ch 11-3 jupiter magnetosphere moons ring

what is Jupiter surrounded by?

• by belts of charged particles, much like the Van Allen belts but vastly larger

Jupiter’s Magnetosphere

• strongest in solar system

• extends past orbit of Saturn

• outer magnetosphere is quiet unstable

• electrically excited particles from Volcanoes of Ion moon

• 30 million km across

is the magnetic axis align with rotation axis?

• not exactly but it is inclined to it at an angel of aprrox. 10°

Jupiter’s Auroras

• more energetic than Earth

• strongest

• occur near poles

• UV, X ray, Infrared (glow)

• magnetic field grabs surrounding particles

Galilean moons

• Io

• Europa

• Ganymede

• Castillo

• (formation may have mimicked the formation of Sun and inner planets)

Jupiter’s outer moons

• small and move in eccentric predominantly retrograde orbit far from planet

  • believed bodies were captured

  • size like asteroids

the moons of Juipter

• locked into states of synchronous rotation by strong tidal field

• 115 official moons

Galilean moon: Ganymede

• largest moon in solar system

• many impact craters

• weak magnetosphere

• “slushy” interior

• exceed Mercury in diameter

Ganymede bright and dark regions

• dark

  • oldest parts

  • intense meteoritic bombardment caused by liquid water

• light

  • younger

  • flooding and freezing

Galilean moon: Callisto

• 2nd largest (3rd in SS)

• heavily cratered

• impact craters (light)

  • old and quiet geological surface

  • may have been salty ocean beneath surface

Galilean moon: Io

• most volcanically known

  • intense tidal heating (magma plumes and sulfur oceans)

• yellow red black, green colour (sulfur compounds)

• massive mountains

• closest to Jupiter

• constantly tugged by neighbor Eurpoa

what is a unique feature of Io?

• most geologically active object in entire solar system

• no impact craters

• youngest in solar system

what causes Volcanism on Io?

• gravity

• central forces tidal from

Galilean moon: Europa

• smallest

• primary target for E.T.

• vast salt water oceans

• may have chemical components of life

what does the heavily cracked surface of Europa indicate?

• active geological region from tidal forces

• no craters

• water upwell, fill, and cracked

Europa and its water

• liquid water locked in ice

• surface ice may be several km thick with 100 km deep liquids ocean below it

interiors of the Galilean moons

• lower density

  • rocky metallic core to thin icey crust and small core to uniform rock and ice mix

order of the Galilean moons moving outward

• Io

• Europa

• Ganymede

• Calisto

Jupiter’s ring system

• small and thin

• 3rd ring system discovered

what are Jupiter’s ring made of?

• dust from meteor impact on nearby moons

where do Jupiter’s ring lie?

• ~50,000k above the top layer of the planet, inside the orbit of the inner most moon

• outer edge is quite sharply defined

how does Jupiter rotate?

• rapidly

pressure and density of atm. inceases with depth

• atmosphere becomes liquid then “metallic”

Jupiter’s core

• relatively small rocky core (but still 10x size of Earth)

how many moons does Jupiter have?

• 67 moons, 4 very large ones

Which two Jovian moons are often called the "fraternal twins"?

• Ganymede and Callisto.

Why are Ganymede and Callisto called fraternal twins?

• They are similar in size and composition but have very different geological histories.

What is unique about Ganymede?

• It is the largest moon in the Solar System and has its own magnetic field.

How does Callisto differ from Ganymede?

• Callisto is more heavily cratered and shows much less geological activity.