Time on Jupiter. Is there life on Jupiter

Those who at least once in the evening carefully observed the stars could not help but notice a bright point, which with its brilliance and size stands out from the rest. This is not a distant star, whose light takes millions of years to reach us. This is Jupiter shining - the largest planet in the solar system. At times of closest approach to the Earth, this celestial body becomes most noticeable, inferior in brightness to our other cosmic companions - Venus and the Moon.

The largest of the planets in our solar system became known to people many thousands of years ago. The name of the planet alone speaks of its significance for human civilization: out of respect for the size of the heavenly body, the ancient Romans gave it a name in honor of the main ancient deity - Jupiter.

Giant planet, its main features

Studying the solar system within the visibility range, a person immediately noticed the presence of a huge space object in the night sky. Initially, it was believed that one of the brightest objects in the night sky was a wandering star, but over time, the different nature of this celestial body became clear. The high brightness of Jupiter is explained by its colossal size and reaches its maximum values ​​during the planet's approach to the Earth. The light of the giant planet is -2.94 m in apparent magnitude, losing in brightness only to the brilliance of the Moon and Venus.

The first description of Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, dates back to the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. Even the ancient Babylonians observed a bright star in the sky, personifying it with the supreme god Marduk, the patron saint of Babylon. In later times, the ancient Greeks and then the Romans considered Jupiter, together with Venus, one of the main luminaries of the celestial sphere. The Germanic tribes endowed the giant planet with mystical divine powers, giving it a name in honor of their main god Donar. Moreover, almost all astrologers, astrologers and predictors of antiquity always took into account the position of Jupiter and the brightness of its light in their predictions and reports. In later times, when the level of technical equipment made it possible to more accurately observe space, it turned out that Jupiter clearly stands out in comparison with other planets of the solar system.

The actual size of a small bright point on our night sky has enormous significance. The radius of Jupiter in the equatorial zone is 71,490 km. Compared to Earth, the diameter of the gas giant is slightly less than 140 thousand km. This is 11 times the diameter of our planet. Such grandiose size corresponds to mass. The giant has a mass of 1.8986x1027 kg and weighs 2.47 times more than the total mass of the remaining seven planets, comets and asteroids belonging to the Solar System.

The mass of the Earth is 5.97219x1024 kg, which is 315 times less than the mass of Jupiter.

However, the “king of the planets” is not the largest planet in all respects. Despite its size and enormous mass, Jupiter is 4.16 times less dense than our planet, 1326 kg/m3 and 5515 kg/m3, respectively. This is explained by the fact that our planet is a rocky ball with a heavy inner core. Jupiter is a dense accumulation of gases, the density of which is correspondingly less than the density of any solid body.

Another interesting fact. With a fairly low density, the gravity on the surface of the gas giant is 2.4 times higher than terrestrial parameters. The acceleration of gravity on Jupiter will be 24.79 m/s2 (the same value on Earth is 9.8 m/s2). All presented astrophysical parameters of the planet are determined by its composition and structure. Unlike the first four planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, which are classified as terrestrial objects, Jupiter leads the cohort of gas giants. Like Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the largest planet known to us does not have a solid surface.

The current three-layer model of the planet gives an idea of ​​what Jupiter really is. Behind the outer gaseous shell that makes up the atmosphere of the gas giant is a layer of water ice. This is where the transparent part of the planet, visible to optical instruments, ends. It is technically impossible to determine what color the surface of the planet is. Even with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists were able to view only the upper layer of the atmosphere of a huge ball of gas.

Further, if you move towards the surface, a dark and hot world appears, which consists of ammonia crystals and dense metallic hydrogen. High temperatures (6000-21000 K) and enormous pressure exceeding 4000 GPa dominate here. The only solid element of the planet's structure is the rocky core. The presence of a rocky core, which has a small diameter compared to the size of the planet, gives the planet hydrodynamic equilibrium. It is thanks to him that the laws of conservation of mass and energy operate on Jupiter, keeping the giant in orbit and forcing it to rotate around its own axis. This giant does not have a clearly visible boundary between the atmosphere and the central, rest of the planet. In the scientific community, it is customary to consider the conditional surface of the planet, where the pressure is 1 bar.

The pressure in the upper layers of Jupiter's atmosphere is low and amounts to only 1 atm. But the kingdom of cold reigns here, since the temperature does not drop below 130°C.

The atmosphere of Jupiter contains a huge amount of hydrogen, which is slightly diluted with helium and admixtures of ammonia and methane. This explains the colorfulness of the clouds that densely cover the planet. Scientists believe that such an accumulation of hydrogen occurred during the formation of the Solar System. Harder cosmic matter, under the influence of centrifugal forces, went into the formation of terrestrial planets, while lighter free gas molecules, under the influence of the same physical laws, began to accumulate into clumps. These gas particles became the building material from which all four giant planets are made.

The presence of such quantities of hydrogen on the planet, which is the basic element of water, suggests the existence of huge quantities of water resources on Jupiter. In practice, it turns out that sudden temperature changes and physical conditions on the planet do not allow water molecules to pass from a gaseous and solid state to a liquid.

Astrophysical parameters of Jupiter

The fifth planet is also interesting for its astrophysical parameters. Being behind the asteroid belt, Jupiter conventionally divides the solar system into two parts, exerting a strong influence on all space objects within its sphere of influence. The closest planet to Jupiter is Mars, which is constantly under the influence of the magnetic field and gravitational force of the huge planet. Jupiter's orbit has the shape of a regular ellipse and a slight eccentricity, only 0.0488. In this regard, Jupiter remains at the same distance from our star almost all the time. At perihelion, the planet is located at the center of the solar system at a distance of 740.5 million km, and at aphelion, Jupiter is at a distance from the Sun of 816.5 million km.

The giant moves quite slowly around the Sun. Its speed is only 13 km/s, while that of the Earth is almost three times higher (29.78 km/s). Jupiter completes its entire journey around our central star in 12 years. The speed of the planet’s movement around its own axis and the speed of the planet’s movement in orbit are strongly influenced by Jupiter’s neighbor, the huge Saturn.

The position of the planet’s axis is also surprising from the point of view of astrophysics. The equatorial plane of Jupiter is tilted from the orbital axis by only 3.13°. On our Earth, the axial deviation from the orbital plane is 23.45°. The planet seems to be lying on its side. Despite this, Jupiter rotates around its own axis at enormous speed, which leads to a natural compression of the planet. According to this indicator, the gas giant is the fastest in our star system. Jupiter rotates around its own axis for just under 10 hours. To be more precise, a cosmic day on the surface of the gas giant is 9 hours 55 minutes, while the Jovian year lasts 10,475 Earth days. Due to such features of the location of the rotation axis, there are no changes in seasons on Jupiter.

At the point of closest approach, Jupiter is at a distance of 740 million km from our planet. Modern space probes flying in outer space at a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour overcome this path in different ways. The first spacecraft towards Jupiter, Pioneer 10, was launched in March 1972. The last of the devices launched towards Jupiter was the automatic Juno probe. The space probe was launched on August 5, 2011 and only five years later, in the summer of 2018, it reached the orbit of the “king planet”. During the flight, the Juno spacecraft traveled a distance of 2.8 billion km.

Moons of the planet Jupiter: why are there so many of them?

It is not difficult to guess that such an impressive size of the planet determines the presence of a large retinue. In terms of the number of natural satellites, Jupiter has no equal. There are 69 of them. This set also contains real giants, comparable in size to a full-fledged planet and very small, barely noticeable with the help of telescopes. Jupiter also has its own rings, similar to the ring system of Saturn. The rings of Jupiter are the smallest particle elements captured by the planet’s magnetic field directly from space during the formation of the planet.

Such a large number of satellites is explained by the fact that Jupiter has the strongest magnetic field, which has a huge impact on all neighboring objects. The gravitational force of the gas giant is so strong that it allows Jupiter to hold such a large family of satellites around it. In addition, the action of the planet’s magnetic field is quite enough to attract all wandering space objects. Jupiter serves as a cosmic shield in the solar system, catching comets and large asteroids from outer space. The relatively calm existence of the inner planets is explained precisely by this factor. The magnetosphere of the huge planet is several times more powerful than the Earth’s magnetic field.

Galileo Galilei first became acquainted with the satellites of the gas giant in 1610. Through his telescope, the scientist saw four satellites at once moving around a huge planet. This fact confirmed the idea of ​​a heliocentric model of the solar system.

The size of these satellites is amazing, they can compete even with some planets of the solar system. For example, the satellite Ganymede is larger in size than Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system. Not far behind Mercury is another giant satellite, Callisto. A distinctive feature of Jupiter's satellite system is that all the planets orbiting the gas giant have a solid structure.

The sizes of the most famous moons of Jupiter are as follows:

• Ganymede has a diameter of 5260 km (Mercury's diameter is 4879 km);
• Callisto has a diameter of 4820 km;
• Io's diameter is 3642 km;
• Europe's diameter is 3122 km.

Some satellites are closer to the mother planet, others are further away. The history of the appearance of such large natural satellites has not yet been revealed. We are probably dealing with small planets that once orbited Jupiter in the neighborhood. Small satellites are fragments of destroyed comets arriving in the Solar System from the Oort cloud. An example is the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy on Jupiter, observed in 1994.

It is the satellites of Jupiter that are objects of interest to scientists, since they are more accessible and similar in structure to the terrestrial planets. The gas giant itself represents an environment hostile to humanity, where the existence of any known forms of life is unimaginable.

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Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system, classified as a gas giant. five times the diameter of Uranus (51,800 km), and its mass is 1.9×10^27 kg. Jupiter, like Saturn, has rings, but they are not clearly visible from space. In this article we will get acquainted with some astronomical information and find out which planet is Jupiter.

Jupiter is a special planet

Interestingly, the star and the planet differ from each other in mass. Celestial bodies with a large mass become stars, and bodies with a lower mass become planets. Jupiter, due to its enormous size, could well be known to today's scientists as a star. However, during its formation it received insufficient mass for a star. Therefore, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

Looking at the planet Jupiter through a telescope, you can see dark bands and light areas between them. In fact, this picture is created by clouds of different temperatures: light clouds are colder than dark ones. From this we can conclude that through a telescope you can see the atmosphere of Jupiter, and not its surface.

Jupiter often experiences auroras similar to those seen on Earth.

It is worth noting that the inclination of Jupiter’s axis to the plane of its orbit does not exceed 3°. Therefore, for a long time nothing was known about the presence of a ring system of the planet. The main ring of the planet Jupiter is very thin, and can be seen edge-on during telescopic observations, so it was difficult to notice. Scientists learned about its existence only after the launch of the Voyager spacecraft, which flew up to Jupiter at a certain angle and discovered rings near the planet.

Jupiter is considered a gas giant. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen. Also present in the atmosphere are helium, methane, ammonium and water. Astronomers suggest that it is quite possible to detect the solid core of Jupiter behind the cloudy layer of the planet and gas-liquid metallic hydrogen.

Basic information about the planet

The planet of the solar system, Jupiter, has truly unique characteristics. Basic data is presented in the following table.

Discovery of Jupiter

Jupiter was discovered by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610. Galileo is considered the first person to use a telescope to observe space and celestial bodies. The discovery of the fifth planet from the Sun - Jupiter - was one of the first discoveries of Galileo Galilei and served as a serious argument for confirming the theory of the heliocentric system of the world.

In the 60s of the seventeenth century, Giovanni Cassini was able to discover “stripes” on the surface of the planet. As mentioned above, this effect is created due to the different temperatures of the clouds in the atmosphere of Jupiter.

In 1955, scientists learned that the matter of Jupiter emits a high-frequency radio signal. Thanks to this, the existence of a significant magnetic field around the planet was discovered.

In 1974, the Pioneer 11 probe flying toward Saturn took several detailed photographs of the planet. In 1977-1779, much became known about the atmosphere of Jupiter, about the atmospheric phenomena occurring on it, as well as about the ring system of the planet.

And today, a careful study of the planet Jupiter and the search for new information about it continues.

Jupiter in mythology

In the mythology of Ancient Rome, Jupiter is the supreme god, the father of all gods. He owns the sky, daylight, rain and thunderstorms, luxury and abundance, law and order and the possibility of healing, fidelity and purity of all living things. He is the king of heavenly and earthly beings. In ancient Greek mythology, the place of Jupiter is taken by the almighty Zeus.

His father is Saturn (god of the earth), mother is Opa (goddess of fertility and abundance), brothers are Pluto and Neptune, and sisters are Ceres and Vesta. His wife Juno is the goddess of marriage, family and motherhood. You can see that the names of many celestial bodies appeared thanks to the ancient Romans.

As mentioned above, the ancient Romans considered Jupiter the highest, omnipotent god. Therefore, he was divided into separate hypostases, responsible for a certain power of God. For example, Jupiter Victor (victory), Jupiter Tonans (thunderstorm and rain), Jupiter Libertas (freedom), Jupiter Feretrius (god of war and victorious triumph) and others.

On the hill, the Capitol in Ancient Rome was central to the faith and religion of the entire country. This once again proves the unshakable faith of the Romans in the dominance and majesty of the god Jupiter.

Jupiter also protected the inhabitants of Ancient Rome from the arbitrariness of emperors, protected the sacred Roman laws, being the source and symbol of true justice.

It is also worth noting that the ancient Greeks called the planet, whose name was given in honor of Jupiter, Zeus. This is due to the differences in religion and faith of the inhabitants of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Sometimes vortices appear in the atmosphere of Jupiter that have a rounded shape. The Great Red Spot is the most famous of these vortices and is also considered the largest in the Solar System. Astronomers became aware of its existence more than four hundred years ago.

The dimensions of the Great Red Spot - 40 x 15,000 kilometers - are more than three times the size of the Earth.

The average temperature on the “surface” of the vortex is below -150°C. The composition of the stain has not yet been finally determined. It is assumed that it consists of hydrogen and ammonium, and its red color is given by sulfur and phosphorus compounds. Also, some scientists believe that the spot turns red when exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

It is worth noting that the existence of such stable atmospheric formations as the Great Red Spot is impossible in the earth's atmosphere, which is known to consist mostly of oxygen (≈21%) and nitrogen (≈78%).

Moons of Jupiter

Jupiter itself is the largest - the main star of the solar system. Unlike planet Earth, Jupiter has 69 moons, which is the largest number of moons in the entire solar system. Jupiter and its moons together make up a smaller version of the solar system: Jupiter, located at the center, and smaller celestial bodies dependent on it, rotating in their orbits.

Like the planet itself, some of Jupiter's moons were discovered by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. The satellites he discovered - Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto - are still called Galilean. The last satellite known to astronomers was discovered in 2017, so this number should not be considered final. Apart from the four discovered by Galileo, as well as Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea and Thebe, the moons of Jupiter are not very large. And Jupiter’s other “neighbor” - the planet Venus - has not been established at all to have satellites. This table presents some of them.

Let's consider the most important satellites of the planet - the results of the famous discovery of Galileo Galileo.

And about

Io ranks fourth in size among the satellites of all the planets in the Solar System. Its diameter is 3,642 kilometers.

Of the four Galilean moons, Io is closest to Jupiter. A large number of volcanic processes occur on Io, so the satellite looks very much like a pizza. Regular eruptions of numerous volcanoes periodically change the appearance of this celestial body.

Europe

Jupiter's next satellite is Europa. It is the smallest among the Galilean satellites (diameter - 3,122 km).

The entire surface of Europa is covered with an ice crust. The exact information has not yet been clarified, but scientists suggest that there is ordinary water under this crust. Thus, the structure of this satellite is to some extent reminiscent of the structure of the Earth: a solid crust, liquid matter and a solid core located in the center.

Europa's surface is also considered to be the flattest in the entire solar system. There is nothing on the satellite that rises more than 100 meters.

Ganymede

Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system. Its diameter is 5,260 kilometers, which even exceeds the diameter of the first planet from the Sun - Mercury. And the closest neighbor in the planetary system of Jupiter - the planet Mars - has a diameter reaching only 6,740 kilometers in the equator region.

Observing Ganymede through a telescope, you can see separate light and dark areas on its surface. Astronomers have found that they are composed of cosmic ice and solid rocks. Sometimes traces of currents can be seen on the satellite.

Callisto

The Galilean moon farthest from Jupiter is Callisto. Callisto ranks third in size among the satellites of the Solar System (diameter - 4,820 km).

Callisto is the most cratered celestial body in the entire solar system. The craters on the surface of the satellite have different depths and colors, which indicates that Callisto is quite old. Some scientists even consider Callisto's surface to be the oldest in the solar system, arguing that it has not been renewed for more than 4 billion years.

Weather

What is the weather like on the planet Jupiter? This question cannot be answered unambiguously. The weather on Jupiter is fickle and unpredictable, but scientists have been able to identify certain patterns in it.

As mentioned above, powerful atmospheric vortices (such as the Great Red Spot) appear above the surface of Jupiter. It follows from this that among the atmospheric phenomena of Jupiter one can distinguish devastating hurricanes, the speed of which exceeds 550 kilometers per hour. The occurrence of such hurricanes is also influenced by clouds of different temperatures, which can be distinguished in numerous photographs of the planet Jupiter.

Also, observing Jupiter through a telescope, you can see the strongest storms and lightning shaking the planet. This phenomenon on the fifth planet from the Sun is considered permanent.

The temperature of Jupiter's atmosphere drops below -140°C, which is considered prohibitive for life forms known to mankind. In addition, the Jupiter visible to us consists only of a gas atmosphere, so astronomers still know little about the weather on the solid surface of the planet.

Conclusion

So, in this article we got acquainted with the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter. It became clear that if Jupiter had been given a slightly larger amount of energy during its formation, then our planetary system could be called “Sun-Jupiter” and depend on the two largest stars. However, Jupiter failed to turn into a star, and today it is considered the largest gas giant, the size of which is truly amazing.

The planet itself was named after the ancient Roman god of the sky. But many other terrestrial objects were named after the planet itself. For example, the brand of Soviet tape recorders “Jupiter”; a sailing ship of the Baltic Fleet at the beginning of the 19th century; brand of Soviet electric batteries “Jupiter”; Royal Navy ironclad; film award approved in 1979 in Germany. Also, the famous Soviet motorcycle “IZH Planet Jupiter” was named in honor of the planet, which laid the foundation for a whole series of road motorcycles. The manufacturer of this series of motorcycles is the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant.

Astronomy is one of the most interesting and unknown sciences of our time. The outer space surrounding our planet is a curious phenomenon that captures the imagination. Modern scientists are making more and more new discoveries that allow us to learn previously unknown information. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the discoveries of astronomers, because our life and the life of our planet is entirely subject to the laws of the cosmos.

Jupiter, a large red spot just below center.

Jupiter, like all giants, consists mainly of a mixture of gases. The gas giant is 2.5 times more massive than all the planets combined or 317 times larger than Earth. There are many other interesting facts about the planet and we will try to tell them.

Jupiter from a distance of 600 million km. from the earth. Below you can see the impact of the asteroid.

As you know, Jupiter is the largest in the solar system, and it has 79 satellites. Several space probes visited the planet and studied it from a flyby trajectory. And the Galileo spacecraft, having entered its orbit, studied it for several years. The most recent was the New Horizons probe. After passing the planet, the probe received additional acceleration and headed towards its final goal - Pluto.

Jupiter has rings. They are not as big and beautiful as those of Saturn, because they are thinner and weaker. The Great Red Spot is a giant storm that has been raging for over three hundred years! Despite the fact that the planet Jupiter is truly enormous in size, it did not have enough mass to become a full-fledged star.

Atmosphere

The planet's atmosphere is huge, its chemical composition is 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. Unlike Earth, Jupiter is a gas giant and does not have a clear boundary between its atmosphere and the rest of the planet. If you could go down to the center of the planet, the density and temperature of hydrogen and helium would begin to change. Scientists identify layers based on these features. The layers of the atmosphere, in descending order from the core: troposphere, stratosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

Animation of the rotation of Jupiter's atmosphere assembled from 58 frames

Jupiter does not have a solid surface, so scientists define a certain conventional “surface” as the lower limit of its atmosphere at the point where the pressure is 1 bar. The temperature of the atmosphere at this point, like that of the Earth, decreases with altitude until it reaches a minimum. The tropopause defines the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere - it is about 50 km above the conventional “surface” of the planet.

Stratosphere

The stratosphere rises to a height of 320 km and the pressure continues to decrease while the temperature increases. This altitude marks the boundary between the stratosphere and thermosphere. The temperature of the thermosphere rises to 1000 K at an altitude of 1000 km.

All the clouds and storms we can see are located in the lower troposphere and are formed from ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and water. Essentially, the visible surface topography is formed by the lower layer of clouds. The top layer of clouds contains ice made from ammonia. The lower clouds consist of ammonium hydrosulfide. Water forms clouds below dense cloud layers. The atmosphere gradually and smoothly turns into the ocean, which flows into metallic hydrogen.

The planet's atmosphere is the largest in the solar system and consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.

Compound

Jupiter contains small amounts of compounds such as methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water. This mixture of chemical compounds and elements contributes to the formation of the colorful clouds that we can observe with telescopes. It is impossible to say for sure what color Jupiter is, but it is approximately red and white with stripes.

The ammonia clouds that are visible in the planet's atmosphere form a collection of parallel stripes. The dark stripes are called belts and alternate with light ones, which are known as zones. These zones are believed to be composed of ammonia. It is not yet known what causes the dark color of the stripes.

Great red spot

You may have noticed that there are various ovals and circles in its atmosphere, the largest of which is the Great Red Spot. These are whirlwinds and storms that rage in an extremely unstable atmosphere. The vortex can be cyclonic or anticyclonic. Cyclonic vortices usually have centers where the pressure is lower than outside. Anticyclonic ones are those that have centers with higher pressure than outside the vortex.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) is an atmospheric storm that has been raging in the Southern Hemisphere for 400 years. Many believe that Giovanni Cassini first observed it in the late 1600s, but scientists doubt that it formed at that time.

About 100 years ago, this storm was more than 40,000 km across. Its size is currently being reduced. At the current rate of decline, it could become circular by 2040. Scientists doubt this will happen because the influence of nearby jet streams could completely change the picture. It is not yet known how long the change in its size will last.

What is BKP?

The Great Red Spot is an anticyclonic storm and has maintained its shape for several centuries since we observed it. It is so huge that it can be observed even from earthly telescopes. Scientists have yet to figure out what causes its reddish color.

Little Red Spot

Another large red spot was found in 2000 and has been growing steadily since then. Like the Great Red Spot, it is also anticyclonic. Because of its resemblance to the BKP, this red spot (which goes by the official name Oval) is often called the "Little Red Spot" or "Little Red Spot".

Unlike vortices, which persist for a long time, storms are more short-lived. Many of them can last for several months, but on average they last for 4 days. The occurrence of storms in the atmosphere culminates every 15-17 years. Storms are accompanied by lightning, just like on Earth.

BKP rotation

The BKP rotates counterclockwise and makes a full revolution every six Earth days. The sunspot rotation period has decreased. Some believe that this is the result of its compression. Winds at the very edge of the storm reach speeds of 432 km/h. The spot is large enough to engulf three Earths. Infrared data shows that BKP is cooler and higher altitude than most other clouds. The edges of the storm rise approximately 8 km above the surrounding cloud tops. Its position shifts to the east and west quite often. The spot has crossed the planet's belts at least 10 times since the early 19th century. And the speed of its drift has changed dramatically over the years, this was due to the South Equatorial Belt.

BKP color

Voyager BKP image

It is not known exactly what causes the Great Red Spot to be this color. The most popular theory, supported by laboratory experiments, is that the color may be caused by complex organic molecules such as red phosphorus or sulfur compounds. BKP varies greatly in color from almost brick red to light red and white. The red central area is 4 degrees warmer than the surrounding area, which is considered evidence that the color is influenced by environmental factors.

As you can see, the red spot is a rather mysterious object; it is the subject of a major future study. Scientists hope they can better understand our giant neighbor, because the planet Jupiter and the Great Red Spot are among the greatest mysteries of our solar system.

Why Jupiter is not a star

It lacks the mass and heat needed to start fusing hydrogen atoms into helium, so it cannot become a star. Scientists estimate that Jupiter would need to increase its current mass by about 80 times in order to ignite nuclear fusion. But nevertheless, the planet releases heat due to gravitational compression. This reduction in volume ultimately warms the planet.

Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism

This production of heat beyond what it absorbs from the Sun is called the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism. This mechanism occurs when the planet's surface cools, causing a drop in pressure and the body contracts. Compression (contraction) heats up the core. Scientists have calculated that Jupiter emits more energy than it receives from the Sun. Saturn shows the same mechanism for its heating, but not as much. Brown dwarf stars also exhibit the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism. The mechanism was originally proposed by Kelvin and Helmholtz to explain the energy of the Sun. One of the consequences of this law is that the Sun must have an energy source that allows it to shine for more than a few million years. At that time, nuclear reactions were unknown, so gravitational compression was considered the source of solar energy. That was until the 1930s, when Hans Bethe proved that the sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion and lasts for billions of years.

A related question that is often asked is whether Jupiter could acquire enough mass in the near future to become a star. All the planets, dwarf planets and asteroids in the Solar System cannot give it the required amount of mass, even if it absorbs everything in the Solar System except the Sun. So he will never become a star.

Let's hope that the JUNO mission, which will arrive at the planet by 2016, will provide specific information about the planet on most of the issues of interest to scientists.

Weight on Jupiter

If you're worried about your weight, keep in mind that Jupiter has much more mass than Earth and its gravity is much stronger. By the way, on the planet Jupiter the force of gravity is 2.528 times more intense than on Earth. This means that if you weigh 100 kg on Earth, then your weight on the gas giant will be 252.8 kg.

Because its gravity is so intense, it has quite a few moons, as many as 67 moons to be exact, and their number can change at any moment.

Rotation

Animation of atmospheric rotation made from Voyager images

Our gas giant is the fastest spinning planet in the solar system, spinning once every 9.9 hours. Unlike the inner Terrestrial planets, Jupiter is a ball consisting almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Unlike Mars or Mercury, it does not have a surface that can be tracked to measure its rotation rate, nor do it have craters or mountains that appear in view after a certain amount of time.

Effect of rotation on planet size

Rapid rotation results in a difference between the equatorial and polar radii. Instead of looking like a sphere, the planet's rapid rotation makes it look like a squashed ball. The bulge of the equator is visible even in small amateur telescopes.

The polar radius of the planet is 66,800 km, and the equatorial radius is 71,500 km. In other words, the equatorial radius of the planet is 4700 km greater than the polar one.

Rotation characteristics

Despite the fact that the planet is a ball of gas, it rotates differentially. That is, the rotation takes a different amount of time depending on where you are. Rotation at its poles takes 5 minutes longer than at the equator. Therefore, the often cited rotation period of 9.9 hours is in fact the average for the entire planet.

Rotation reference systems

Scientists actually use three different systems to calculate the planet's rotation. The first system for latitude 10 degrees north and south of the equator is a rotation of 9 hours 50 minutes. The second, for latitudes north and south of this region, where the rotation speed is 9 hours 55 minutes. These metrics are measured for the specific storm that is in view. The third system measures the rotation speed of the magnetosphere and is generally considered the official rotation speed.

Planet gravity and comet

In the 1990s, Jupiter's gravity tore apart Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and its fragments fell onto the planet. This was the first time we had the opportunity to observe the collision of two extraterrestrial bodies in the solar system. Why did Jupiter attract Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, you ask?

The comet had the imprudence to fly in close proximity to the giant, and its powerful gravity pulled it towards itself due to the fact that Jupiter is the most massive in the solar system. The planet captured the comet about 20-30 years before the collision, and it has been orbiting the giant ever since. In 1992, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 entered the Roche limit and was torn apart by the planet's tidal forces. The comet resembled a string of pearls when fragments crashed into the planet's cloud layer July 16-22, 1994. Fragments up to 2 km in size each entered the atmosphere at a speed of 60 km/s. This collision allowed astronomers to make several new discoveries about the planet.

What caused the collision with the planet

Astronomers, thanks to the collision, discovered several chemicals in the atmosphere that were not known before the impact. Diatomic sulfur and carbon disulfide were the most interesting. This was only the second time that diatomic sulfur had been discovered on celestial bodies. It was then that ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were first discovered on the gas giant. Images from Voyager 1 showed the giant in a completely new light, because... information from Pioneer 10 and 11 was not so informative, and all subsequent missions were based on data received by Voyagers.

Collision of an asteroid with a planet

Short description

The influence of Jupiter on all planets is manifested in one form or another. It is strong enough to tear apart asteroids and hold 79 moons. Some scientists believe that such a large planet could have destroyed many celestial objects in the past and also prevented the formation of other planets.

Jupiter requires more careful study than scientists can afford and it interests astronomers for many reasons. Its satellites are the main pearl for researchers. The planet has 79 satellites, which is actually 40% of all the satellites in our solar system. Some of these moons are larger than some dwarf planets and contain underground oceans.

Structure

Internal structure

Jupiter has a core that contains some rock and metallic hydrogen, which takes on this unusual shape under tremendous pressure.

Recent evidence indicates that the giant contains a dense core, which is believed to be surrounded by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen and helium, with an outer layer dominated by molecular hydrogen. Gravity measurements indicate a core mass of 12 to 45 Earth masses. This means that the planet's core makes up about 3-15% of the planet's total mass.

Formation of a giant

In its early history, Jupiter must have formed entirely from rock and ice with enough mass to trap most of the gases in the early Solar Nebula. Therefore, its composition completely repeats the mixture of gases of the protosolar nebula.

Current theory holds that a core layer of dense metallic hydrogen extends to 78 percent of the planet's radius. Directly above the layer of metallic hydrogen is an inner atmosphere of hydrogen. In it, hydrogen is at a temperature where there are no clear liquid and gas phases; in fact, it is in a supercritical liquid state. Temperature and pressure increase steadily as you approach the core. In the region where hydrogen becomes metallic, the temperature is considered to be 10,000 K and the pressure is 200 GPa. The maximum temperature at the core boundary is estimated to be 36,000 K with a corresponding pressure of 3000 to 4500 GPa.

Temperature

Its temperature, given how far it is from the Sun, is much lower than on Earth.

The outer edges of Jupiter's atmosphere are much cooler than the central region. The temperature in the atmosphere is -145 degrees Celsius, and intense atmospheric pressure causes the temperature to rise as it descends. Having plunged several hundred kilometers deep into the planet, hydrogen becomes its main component; it is hot enough to turn into liquid (since the pressure is high). The temperature at this point is believed to be over 9,700 C. The layer of dense metallic hydrogen extends to 78% of the planet's radius. Near the very center of the planet, scientists believe temperatures could reach 35,500 C. Between the cold clouds and the molten nether regions lies an inner atmosphere of hydrogen. In the internal atmosphere, the temperature of hydrogen is such that it has no boundary between the liquid and gas phases.

The planet's molten interior heats the rest of the planet through convection, so the giant emits more heat than it receives from the Sun. Storms and strong winds mix cold air and warm air, just like on Earth. The Galileo spacecraft observed winds exceeding 600 km per hour. One of the differences from Earth is that the planet has jet streams that control storms and winds, they are driven by the planet's own heat.

Is there life on the planet?

As you can see from the data above, the physical conditions on Jupiter are quite harsh. Some people wonder if the planet Jupiter is habitable, is there life there? But we will disappoint you: without a solid surface, the presence of enormous pressure, the simplest atmosphere, radiation and low temperature - life on the planet is impossible. The subglacial oceans of its satellites are another matter, but this is a topic for another article. In fact, the planet cannot support life or contribute to its origin, according to modern views on this issue.

Distance to the Sun and Earth

The distance to the Sun at perihelion (closest point) is 741 million km, or 4.95 astronomical units (AU). At aphelion (the most distant point) - 817 million km, or 5.46 AU. It follows from this that the semimajor axis is equal to 778 million km, or 5.2 AU. with an eccentricity of 0.048. Remember that one astronomical unit (AU) is equal to the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.

Orbital rotation period

The planet takes 11.86 Earth years (4331 days) to complete one revolution around the Sun. The planet rushes along its orbit at a speed of 13 km/s. Its orbit is slightly inclined (about 6.09°) compared to the plane of the ecliptic (solar equator). Despite the fact that Jupiter is located quite far from the Sun, it is the only celestial body that has a common center of mass with the Sun, located outside the radius of the Sun. The gas giant has a slight axial tilt of 3.13 degrees, which means there is no noticeable change in seasons on the planet.

Jupiter and Earth

When Jupiter and Earth are closest to each other, they are separated by 628.74 million kilometers of space. At the point farthest from each other, they are separated by 928.08 million km. In astronomical units, these distances range from 4.2 to 6.2 AU.

All planets move in elliptical orbits; when a planet is closer to the Sun, this part of the orbit is called perihelion. When further is aphelion. The difference between perihelion and aphelion determines how eccentric the orbit is. Jupiter and Earth have the two least eccentric orbits in our solar system.

Some scientists believe that Jupiter's gravity creates tidal effects that could cause an increase in the number of sunspots. If Jupiter approached the Earth within a couple of hundred million kilometers, then the Earth would have a hard time under the influence of the powerful gravity of the giant. It's easy to see how it could cause tidal effects when you consider that its mass is 318 times that of Earth. Fortunately, Jupiter is at a respectful distance from us, without causing inconvenience and at the same time protecting us from comets, attracting them to itself.

Sky position and observation

In fact, the gas giant is the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. If you want to know where the planet Jupiter is located in the sky, then most often it is closer to the zenith. In order not to confuse it with Venus, keep in mind that it does not move further than 48 degrees from the Sun, so it does not rise very high.

Mars and Jupiter are also two fairly bright objects, especially at opposition, but Mars has a reddish tint, so it is difficult to confuse them. They may both be at opposition (closest to Earth), so either go by color or use binoculars. Saturn, despite the similarity in structure, is quite different in brightness due to its large distance, so it is difficult to confuse them. With a small telescope at your disposal, Jupiter will appear in all its glory. When observing it, 4 small dots (Galilean satellites) that surround the planet immediately catch the eye. Jupiter looks like a striped ball in a telescope, and even with a small instrument its oval shape is visible.

Being in heaven

Using a computer, finding it is not at all difficult; the widespread Stellarium program is suitable for these purposes. If you don’t know what kind of object you are observing, then knowing the cardinal directions, your location and time, the Stellarium program will give you the answer.

When observing it, we have an amazing opportunity to see such unusual phenomena as the passage of the shadows of satellites across the planet’s disk or the eclipse of a satellite by a planet. In general, look into the sky more often, there are a lot of interesting things there and a successful search for Jupiter! To make it easier to navigate astronomical events, use.

A magnetic field

The Earth's magnetic field is created by its core and the dynamo effect. Jupiter has a truly enormous magnetic field. Scientists are confident that it has a rocky/metallic core and due to this the planet has a magnetic field that is 14 times stronger than Earth's and contains 20,000 times more energy. Astronomers believe that the magnetic field is generated by metallic hydrogen near the center of the planet. This magnetic field traps ionized solar wind particles and accelerates them to almost the speed of light.

Magnetic field voltage

The gas giant's magnetic field is the most powerful in our Solar System. It varies from 4.2 Gauss (a unit of magnetic induction equal to one ten-thousandth of a tesla) at the equator, to 14 Gauss at the poles. The magnetosphere extends seven million km towards the Sun and towards the edge of Saturn's orbit.

Form

The planet's magnetic field is shaped like a donut (toroid) and contains the huge equivalent of the Van Allen belts on Earth. These belts trap high-energy charged particles (mainly protons and electrons). The rotation of the field corresponds to the rotation of the planet and is approximately equal to 10 hours. Some of Jupiter's moons interact with the magnetic field, in particular the moon Io.

It has several active volcanoes on the surface that spew gas and volcanic particles into space. These particles eventually diffuse into the rest of the space surrounding the planet and become the main source of charged particles trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field.

The planet's radiation belts are a torus of energetic charged particles (plasma). They are held in place by a magnetic field. Most of the particles that form the belts come from the solar wind and cosmic rays. The belts are located in the inner region of the magnetosphere. There are several different belts containing electrons and protons. In addition, radiation belts contain smaller amounts of other nuclei, as well as alpha particles. The belts pose a hazard to spacecraft, which must protect their sensitive components with adequate protection if they travel through radiation belts. The radiation belts around Jupiter are very strong and a spacecraft that flies through them needs additional special protection to protect sensitive electronics.

Polar lights on the planet

X-ray

The planet's magnetic field creates some of the most spectacular and active auroras in the solar system.

On Earth, auroras are caused by charged particles ejected from solar storms. Some are created in the same way, but he has another way of producing the aurora. The planet's rapid rotation, intense magnetic field, and abundant source of particles from the volcanically active moon Io create a huge reservoir of electrons and ions.

Patera Tupana - a volcano on Io

These charged particles, captured by the magnetic field, are constantly accelerated and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions, where they collide with gases. As a result of such collisions, aurorae are produced, which we cannot observe on Earth.

Jupiter's magnetic fields are believed to interact with almost every body in the solar system.

How to calculate the length of the day

Scientists calculated the length of the day based on the planet's rotation speed. And the earliest attempts involved observing storms. Scientists found a suitable storm and, by measuring its rotation speed around the planet, got an idea of ​​the length of the day. The problem was that Jupiter's storms change at a very rapid rate, making them imprecise sources of the planet's rotation. After radio emission from the planet was detected, scientists calculated the planet's rotation period and its speed. While different parts of the planet rotate at different speeds, the rotation speed of the magnetosphere remains constant and is used as the official speed of the planet.

Origin of the name of the planet

The planet has been known since ancient times and was named after a Roman god. At that time the planet had many names and throughout the history of the Roman Empire it received the most attention. The Romans named the planet after their king of the gods, Jupiter, who was also the god of sky and thunder.

In Roman mythology

In the Roman pantheon, Jupiter was the god of the sky and was the central god in the Capitoline Triad along with Juno and Minerva. He remained the main official deity of Rome throughout the Republican and Imperial eras, until the pagan system was replaced by Christianity. He personified divine power and high positions in Rome, the internal organization for external relations: his image in the republican and imperial palace meant a lot. The Roman consuls swore allegiance to Jupiter. To thank him for his help and to secure his continued support, they prayed to a statue of a bull with gilded horns.

How planets are named

Image from the Cassini spacecraft (on the left is the shadow of the Europa satellite)

It is a common practice for planets, moons and many other celestial bodies to be given names from Greek and Roman mythology, as well as a specific astronomical symbol. Some examples: Neptune is the god of the sea, Mars is the god of war, Mercury is the messenger, Saturn is the God of Time and the father of Jupiter, Uranus is the father of Saturn, Venus is the goddess of love, and the Earth, and the Earth is only a planet, this goes against the Greco-Roman tradition. We hope that the origin of the name of the planet Jupiter will no longer raise questions for you.

Opening

Were you interested in finding out who discovered the planet? Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to find out how and by whom it was discovered. It is one of 5 planets visible to the naked eye. If you go outside and see a bright star in the sky, it's probably him. its brightness is greater than any star, only Venus is brighter than it. Thus, ancient people knew about it for several thousand years and there is no way to know when the first person noticed this planet.

Perhaps a better question to ask is when did we realize that Jupiter is a planet? In ancient times, astronomers thought that the Earth was the center of the Universe. It was a geocentric model of the world. The sun, moon, planets and even stars all revolved around the earth. But there was one thing that was difficult to explain: the strange movement of the planets. They would move in one direction and then stop and move backward, called retrograde motion. Astronomers created increasingly complex models to explain these strange movements.

Copernicus and the heliocentric model of the world

In the 1500s, Nicolaus Copernicus developed his heliocentric model of the solar system, where the Sun became the center and the planets, including the Earth, revolved around it. This beautifully explained the strange movements of the planets in the sky.

The first person to actually see Jupiter was Galileo, and he did it using the first telescope in history. Even with his imperfect telescope, he was able to see the streaks on the planet and the 4 large Galilean moons that were named after him.

Subsequently, using large telescopes, astronomers were able to see more detailed information about Jupiter's clouds and learn more about its moons. But scientists really studied it with the beginning of the space age. NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft was the first probe to fly past Jupiter in 1973. It passed at a distance of 34,000 km from the clouds.

Weight

Its mass is 1.9 x 10*27 kg. It's difficult to fully understand how big a number this is. The mass of the planet is 318 times the mass of the Earth. It is 2.5 times more massive than all the other planets in our solar system combined.

The mass of the planet is not sufficient for sustainable nuclear fusion. Thermonuclear fusion requires high temperatures and intense gravitational compression. A large amount of hydrogen exists on the planet, but the planet is too cold and not massive enough for a sustained fusion reaction. Scientists estimate that it needs 80 times more mass to ignite fusion.

Characteristic

The volume of the planet is 1.43128 10*15 km3. That's enough to fit 1,321 Earth-sized objects inside the planet, with some room left over.

The surface area is 6.21796 times 10*10 to 2. And just for comparison, that's 122 times the surface area of ​​the Earth.

Surface

Photograph of Jupiter taken in the infrared range by the VLT telescope

If a spaceship descended under the clouds of the planet, it would see a cloud layer consisting of ammonia crystals, with impurities of ammonium hydrosulfide. These clouds are in the tropopause and are divided by color into zones and dark belts. In the atmosphere of the giant, winds rage at speeds of over 360 km/h. The entire atmosphere is constantly bombarded by excited particles of the magnetosphere and matter erupted by volcanoes on the moon Io. Lightning is observed in the atmosphere. Just a few kilometers below the planet's surface, any spacecraft will be crushed by monstrous pressure.

The cloud layer extends 50 km deep, and contains a thin layer of water clouds under a layer of ammonia. This assumption is based on lightning flashes. Lightning is caused by the different polarities of water, which allows the creation of static electricity necessary for lightning to form. Lightning can be a thousand times more powerful than our Earthly ones.

Age of the planet

The exact age of the planet is difficult to determine, because we do not know exactly how Jupiter was formed. We do not have rock samples for chemical analysis, or rather, we don’t have them at all, because... The planet consists entirely of gases. When did the planet originate? There is an opinion among scientists that Jupiter, like all planets, was formed in the solar nebula about 4.6 billion years ago.

The theory states that the Big Bang occurred about 13.7 billion years ago. Scientists believe that our solar system was formed when a cloud of gas and dust in space was created by a supernova explosion. After the supernova explosion, a wave was formed in space, which created pressure in clouds of gas and dust. The compression caused the cloud to shrink, and the more it compressed, the more gravity accelerated this process. The cloud began to swirl, with a hotter, denser core growing at its center.

How it was formed

Mosaic consisting of 27 pictures

As a result of accretion, particles began to stick together and form clumps. Some clumps were larger than others because less massive particles stuck to them, forming planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. By studying meteorites left over from the early stages of the solar system, scientists discovered that they are about 4.6 billion years old.

It is believed that the gas giants were the first to form and had the opportunity to acquire large amounts of hydrogen and helium. These gases existed in the solar nebula for the first few million years before being absorbed. This means that gas giants may be slightly older than Earth. So how many billions of years ago Jupiter arose remains to be determined.

Color

Many images of Jupiter show that it reflects many shades of white, red, orange, brown and yellow. Jupiter's color changes with storms and winds in the planet's atmosphere.

The color of the planet is very varied, it is created by various chemicals reflecting the light of the Sun. Most atmospheric clouds consist of ammonia crystals, with admixtures of water ice and ammonium hydrosulfide. Powerful storms on the planet are formed due to convection in the atmosphere. This allows storms to lift up substances such as phosphorus, sulfur and hydrocarbons from deep layers, resulting in the white, brown and red patches we see in the atmosphere.

Scientists use the color of the planet to understand how the atmosphere works. Future missions, such as Juno, plan to bring deeper understanding of the processes in the gaseous envelope of the giant. Future missions are also looking to study how Io's volcanoes interact with Europa's water ice.

Radiation

Cosmic radiation is one of the biggest challenges for exploration probes exploring many planets. To this day, Jupiter is the biggest threat to any ship within 300,000 km of the planet.

Jupiter is surrounded by intense radiation belts that will easily destroy all onboard electronics if the ship is not properly protected. Electrons, accelerated almost to the speed of light, surround him on all sides. The Earth has similar radiation belts called Van Allen belts.

The giant's magnetic field is 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. The Galileo spacecraft measured radio wave activity inside Jupiter's magnetosphere for eight years. According to him, short radio waves may be responsible for the excitation of electrons in radiation belts. The planet's short-wave radio emission results from the interaction of volcanoes on the moon Io, combined with the planet's rapid rotation. Volcanic gases are ionized and leave the satellite under the influence of centrifugal force. This material forms an internal stream of particles that excite radio waves in the planet's magnetosphere.

1. The planet is very massive

Jupiter's mass is 318 times that of Earth. And it is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets in the solar system combined.

2. Jupiter will never become a star

Astronomers call Jupiter a failed star, but this is not entirely appropriate. It's like your house is a failed skyscraper. Stars generate their energy by fusing hydrogen atoms. Their enormous pressure at the center creates high temperatures and the hydrogen atoms fuse together to create helium, releasing heat in the process. Jupiter would need to increase its current mass by more than 80 times to ignite nuclear fusion.

3. Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet in the solar system

Despite all its size and mass, it rotates very quickly. It only takes about 10 hours for the planet to complete a revolution on its axis. Because of this, its shape is slightly convex at the equator.

The radius of the planet Jupiter at the equator of more than 4600 km is further from the center than at the poles. This fast rotation also helps generate a powerful magnetic field.

4. The clouds on Jupiter are only 50 km thick.

All these beautiful clouds and storms that you see on Jupiter are only about 50 km thick. They are made of ammonia crystals divided into two levels. The darker ones are thought to be composed of compounds that rose from deeper layers and then changed color to the Sun. Beneath these clouds lies an ocean of hydrogen and helium, all the way down to a layer of metallic hydrogen.

Big red spot. Composite RBG+IR and UV image. Amateur editing by Mike Malaska.

The Great Red Spot is one of the planet's most famous features. And it seems to have been around for 350-400 years. It was first identified by Giovanni Cassini, who noted it back in 1665. A hundred years ago, the Great Red Spot was 40,000 km across, but it has now shrunk by half.

6. The planet has rings

The rings around Jupiter were the third rings discovered in the solar system, after those discovered around Saturn (of course) and Uranus.

Image of Jupiter's ring photographed by the New Horizons probe

Jupiter's rings are faint, and likely consist of material ejected from its moons when they collided with meteorites and comets.

7. Jupiter's magnetic field is 14 times stronger than Earth's

Astronomers believe the magnetic field is created by the movement of metallic hydrogen deep within the planet. This magnetic field traps ionized solar wind particles and accelerates them to almost the speed of light. These particles create dangerous radiation belts around Jupiter that can damage spacecraft.

8. Jupiter has 67 moons

As of 2014, Jupiter has a total of 67 moons. Almost all of them are less than 10 kilometers in diameter and were discovered only after 1975, when the first spacecraft arrived at the planet.

One of its moons, Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System and measures 5,262 km across.

9. Jupiter has been visited by 7 different spacecraft from Earth

Images of Jupiter taken by six spacecraft (there is no photo from Willis, due to the fact that there were no cameras)

Jupiter was first visited by NASA's Pioneer 10 probe in December 1973, followed by Pioneer 11 in December 1974. After the Voyager 1 and 2 probes in 1979. A long hiatus followed until the Ulysses spacecraft arrived in February 1992. Afterwards, the Cassini interplanetary station made a flyby in 2000, on its way to Saturn. And finally, the New Horizons probe flew past the giant in 2007. The next visit is scheduled for 2016, the planet will be explored by the Juno spacecraft.

Gallery of drawings dedicated to Voyager's voyage

10. You can see Jupiter with your own eyes

Jupiter is the third brightest object in Earth's night sky, after Venus and the Moon. Chances are you've seen a gas giant in the sky but had no idea it was Jupiter. Keep in mind that if you see a very bright star high in the sky, it is most likely Jupiter. Essentially, these facts about Jupiter are for children, but for most of us, who have completely forgotten our school astronomy course, this information about the planet will be very useful.

Journey to the planet Jupiter popular science film

Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system and belongs to the group of gas giants. It got its name from the Roman god Jupiter, whose analogue in Greek mythology is Zeus. The article provides information about the parameters of the Solar system, the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun and other characteristics of this giant.

Before considering the question of how long the sidereal period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun is, let us characterize the system in which this gas giant is located.

The solar system is a collection of the main star and 8 planets that revolve around this star. This system is located in one of the arms of the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of 33,000 light years from its center. In addition to planets, the Solar System also includes small dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, meteorites and other small cosmic bodies.

According to one common hypothesis, the cosmic system in question formed from a giant cloud of gas and dust approximately 4.7 billion years ago due to processes of fragmentation and collapse.

Planets of the Solar System

Until August 24, 2006, it was believed that there were 9 planets in the solar system, but after the introduction of a special class of “dwarf planets” by the International Astronomical Union, Pluto became one of them and the number of planets was reduced to 8.

Planets are round cosmic bodies that revolve around the Sun star in elliptical orbits and around their own axis. The distance from a planet to a star is called the radius of its orbit, and since the orbit has an elliptical shape, there are two such radii: large and small. As a rule, the distance to each subsequent planet from the Sun is 2 times greater than to the previous one. All planets of the solar system, with the exception of Mercury and Venus, have satellites, that is, cosmic bodies revolving around them. The most famous of these satellites is the Moon.

The planets closest to the Sun are called internal, there are 4 of them (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars). All these planets are characterized by their small size, high density of the matter that forms them (solid body), low speed of rotation around their own axis, and the presence of a small number of natural satellites. Planets located on the periphery of the solar system are called giants. These are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are characterized by low density of matter (gas), rapid rotation around an axis and a large number of satellites. In addition, the period of revolution around the Sun of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and other giants is much longer than the period of the inner planets.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the system under consideration, and Mercury is the smallest. Venus is close in size and mass to the Earth, and Mars has 2 times less mass than the Earth.

In addition to the described planets and their satellites, there are many asteroids and comets in the Solar System. A large number of asteroids rotate between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (asteroid belt).

What is the planet Jupiter?

Jupiter is the brightest planet in our sky. In addition, in size it ranks second after the Sun itself. If you add up all the masses of the planets of the solar system, then the mass of Jupiter will be almost 2 times greater. The mass of this giant is 318 times greater than that of Earth, and its volume is 1317 times the size of our planet. Some scientists believe that Jupiter is older than the Sun itself.

Jupiter is composed primarily of helium and hydrogen, which are in gaseous form. Among its main atmospheric features are the great red spot (a huge anticyclone located in the tropical zone of the planet), the structure of its clouds, which look like dark and light ribbons, as well as the high dynamics of its atmosphere, in which winds blow at speeds of up to 500 km/ h.

Jupiter rotates on its axis faster than 10 hours, which is a record value for the solar system. Before talking about the period of Jupiter’s revolution around the Sun in Earth days, it should be noted that the average radius of its orbit is 778 million km, which is approximately equal to 5 distances from our star to our planet.

Theories of the formation of Jupiter

There are two theories for the formation of this giant planet:

1. The planet was formed from an icy Earth like 10 planets, which gradually collected gas around itself from outer space.
2. The planet formed due to gravitational collapse, which is similar to that during the formation of stars.

Both theories have a right to exist, but it is impossible to explain some facts about Jupiter. For example, why the planet is so large is as unclear as it is impossible to explain the saturation of the atmosphere of this giant with noble gases. Studying the internal structure of the planet should clarify these and other questions.

Jupiter's orbital period around the Sun

As mentioned above, Jupiter is located at a distance of 5.2 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, that is, 5.2 times further than the Earth. According to measured data, the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun is 12 years, during which time the Earth manages to make almost 12 revolutions around the Sun. A more accurate value for Jupiter's period is 11.86 Earth years.

It was noted above that the shape of the orbit of any planet in the Solar System is an ellipse, but for Jupiter it is almost circular. This can be proven in a simple way. The average orbital radius of this giant is R = 778412026 km. If we find the circumference of the planet’s orbit (2*pi*R, where pi = 3.14) and divide it by the average speed of the giant’s movement in its orbit v = 13.0697 km/s, then we can get the value of Jupiter’s orbital period equal to 11, 86, which exactly coincides with the experimentally measured value.

To be fair, we note that during its orbital rotation, Jupiter approaches the star at a minimum distance of 4.95 AU, and moves away at a maximum distance of 5.46 AU, which means that the shape of its orbit differs from an ideal circle by approximately 4.8%.

If we express the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun in Earth days, then this number will be 11 years 315 days and 1.1 hours or 4334 days, taking into account leap years.

The peculiarity of the rotation of the giant planet in its orbit

Expanding the question of what is the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun in days, we should talk about one interesting fact. We are used to thinking that Jupiter, like the other planets, revolves around our star, but this is not entirely true. This is due to the mass of the gas giant, which is only 1000 times less than the mass of the Sun. For comparison, we note that the mass of our blue planet is 330 thousand times less than the mass of the Sun, and the second largest planet in the Solar System is 3500 times less than the Sun.

At the same time, it is known from physics that two bodies that rotate around each other actually rotate around a common center of gravity or barycenter. If one of these two bodies has a much greater mass than the second body, then the barycenter practically coincides with the center of mass of the first massive body. The latter situation is observed if we consider the rotation of any planet around the Sun.

If we are talking about the rotation of Jupiter, then in reality, due to the influence of the strong gravity of this giant, our star also rotates in a small orbit, the radius of which is 1.068 times the radius of the Sun. The described phenomenon is shown below in the figure, where the word Jupiter denotes Jupiter.

Where can you see Jupiter in the sky?

Since Jupiter is further from the Sun than our planet, and the period of Jupiter’s revolution around the Sun is much longer than this value for the Earth, the giant can be seen at any point on the ecliptic, and it can also be eclipsed by the Sun. Note that the planets Venus and Mercury are closer to our star than the Earth, so they can only be seen in the direction of the Sun.

Jupiter is the second brightest planet (Venus is the first) that can be seen in the sky with the naked eye. The planet has a white-yellow color. With the help of a telescope, the atmosphere and satellites of this giant are visible.

The science of astrology, which is based on the existence of a correlation between celestial and terrestrial events, is closely related to astronomical parameters and the movement of bodies in the solar system. Currently, there are two main types of astrology: Western (popular in Europe and America) and Eastern (China, India).

In Western astrology, there are 12 constellations that form the zodiac circle, which the Sun, as seen from Earth, passes through during the 1st Earth year. The line along which our star makes its annual movement is called the ecliptic. All constellations of the zodiac, when viewed from the Earth, form a strip 30 o wide, in the middle of this strip there is an ecliptic line.

In astrology, it is believed that when the Sun is located near a certain zodiac constellation, people born at that time will have certain qualities. But these qualities are determined not only by the time of year when a person was born, but also by the position of the planets in the solar system.

Jupiter in astrology

In astrology, this planet represents a person's communication skills. It is associated with travel, philosophy and religious beliefs. In accordance with the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun, the planet needs almost 1 Earth year to go through the entire zodiac circle. Jupiter is considered the patron planet for the zodiac signs Sagittarius and Pisces.

Jupiter is the fifth planet in distance from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. Just like Uranus, Neptune and Saturn, Jupiter is a gas giant. Humanity has known about him for a long time. Quite often there are references to Jupiter in religious beliefs and mythology. In modern times, the planet received its name in honor of the ancient Roman god.

The scale of atmospheric phenomena on Jupiter is much greater than those on Earth. The most remarkable formation on the planet is considered to be the Great Red Spot, which is a giant storm known to us since the 17th century.

The approximate number of satellites is 67, of which the largest are: Europa, Io, Callisto and Ganymede. They were first discovered by G. Galileo in 1610.

All studies of the planet are carried out using orbital and ground-based telescopes. Since the 70s, 8 NASA probes have been sent to Jupiter. During the great oppositions, the planet was visible to the naked eye. Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the sky after Venus and the Moon. And the satellites and the disk itself are considered the most popular for observers.

Observations of Jupiter

Optical range

If you consider an object in the infrared region of the spectrum, you can pay attention to the He and H2 molecules, and the lines of other elements become noticeable in the same way. The quantity H speaks about the origin of the planet, and internal evolution can be learned thanks to the qualitative and quantitative composition of other elements. But helium and hydrogen molecules do not have a dipole moment, which means that their absorption lines are not visible until they are absorbed by impact ionization. Also, these lines appear in the upper layers of the atmosphere, from where they are not able to carry data about deeper layers. Based on this, the most reliable information about the amount of hydrogen and helium on Jupiter can be obtained using the Galileo apparatus.

Regarding the remaining elements, their analysis and interpretation are very difficult. It is impossible to say with complete certainty about the processes taking place in the planet’s atmosphere. The chemical composition is also a big question. But, according to most astronomers, all processes that can affect the elements are local and limited. From this it turns out that they do not cause any special changes in the distribution of substances.

Jupiter emits 60% more energy than it consumes from the Sun. These processes affect the size of the planet. Jupiter decreases by 2 cm per year. P. Bodenheimer in 1974 put forward the opinion that at the time of its formation the planet was 2 times larger than it is now, and the temperature was much higher.

Gamma range

The study of the planet in the gamma-ray range concerns the aurora and the study of the disk. The Einstein Space Laboratory recorded this in 1979. From Earth, the aurora regions in ultraviolet and X-rays coincide, but this does not apply to Jupiter. Earlier observations established a pulsation of radiation with a periodicity of 40 minutes, but later observations showed this dependence much worse.

Astronomers had hoped that using the X-ray spectrum, the auroral lights on Jupiter would be similar to those of comets, but observations from Chandra refuted this hope.

According to the XMM-Newton space observatory, it turns out that the disk's gamma-ray emission is solar X-ray reflection of radiation. Compared to the aurora, there is no periodicity in the intensity of the radiation.

Radio surveillance

Jupiter is one of the most powerful radio sources in the Solar System in the meter-decimeter range. Radio emission is sporadic. Such bursts occur in the range from 5 to 43 MHz, with an average width of 1 MHz. The duration of the burst is very short - 0.1-1 seconds. The radiation is polarized, and in a circle it can reach 100%.

The radio emission of the planet in the short-centimeter-millimeter range is purely thermal in nature, although, in contrast to the equilibrium temperature, the brightness is much higher. This feature indicates the flow of heat from the depths of Jupiter.

Gravitational potential calculations

Analysis of spacecraft trajectories and observations of the movements of natural satellites show the gravitational field of Jupiter. It has strong differences in comparison with the spherically symmetrical one. As a rule, the gravitational potential is presented in expanded form using Legendre polynomials.

The Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Galileo, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Cassini spacecraft used several measurements to calculate the gravitational potential: 1) transmitted images to determine their location; 2) Doppler effect; 3) radio interferometry. Some of them had to take into account the gravitational presence of the Great Red Spot when making measurements.

In addition, when processing the data, it is necessary to postulate the theory of motion of Galileo’s satellites orbiting around the center of the planet. Taking into account acceleration, which is non-gravitational in nature, is considered a huge problem for accurate calculations.

Jupiter in the Solar System

The equatorial radius of this gas giant is 71.4 thousand km, thereby 11.2 times greater than Earth’s. Jupiter is the only planet of its kind whose center of mass with the Sun is located outside the Sun.

The mass of Jupiter exceeds the total weight of all planets by 2.47 times, the Earth - by 317.8 times. But it is 1000 times less than the mass of the Sun. The density is very similar to the Sun and 4.16 times less than that of our planet. But the force of gravity is 2.4 times greater than that of Earth.

Planet Jupiter as a “failed star”

Some studies of theoretical models have shown that if Jupiter's mass were slightly greater than it actually is, the planet would begin to shrink. Although small changes would not particularly affect the radius of the planet, provided that if the actual mass were quadrupled, the planetary density increased so much that the process of shrinking in size began due to the action of strong gravity.

Based on this study, Jupiter has the maximum diameter for a planet with a similar history and structure. Further increases in mass resulted in continued contraction until Jupiter, through star formation, became a brown dwarf with 50 times its current mass. Astronomers believe that Jupiter is a “failed star,” although it is still unclear whether there are similarities between the formation process of the planet Jupiter and those planets that form binary star systems. Early evidence suggests that Jupiter would have to be 75 times more massive to become a star, but the smallest known red dwarf is only 30% larger in diameter.

Rotation and orbit of Jupiter

Jupiter from Earth has an apparent magnitude of 2.94m, making the planet the third brightest object visible to the naked eye after Venus and the Moon. At its maximum distance from us, the apparent size of the planet is 1.61m. The minimum distance from Earth to Jupiter is 588 million kilometers, and the maximum is 967 million kilometers.

Opposition between planets occurs every 13 months. It should be noted that once every 12 years the great opposition of Jupiter takes place; at the moment the planet is near the perihelion of its own orbit, while the angular size of the object from Earth is 50 arcseconds.

Jupiter is 778.5 million kilometers away from the Sun, while the planet makes a full revolution around the Sun in 11.8 Earth years. The greatest disturbance to the movement of Jupiter in its own orbit is made by Saturn. There are two types of compensation:

Age-old – it has been in effect for 70 thousand years. At the same time, the eccentricity of the planet’s orbit changes.

Resonant - manifests itself due to the proximity ratio of 2:5.

A peculiarity of the planet is that it has a great proximity between the orbital plane and the plane of the planet. On the planet Jupiter there is no change of seasons, due to the fact that the planet’s rotation axis is tilted 3.13°; for comparison, we can add that the Earth’s axis tilt is 23.45°.

The planet's rotation around its axis is the fastest among all the planets that are part of the Solar System. Thus, in the region of the equator, Jupiter rotates around its axis in 9 hours 50 minutes and 30 seconds, and in the middle latitudes this revolution takes 5 minutes and 10 longer. Due to this rotation, the radius of the planet at the equator is 6.5% greater than at middle latitudes.

Theories about the existence of life on Jupiter

A huge amount of research over time suggests that the conditions of Jupiter are not conducive to the origin of life. First of all, this is explained by the low water content in the planet’s atmosphere and the absence of a solid base of the planet. It should be noted that in the 70s of the last century, a theory was put forward that in the upper layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere there could be living organisms that live on ammonia. In support of this hypothesis, it can be said that the planet’s atmosphere, even at shallow depths, has a high temperature and high density, and this contributes to chemical evolutionary processes. This theory was put forward by Carl Sagan, after which, together with E.E. Salpeter, scientists performed a series of calculations that made it possible to derive three proposed forms of life on the planet:

• Floaters were supposed to act as huge organisms, the size of a large city on Earth. They are similar to a balloon in that they pump out helium from the atmosphere and leave behind hydrogen. They live in the upper layers of the atmosphere and produce molecules for nutrition on their own.
• Sinkers are microorganisms that are capable of multiplying very quickly, which allows the species to survive.
• Hunters are predators that feed on floaters.

But these are only hypotheses that are not confirmed by scientific facts.

Planet structure

Modern technologies do not yet allow scientists to accurately determine the chemical composition of the planet, but still the upper layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere have been studied with high accuracy. The study of the atmosphere became possible only through the descent of a spacecraft called Galileo, which entered the planet’s atmosphere in December 1995. This made it possible to accurately say that the atmosphere consists of helium and hydrogen; in addition to these elements, methane, ammonia, water, phosphine and hydrogen sulfide were discovered. It is assumed that the deeper sphere of the atmosphere, namely the troposphere, consists of sulfur, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen.

Inert gases such as xenon, argon and krypton are also present, and their concentration is greater than in the Sun. The possibility of the existence of water, dioxide and carbon monoxide is possible in the upper layers of the planet's atmosphere due to collisions with comets, as an example given by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.

The reddish color of the planet is explained by the presence of compounds of red phosphorus, carbon and sulfur, or even due to organic matter that originated from exposure to electrical discharges. It should be noted that the color of the atmosphere is not uniform, which suggests that different areas consist of different chemical components.

Structure of Jupiter

It is generally accepted that the internal structure of the planet under the clouds consists of a layer of helium and hydrogen 21 thousand kilometers thick. Here the substance has a smooth transition in its structure from a gaseous state to a liquid state, after which there is a layer of metallic hydrogen with a thickness of 50 thousand kilometers. The middle part of the planet is occupied by a solid core with a radius of 10 thousand kilometers.

The most recognized model of the structure of Jupiter:

1. Atmosphere:
2. Outer hydrogen layer.

The middle layer is represented by helium (10%) and hydrogen (90%).

• The lower part consists of a mixture of helium, hydrogen, ammonium and water. This layer is further divided into three:

  • The top one is ammonia in solid form, which has a temperature of −145 °C with a pressure of 1 atm.
  • In the middle is ammonium hydrogen sulfate in a crystallized state.
  • The bottom position is occupied by water in the solid state and possibly even in the liquid state. The temperature is about 130 °C and the pressure is 1 atm.

1. A layer consisting of hydrogen in a metallic state. Temperatures can vary from 6.3 thousand to 21 thousand Kelvin. At the same time, the pressure is also variable - from 200 to 4 thousand GPa.
2. Stone core.

The creation of this model was made possible through the analysis of observations and research, taking into account the laws of extrapolation and thermodynamics. It should be noted that this structure does not have clear boundaries and transitions between neighboring layers, and this in turn suggests that each layer is completely localized, and they can be studied separately.

Atmosphere of Jupiter

Temperature growth rates across the planet are not monotonic. In the atmosphere of Jupiter, as well as in the atmosphere of the Earth, several layers can be distinguished. The upper layers of the atmosphere have the highest temperatures, and moving towards the surface of the planet, these indicators decrease significantly, but in turn the pressure increases.

The thermosphere of the planet loses most of the heat of the planet itself, and the so-called aurora is also formed here. The upper limit of the thermosphere is considered to be a pressure mark of 1 nbar. During the study, data were obtained on the temperature in this layer; it reaches 1000 K. Scientists have not yet been able to explain why the temperature here is so high.

Data from the Galileo spacecraft showed that the temperature of the upper clouds is −107 °C at a pressure of 1 atmosphere, and when descending to a depth of 146 kilometers, the temperature increases to +153 °C and a pressure of 22 atmospheres.

The future of Jupiter and its moons

Everyone knows that eventually the Sun, like any other star, will exhaust its entire supply of thermonuclear fuel, while its luminosity will increase by 11% every billion years. Due to this, the usual habitable zone will shift significantly beyond the orbit of our planet until it reaches the surface of Jupiter. This will allow all the water on Jupiter’s satellites to melt, which will begin the emergence of living organisms on the planet. It is known that in 7.5 billion years the Sun as a star will turn into a red giant, due to this Jupiter will acquire a new status and become a hot Jupiter. In this case, the surface temperature of the planet will be about 1000 K, and this will lead to the glow of the planet. In this case, the satellites will look like lifeless deserts.

Moons of Jupiter

Modern data says that Jupiter has 67 natural satellites. According to scientists, we can conclude that there may be more than a hundred such objects around Jupiter. The planet's moons are named mainly after mythical characters who are in some way related to Zeus. All satellites are divided into two groups: external and internal. Only 8 satellites are internal, including the Galilean ones.

The first satellites of Jupiter were discovered back in 1610 by the famous scientist Galileo Galilei: Europa, Ganymede, Io and Callisto. This discovery confirmed the correctness of Copernicus and his heliocentric system.

The second half of the 20th century was marked by active study of space objects, among which Jupiter deserves special attention. This planet has been studied using powerful ground-based telescopes and radio telescopes, but the greatest advances in this field have been achieved through the use of the Hubble Telescope and the launch of a large number of probes to Jupiter. Research is actively continuing at the moment, since Jupiter still holds many secrets and mysteries.