant atmospheric vortex.

great red spot visually anominated by 2 features?

• ever changing atmosphere bands arranged parallel to equator

• oval atm. blob

What evidence suggests Jupiter experiences thunderstorms?

• Lightning-like flashes have been observed in Jupiter's atmosphere.

  • occurs on increased altitudes in extreme conditions

  • similar as Earth

Does Jupiter have storms other than the Great Red Spot?

• Yes. Jupiter has many smaller rotating storms that are generally shorter-lived.

What is the Brown Oval on Jupiter?

• A feature located deeper in Jupiter's atmosphere that can be seen through a large gap in the upper cloud layers.

  • often appear green due to mixing of water and ammonia

Why is the Brown Oval visible?

• Because a large opening in Jupiter's clouds allows us to see deeper atmospheric layers.

Does Jupiter radiate more energy than it receives from the Sun?

• Yes. Jupiter emits more energy than it absorbs from sunlight.

Why does Jupiter emit more energy than it receives from the Sun?

• Because it is still releasing heat generated during gravitational compression when it formed.

What is gravitational compression?

• The squeezing of material by gravity, which generates heat.

Is Jupiter's extra energy produced by nuclear fusion?

• No. Jupiter's extra energy comes from gravitational compression and slow cooling.

what does the internal structure of Jupiter tell us about its evolution

• no direct interpretation but by measurements taken from SC and Theo model

what does movements and density variations cause?

• thick gas can alter gravitation field above surface

what is theorized about Jupiter’s excess energy?

• is the slow escape of gravitational energy

• as the planet took shape, some gravitational energy was converted into the heat interior

  • slowly leaking out

• star-like composition

what are the layers of Jupiter?

1. atmosphere

2. outer interior

   • turbulent

   • liquid H and He

3. interior

   • liquid metallic H

   • extreme temp. and increase force H to conductive state

   • electrical dynamo

4. core

   • large and fuzzy

   • mix dilute and non-uniform region that blends gradually into surround liquid H

what does temp. and density of Jupiter’s atm increase with?

• with depth below cloud cover

What happened to Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in 1994?

• It broke into fragments and collided with Jupiter.

When did Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact Jupiter?

• July 1994.

Why was the Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact scientifically important?

• it provided a rare opportunity to directly observe a major comet impact and study its effects on Jupiter.

What happened to Shoemaker–Levy 9 before it struck Jupiter?

• Jupiter's gravity pulled the comet apart into multiple fragments.