- What is Jupiter?
- Jupiter characteristics
- Jupiter structure
- Atmosphere of Jupiter
- Jupiter satellites
- Jupiter space exploration
We explain everything about the planet Jupiter, its structure, atmosphere, satellites and other characteristics. Also, how it was explored.
What is Jupiter?
Jupiter is the planet larger than the Solar system, located in fifth place with respect to Sun, about 750 million kilometers. It is made up of gasesmostly hydrogen and helium. It integrates the group of "outer planets" which are those that are passing the asteroid belt, With Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
It is the oldest planet in the Solar System, even older than the Sun. Its name comes from Zeus (from the Greek mythology), which represented the king of the gods, god of the sky and of thunder. In Roman mythology, Jupiter had the same qualities as Zeus, so he was renamed.
In 1979 the Voyager probe discovered that Jupiter has some rings that are almost imperceptible (apparently they are formed by a dark dust resulting from the collision between moons).
In addition, the presence of 79 moons that coexist with asteroids called “Trojan asteroids” that follow the orbit of Jupiter due to the gravitational field of the planet.
Jupiter characteristics
Due to its gaseous composition, Jupiter does not have a solid surface, although it could have an inner core made up of rocky materials in the form of ice due to the extreme low temperatures. It has a diameter of 142,800 kilometers (eleven times greater than that of the Earth) and one density 1.33 grams per cubic centimeter. After the Sun, it is the largest celestial body in the Solar System.
Jupiter has the shortest day of all the planets, it takes 10 Earth hours to make the movement of rotation, and almost 12 years in giving a translation movement. Its axis has just an inclination of 3º with respect to its orbital path around the Sun. This lack of inclination (unlike the Earth's axis) means that such different seasonal changes are not generated between the hemispheres.
Jupiter structure
Jupiter is made up of two of the elements lighter and more abundant universe (hydrogen and helium gases), which make it more like a star than to a planet. It has a structure made up of cloud bands running parallel to each other, generating winds of up to 500 kilometers per hour and strong storms.
Jupiter's great red spot is the planet's most conspicuous feature, consisting of a complex oval-shaped storm (twice the size of Earth) moving counterclockwise and active for more than a century. Other higher clouds would be formed by crystals of frozen ammonia.
Deep on the planet, the Pressure is so big that atoms hydrogen break down releasing their electrons (that surrounded the nucleus of each atom) and the protons (which are part of the nucleus of each atom).
From the new state that hydrogen acquires, the name "metallic hydrogen" arises, whose main characteristic is that it functions as a electrical conductor, just like liquid materials do. Along with the contraction of the force of gravity, a source is generated that releases Energy.
If Jupiter were 100 times larger, it would reach a mass capable of nuclear reactions like those of the Sun. Therefore, some scientists assume that Jupiter is an old sun that has gone out.
Atmosphere of Jupiter
The atmosphere Jupiter is very deep, so deep that it envelops the entire planet from the inside to the outside. It is composed of gases such as hydrogen (87%), helium (13%) and, to a lesser extent, methane, water steam and other compounds.
It is very turbulent, cold, and contains various types of clouds. Its density suggests that the interior of the planet must have the same composition as the atmosphere.
Jupiter satellites
Jupiter has 79 recognized natural satellites, which are divided into two groups:
- The Galilean satellites. They are the four main ones that were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 and were named according to Greek mythology as Io and Europe, the closest to the planet, dense and rocky, and Ganymede and Callisto, the most distant, composed of ice and with a density less.
- The minor satellites. They are the remaining 75 that were discovered through the different space probes sent to Jupiter and are divided, in turn, into two groups:
- Amalthea satellites. They are 4 small moons that rotate in internal orbits together with the Galilean satellites.
- Irregular satellites. There are numerous moons that orbit so far from the planet that, even the force of gravity of the Sun, distorts the path of their orbits.
In 1610, when Galileo Galilei discovered the first moons of Jupiter through his telescope (the new invention of the time), verified the existence of celestial bodies very far from the Earth and that they were kept in different orbits from the planet.
This discovery ended the old and wrong belief of the time, that all the celestial bodies of the Milky Way, including the Sun, revolved around the Earth (instead of all the celestial bodies revolving around the star bright).
Jupiter space exploration
There are no rockets powerful enough to launch a spacecraft into the outer Solar System and beyond. However, in 1962 scientists calculated how to use Jupiter's intense gravity to their advantage and thus launch ships from planet Earth that would continue their journey to regions very far away.
Since then, space probes have traveled further than imagined. Ten spacecraft have visited Jupiter over the years: seven of them flew closely over the planet, two others stayed in its orbit for a time.
The most recent, Juno, came closest to the surface of Jupiter in 2016. It was the first that allowed a study to be carried out on the interior of the planet that is covered in clouds.
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to fly near Jupiter and NASA's Galileo mission was the first to orbit this planet, providing information over the atmosphere and stormy clouds. In turn, the Cassini and New Horizons missions allowed Jupiter to be studied as they advanced towards their main targets: Saturn (Cassini) and Pluto (New Horizons).
Jupiter is a gaseous planet and does not have a tangible surface, but consists of eddies of gases and liquids. For this reason, space probes do not have a ground where they can land and just by flying very close to the surface of the planet they can be ruined, melted or disappear, due to the high pressures and temperatures that Jupiter emanates.
Two new missions are currently in the works for even more direct surveys of Jupiter's moons: NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUICE (JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer).