Jupiter data. planetary ring system

The story about Jupiter for children contains information about the temperature on Jupiter, about its satellites and features. You can supplement the message about Jupiter with interesting facts.

Brief information about Jupiter

Jupiter is the most big planet solar system. One Jupiter weighs two and a half times more than all the other planets combined. It takes about 2 years to fly to Jupiter. The name of the planet comes from the name of the supreme thunder god ancient rome.

There is also the Great Red Spot. People have been watching this spot for over 300 years. During this time, it has changed its size and brightness more than once, sometimes disappearing for a while. Scientists believe that this is a giant atmospheric vortex.

Jupiter's atmosphere contains long layers of clouds that make Jupiter appear banded. The ring of this planet, unlike the ring of Saturn, is narrow and not so noticeable.

This planet belongs to the gas giants, that is, only the inner core can be dense in it. There are no continents there, because there is no surface as such, according to the reports of scientists it is gas and is boiling ocean of liquid hydrogen. The pressure on Jupiter is so high that hydrogen becomes liquid there. And since this planet also has a very high temperature, the same as on the surface of the Sun: +6000 degrees Celsius (and the core is even hotter), life cannot exist there.

The atmosphere contains mainly hydrogen and helium, other gases: nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia are present in small quantities.

Surprisingly, in the clouds of the atmosphere the temperature is negative - -130 degrees Celsius.

The diameter of Jupiter is about 140 thousand km. The mass of Jupiter exceeds 317.8 times the mass of the Earth.

A year on Jupiter lasts 12 Earth years. This is how long it takes for Jupiter to make a complete revolution around the Sun. But it turns around its axis in less than 10 hours. The average distance of Jupiter from the sun is 778 million km.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the solar system. Along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, Jupiter is classified as a gas giant.

The planet has been known to people since ancient times, which is reflected in the mythology and religious beliefs of various cultures: Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Greek and others. Modern name Jupiter comes from the name of the ancient Roman supreme god of thunder.

A number of atmospheric phenomena on Jupiter - such as storms, lightning, auroras - have scales that are orders of magnitude greater than those on Earth. A notable formation in the atmosphere is the Great Red Spot - a giant storm known since the 17th century.

Jupiter has at least 67 moons, the largest of which - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610.

Jupiter is being studied with the help of ground-based and orbiting telescopes; Since the 1970s, 8 NASA interplanetary vehicles have been sent to the planet: Pioneers, Voyagers, Galileo and others.

During the great oppositions (one of which took place in September 2010), Jupiter is visible naked eye as one of the brightest objects in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. Jupiter's disk and moons are popular objects of observation for amateur astronomers who have made a number of discoveries (for example, the Shoemaker-Levy comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994, or the disappearance of Jupiter's southern equatorial belt in 2010).

Optical range

In the infrared region of the spectrum lie the lines of the H2 and He molecules, as well as the lines of many other elements. The number of the first two carries information about the origin of the planet, and the quantitative and qualitative composition of the rest - about its internal evolution.

However, hydrogen and helium molecules do not have a dipole moment, which means that the absorption lines of these elements are invisible until absorption due to impact ionization begins to dominate. This is on the one hand, on the other - these lines are formed in the uppermost layers of the atmosphere and do not carry information about the deeper layers. Therefore, the most reliable data on the abundance of helium and hydrogen on Jupiter were obtained from the Galileo lander.

As for the rest of the elements, there are also difficulties in their analysis and interpretation. So far, it is impossible to say with complete certainty what processes occur in the atmosphere of Jupiter and how much they affect the chemical composition - both in the inner regions and in the outer layers. This creates certain difficulties in a more detailed interpretation of the spectrum. However, it is believed that all processes capable of influencing the abundance of elements in one way or another are local and highly limited, so that they are not capable of globally changing the distribution of matter.

Jupiter also radiates (mainly in the infrared region of the spectrum) 60% more energy than it receives from the Sun. Due to the processes leading to the production of this energy, Jupiter decreases by about 2 cm per year.

Gamma range

The radiation of Jupiter in the gamma range is associated with the aurora, as well as with the radiation of the disk. First recorded in 1979 by the Einstein Space Laboratory.

On Earth, the aurora regions in the X-ray and ultraviolet practically coincide, however, on Jupiter this is not the case. The region of X-ray auroras is located much closer to the pole than ultraviolet. Early observations revealed a pulsation of radiation with a period of 40 minutes, however, in later observations, this dependence is much worse.

It was expected that the X-ray spectrum of auroral auroras on Jupiter is similar to the X-ray spectrum of comets, however, as observations on Chandra showed, this is not the case. The spectrum consists of emission lines peaking at oxygen lines near 650 eV, at OVIII lines at 653 eV and 774 eV, and at OVII at 561 eV and 666 eV. There are also emission lines at lower energies in the spectral region from 250 to 350 eV, possibly from sulfur or carbon.

Non-auroral gamma radiation was first detected in ROSAT observations in 1997. The spectrum is similar to the spectrum of auroras, however, in the region of 0.7-0.8 keV. The features of the spectrum are well described by the model of coronal plasma with a temperature of 0.4-0.5 keV with solar metallicity, with the addition of Mg10+ and Si12+ emission lines. The existence of the latter is possibly associated with solar activity in October-November 2003.

Observations by the XMM-Newton space observatory have shown that the disk radiation in the gamma spectrum is reflected solar X-ray radiation. In contrast to auroras, no periodicity in the change in the emission intensity on scales from 10 to 100 min was found.

radio surveillance

Jupiter is the most powerful (after the Sun) radio source in the solar system in the decimeter - meter wavelength ranges. The radio emission is sporadic and reaches 10-6 at the burst maximum.

Bursts occur in the frequency range from 5 to 43 MHz (most often around 18 MHz), with an average width of about 1 MHz. The duration of the burst is short: from 0.1-1 s (sometimes up to 15 s). The radiation is strongly polarized, especially in a circle, the degree of polarization reaches 100%. There is a modulation of radiation by Jupiter's close satellite Io, which rotates inside the magnetosphere: the burst is more likely to appear when Io is near elongation with respect to Jupiter. The monochromatic nature of the radiation indicates a selected frequency, most likely a gyrofrequency. The high brightness temperature (sometimes reaching 1015 K) requires the involvement of collective effects (such as masers).

Jupiter's radio emission in the millimeter-short-centimeter ranges is purely thermal in nature, although the brightness temperature is slightly higher than the equilibrium temperature, which suggests a heat flux from the depths. Starting from waves ~9 cm, Tb (brightness temperature) increases - a nonthermal component appears, associated with synchrotron radiation of relativistic particles with an average energy of ~30 MeV in Jupiter's magnetic field; at a wavelength of 70 cm, Tb reaches a value of ~5·104 K. The radiation source is located on both sides of the planet in the form of two extended blades, which indicates the magnetospheric origin of the radiation.

Jupiter among the planets of the solar system

The mass of Jupiter is 2.47 times the mass of the rest of the planets in the solar system.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, a gas giant. Its equatorial radius is 71.4 thousand km, which is 11.2 times the radius of the Earth.

Jupiter is the only planet whose center of mass with the Sun is outside the Sun and is about 7% of the solar radius away from it.

The mass of Jupiter is 2.47 times the total mass of all the other planets of the solar system combined, 317.8 times the mass of the Earth and about 1000 times less than the mass of the Sun. The density (1326 kg/m2) is approximately equal to the density of the Sun and is 4.16 times less than the density of the Earth (5515 kg/m2). At the same time, the force of gravity on its surface, which is usually taken as the upper layer of clouds, is more than 2.4 times greater than that of the earth: a body that has a mass, for example, 100 kg, will weigh the same as a body weighing 240 kg weighs on the surface Earth. This corresponds to the acceleration free fall 24.79 m/s2 on Jupiter versus 9.80 m/s2 for Earth.

Jupiter as a "failed star"

Comparative sizes of Jupiter and Earth.

Theoretical models show that if the mass of Jupiter were much larger than its actual mass, then this would lead to the compression of the planet. Small changes in mass would not entail any significant changes in radius. However, if the mass of Jupiter exceeded its real mass by four times, the density of the planet would increase to such an extent that, under the influence of increased gravity, the size of the planet would greatly decrease. Thus, apparently, Jupiter has the maximum diameter that a planet with a similar structure and history could have. With a further increase in mass, the contraction would continue until, in the process of star formation, Jupiter would become a brown dwarf with a mass exceeding its current one by about 50 times. This gives astronomers reason to consider Jupiter a "failed star," though it's not clear if the formation processes of planets like Jupiter are similar to those that lead to the formation of binary star systems. Although Jupiter would need to be 75 times as massive to become a star, the smallest known red dwarf is only 30% larger in diameter.

Orbit and rotation

When observed from Earth during opposition, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of -2.94m, making it the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. At the greatest distance, the apparent magnitude drops to? 1.61m. The distance between Jupiter and the Earth varies from 588 to 967 million km.

Jupiter's oppositions occur every 13 months. In 2010, the confrontation of the giant planet fell on September 21. Once every 12 years, the great opposition of Jupiter occurs when the planet is near the perihelion of its orbit. During this period of time, its angular size for an observer from the Earth reaches 50 arc seconds, and its brightness is brighter than -2.9m.

The average distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 778.57 million km (5.2 AU), and the period of revolution is 11.86 years. Since the eccentricity of Jupiter's orbit is 0.0488, the difference between the distance to the Sun at perihelion and aphelion is 76 million km.

Saturn makes the main contribution to the perturbations of Jupiter's motion. The first kind of perturbation is secular, acting on a scale of ~70 thousand years, changing the eccentricity of Jupiter's orbit from 0.2 to 0.06, and the inclination of the orbit from ~1° - 2°. The perturbation of the second kind is resonant with a ratio close to 2:5 (with an accuracy of 5 decimal places - 2:4.96666).

The equatorial plane of the planet is close to the plane of its orbit (the inclination of the axis of rotation is 3.13° versus 23.45° for the Earth), so there is no change of seasons on Jupiter.

Jupiter rotates on its axis faster than any other planet in the solar system. The period of rotation at the equator is 9 hours 50 minutes. 30 sec., and at middle latitudes - 9 h. 55 min. 40 sec. Due to the rapid rotation, the equatorial radius of Jupiter (71492 km) is greater than the polar one (66854 km) by 6.49%; thus, the compression of the planet is (1:51.4).

Hypotheses about the existence of life in the atmosphere of Jupiter

At present, the existence of life on Jupiter seems unlikely: the concentration of water in the atmosphere is low, the absence of a solid surface, etc. However, back in the 1970s, the American astronomer Carl Sagan spoke about the possibility of the existence of ammonia-based life in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. It should be noted that even at a shallow depth in the Jovian atmosphere, the temperature and density are quite high, and the possibility of at least chemical evolution cannot be ruled out, since the rate and probability of chemical reactions favor this. However, the existence of water-hydrocarbon life on Jupiter is also possible: in the atmospheric layer containing clouds of water vapor, temperature and pressure are also very favorable. Carl Sagan, together with E. E. Salpeter, having made calculations within the framework of the laws of chemistry and physics, described three imaginary life forms that can exist in the atmosphere of Jupiter:

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of Jupiter's inner layers cannot be determined by modern observational methods, but the abundance of elements in the outer layers of the atmosphere is known with relatively high accuracy, since the outer layers were directly studied by the Galileo lander, which was lowered into the atmosphere on December 7, 1995. The two main components of Jupiter's atmosphere are molecular hydrogen and helium. The atmosphere also contains many simple compounds such as water, methane (CH4), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3) and phosphine (PH3). Their abundance in the deep (below 10 bar) troposphere implies that Jupiter's atmosphere is rich in carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and possibly oxygen, by a factor of 2-4 relative to the Sun.

Other chemical compounds, arsine (AsH3) and german (GeH4) are present but in minor amounts.

The concentration of inert gases, argon, krypton and xenon, exceeds their amount on the Sun (see table), while the concentration of neon is clearly less. There is a small amount of simple hydrocarbons - ethane, acetylene and diacetylene - which are formed under the influence of solar ultraviolet radiation and charged particles arriving from Jupiter's magnetosphere. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water in the upper atmosphere are thought to be due to collisions with Jupiter's atmosphere from comets such as Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Water cannot come from the troposphere because the tropopause acts as a cold trap , effectively prevents the rise of water to the level of the stratosphere.

Jupiter's reddish color variations may be due to compounds of phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon in the atmosphere. Since the color can vary greatly, it is assumed that the chemical composition of the atmosphere also varies from place to place. For example, there are "dry" and "wet" areas with different water vapor content.

Structure

Model of the internal structure of Jupiter: under the clouds - a layer of a mixture of hydrogen and helium about 21 thousand km thick with a smooth transition from the gaseous to liquid phase, then - a layer of liquid and metallic hydrogen 30-50 thousand km deep. Inside there may be a solid core with a diameter of about 20 thousand km.

At the moment, the following model has received the most recognition internal structure Jupiter:

1. Atmosphere. It is divided into three layers:
a. an outer layer consisting of hydrogen;
b. middle layer consisting of hydrogen (90%) and helium (10%);
c. the lower layer, consisting of hydrogen, helium and impurities of ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfate and water, forming three layers of clouds:
a. above - clouds of frozen ammonia (NH3). Its temperature is about -145 °C, pressure is about 1 atm;
b. below - clouds of crystals of ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4HS);
c. at the very bottom - water ice and, possibly, liquid water, which is probably meant - in the form of tiny drops. The pressure in this layer is about 1 atm, the temperature is about -130 °C (143 K). Below this level, the planet is opaque.
2. Layer of metallic hydrogen. The temperature of this layer varies from 6300 to 21,000 K, and the pressure from 200 to 4000 GPa.
3. Stone core.

The construction of this model is based on the synthesis of observational data, the application of the laws of thermodynamics and the extrapolation of laboratory data on a substance under high pressure and at high temperature. The main assumptions underlying it are:

If we add to these provisions the laws of conservation of mass and energy, we get a system of basic equations.

Within the framework of this simple three-layer model, there is no clear boundary between the main layers, however, the regions of phase transitions are also small. Therefore, it can be assumed that almost all processes are localized, and this allows each layer to be considered separately.

Atmosphere

The temperature in the atmosphere does not increase monotonically. In it, as on Earth, one can distinguish the exosphere, thermosphere, stratosphere, tropopause, troposphere. In the uppermost layers the temperature is high; as you move deeper, the pressure increases, and the temperature drops to the tropopause; starting from the tropopause, both temperature and pressure increase as one goes deeper. Unlike the Earth, Jupiter does not have a mesosphere and a corresponding mesopause.

Quite a lot of interesting processes take place in Jupiter's thermosphere: it is here that the planet loses a significant part of its heat by radiation, it is here that aurorae are formed, it is here that the ionosphere is formed. The pressure level of 1 nbar is taken as its upper limit. The observed temperature of the thermosphere is 800-1000 K, and at the moment this factual material has not yet been explained within the framework of modern models, since the temperature in them should not be higher than about 400 K. The cooling of Jupiter is also a non-trivial process: a triatomic hydrogen ion (H3 + ), other than Jupiter, found only on Earth, causes strong emission in the mid-infrared at wavelengths between 3 and 5 µm.

According to direct measurements of the descent vehicle, upper level opaque clouds were characterized by a pressure of 1 atmosphere and a temperature of -107 °C; at a depth of 146 km - 22 atmospheres, +153 °C. Galileo also found "warm spots" along the equator. Apparently, in these places the layer of outer clouds is thin, and warmer inner regions can be seen.

Under the clouds there is a layer with a depth of 7-25 thousand km, in which hydrogen gradually changes its state from gas to liquid with increasing pressure and temperature (up to 6000 ° C). Apparently, there is no clear boundary separating gaseous hydrogen from liquid hydrogen. This may look something like the continuous boiling of the global hydrogen ocean.

layer of metallic hydrogen

Metallic hydrogen occurs at high pressures (about a million atmospheres) and high temperatures, when kinetic energy electrons exceeds the ionization potential of hydrogen. As a result, protons and electrons in it exist separately, so metallic hydrogen is a good conductor of electricity. The estimated thickness of the metallic hydrogen layer is 42-46 thousand km.

Powerful electric currents arising in this layer generate a giant magnetic field of Jupiter. In 2008 Raymond Jeanloz of the University of California at Berkeley and Lars Stixrud of the London university college a model of the structure of Jupiter and Saturn was created, according to which there is also metallic helium in their depths, which forms a kind of alloy with metallic hydrogen.

Nucleus

With the help of the measured moments of inertia of the planet, it is possible to estimate the size and mass of its core. At the moment, it is believed that the mass of the core is 10 masses of the Earth, and the size is 1.5 of its diameter.

Jupiter releases significantly more energy than it receives from the Sun. The researchers suggest that Jupiter has a significant supply of thermal energy, formed in the process of compression of matter during the formation of the planet. Previous models of the internal structure of Jupiter, trying to explain the excess energy released by the planet, allowed for the possibility radioactive decay in its bowels or the release of energy during the compression of the planet under the influence of gravitational forces.

Interlayer processes

It is impossible to localize all processes within independent layers: it is necessary to explain the lack of chemical elements in the atmosphere, excess radiation, etc.

The difference in the content of helium in the outer and inner layers is explained by the fact that helium condenses in the atmosphere and enters deeper regions in the form of droplets. This phenomenon resembles the earth's rain, but not from water, but from helium. It has recently been shown that neon can dissolve in these drops. This explains the lack of neon.

Atmospheric movement

Animation of Jupiter's rotation, created from photographs from Voyager 1, 1979.

Wind speeds on Jupiter can exceed 600 km/h. Unlike the Earth, where the circulation of the atmosphere occurs due to the difference in solar heating in the equatorial and polar regions, on Jupiter the effect of solar radiation on the temperature circulation is negligible; the main driving forces are the heat flows coming from the center of the planet, and the energy released during the rapid movement of Jupiter around its axis.

Based on ground-based observations, astronomers divided the belts and zones in the atmosphere of Jupiter into equatorial, tropical, temperate and polar. The heated masses of gases rising from the depths of the atmosphere in the zones under the influence of significant Coriolis forces on Jupiter are drawn along the meridians of the planet, and the opposite edges of the zones move towards each other. There is strong turbulence at the boundaries of zones and belts (downflow regions). To the north of the equator, flows in zones directed to the north are deflected by Coriolis forces to the east, and those directed to the south - to the west. In the southern hemisphere - respectively, on the contrary. The trade winds have a similar structure on Earth.

stripes

Jupiter bands in different years

characteristic feature The external appearance of Jupiter are its stripes. There are a number of versions explaining their origin. So, according to one version, the stripes arose as a result of the phenomenon of convection in the atmosphere of the giant planet - due to heating, and, as a result, raising some layers, and cooling and lowering others down. In the spring of 2010, scientists put forward a hypothesis according to which the stripes on Jupiter arose as a result of the influence of its satellites. It is assumed that under the influence of the attraction of satellites on Jupiter, peculiar “pillars” of matter were formed, which, rotating, formed stripes.

Convective currents, which carry internal heat to the surface, externally appear in the form of light zones and dark belts. In the area of ​​light zones, there is an increased pressure corresponding to ascending flows. The clouds forming the zones are located at a higher level (about 20 km), and their light color is apparently due to an increased concentration of bright white ammonia crystals. The dark belt clouds below are believed to be red-brown ammonium hydrosulfide crystals and have a higher temperature. These structures represent downstream regions. Zones and belts have different speed movement in the direction of rotation of Jupiter. The orbital period varies by several minutes depending on the latitude. This leads to the existence of stable zonal currents or winds constantly blowing parallel to the equator in one direction. Velocities in this global system reach from 50 to 150 m/s and higher. At the boundaries of belts and zones, strong turbulence is observed, which leads to the formation of numerous vortex structures. The most famous such formation is the Great Red Spot, which has been observed on the surface of Jupiter over the past 300 years.

Having arisen, the vortex raises the heated masses of gas with vapors of small components to the surface of the clouds. The resulting crystals of ammonia snow, solutions and compounds of ammonia in the form of snow and drops, ordinary water snow and ice gradually sink in the atmosphere until they reach levels at which the temperature is high enough and evaporate. After that, the substance in the gaseous state again returns to the cloud layer.

In the summer of 2007, the Hubble telescope recorded dramatic changes in Jupiter's atmosphere. Separate zones in the atmosphere to the north and south of the equator turned into belts, and the belts into zones. At the same time, not only the forms of atmospheric formations changed, but also their color.

On May 9, 2010, amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley (eng. Anthony Wesley, also see below) discovered that one of the most visible and most stable formations in time, the South Equatorial Belt, suddenly disappeared from the face of the planet. It is at the latitude of the Southern equatorial belt that the Great Red Spot “washed” by it is located. The reason for the sudden disappearance of the southern equatorial belt of Jupiter is the appearance of a layer of lighter clouds above it, under which a strip of dark clouds is hidden. According to studies conducted by the Hubble telescope, it was concluded that the belt did not disappear completely, but simply appeared to be hidden under a layer of clouds consisting of ammonia.

big red spot

The Great Red Spot is an oval formation of varying sizes located in the southern tropical zone. It was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1664. At present, it has dimensions of 15 × 30 thousand km (the diameter of the Earth is ~12.7 thousand km), and 100 years ago, observers noted 2 times larger sizes. Sometimes it is not very clearly visible. The Great Red Spot is a unique long-lived giant hurricane in which the substance rotates counterclockwise and makes a complete revolution in 6 Earth days.

Thanks to research conducted in late 2000 by the Cassini probe, it was found that the Great Red Spot is associated with downdrafts (vertical circulation of atmospheric masses); the clouds are higher here and the temperature is lower than in other areas. The color of the clouds depends on the height: the blue structures are the top ones, the brown ones lie below them, then the white ones. Red structures are the lowest. The rotation speed of the Great Red Spot is 360 km/h. Its average temperature is -163 ° C, and between the marginal and central parts spots, there is a difference in temperature of the order of 3-4 degrees. This difference is supposed to be responsible for the fact that atmospheric gases in the center of the spot rotate clockwise, while at the edges they rotate counterclockwise. An assumption has also been made about the relationship between temperature, pressure, movement and color of the Red Spot, although scientists still find it difficult to say exactly how it is carried out.

From time to time, collisions of large cyclonic systems are observed on Jupiter. One of them occurred in 1975, causing the red color of the Spot to fade for several years. At the end of February 2002, another giant whirlwind - the White Oval - began to be slowed down by the Great Red Spot, and the collision continued for a whole month. However, it did not cause serious damage to both vortices, as it happened on a tangent.

The red color of the Great Red Spot is a mystery. One of possible causes there may be chemical compounds containing phosphorus. In fact, the colors and mechanisms that give the appearance of the entire Jovian atmosphere are still poorly understood and can only be explained by direct measurements of its parameters.

In 1938, the formation and development of three large white ovals near 30° south latitude was recorded. This process was accompanied by the simultaneous formation of several more small white ovals - vortices. This confirms that the Great Red Spot is the most powerful of Jupiter's vortices. Historical records do not reveal such long-lived systems in the mid-northern latitudes of the planet. Large dark ovals were observed near 15° northern latitude, but, apparently, the necessary conditions for the emergence of eddies and their subsequent transformation into stable systems, similar to the Red Spot, exist only in the Southern Hemisphere.

small red spot

The Great Red Spot and the Little Red Spot in May 2008 in a photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

As for the three aforementioned white oval vortices, two of them merged in 1998, and in 2000 a new vortex merged with the remaining third oval. At the end of 2005, the vortex (Oval BA, English Oval BC) began to change its color, eventually acquiring a red color, for which it received a new name - the Little Red Spot. In July 2006, the Small Red Spot came into contact with its older "brother" - the Great Red Spot. However, this did not have any significant effect on both vortices - the collision was tangential. The collision was predicted in the first half of 2006.

Lightning

At the center of the vortex, the pressure is higher than in the surrounding area, and the hurricanes themselves are surrounded by low-pressure perturbations. According to images taken by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes, it was found that at the center of such vortices, colossal lightning flashes thousands of kilometers long are observed. The power of lightning is three orders of magnitude higher than that of the earth.

Magnetic field and magnetosphere

Scheme of Jupiter's magnetic field

The first sign of any magnetic field is radio emission, as well as x-rays. By building models of ongoing processes, one can judge the structure of the magnetic field. So it was found that the magnetic field of Jupiter has not only a dipole component, but also a quadrupole, an octupole and other harmonics of higher orders. It is assumed that the magnetic field is created by a dynamo, similar to the earth. But unlike the Earth, the conductor of currents on Jupiter is a layer of metallic helium.

The axis of the magnetic field is inclined to the axis of rotation 10.2 ± 0.6 °, almost like on Earth, however, the north magnetic pole is located next to the south geographic one, and the south magnetic one is located next to the north geographic one. The field strength at the level of the visible surface of the clouds is 14 Oe at the north pole and 10.7 Oe at the south. Its polarity is the opposite of the earth's magnetic field.

The shape of Jupiter's magnetic field is strongly flattened and resembles a disk (in contrast to the drop-shaped one of the Earth). The centrifugal force acting on the co-rotating plasma on one side and the thermal pressure of the hot plasma on the other side stretch the lines of force, forming at a distance of 20 RJ a structure resembling a thin pancake, also known as a magnetodisk. It has a fine current structure near the magnetic equator.

Around Jupiter, as well as around most planets in the solar system, there is a magnetosphere - an area in which the behavior of charged particles, plasma, is determined by the magnetic field. For Jupiter, the sources of such particles are the solar wind and Io. Volcanic ash ejected by Io's volcanoes is ionized by solar ultraviolet radiation. This is how sulfur and oxygen ions are formed: S+, O+, S2+ and O2+. These particles leave the satellite's atmosphere, but remain in orbit around it, forming a torus. This torus was discovered by Voyager 1; it lies in the plane of Jupiter's equator and has a radius of 1 RJ in cross section and a radius from the center (in this case from the center of Jupiter) to the generatrix of 5.9 RJ. It is he who fundamentally changes the dynamics of Jupiter's magnetosphere.

Jupiter's magnetosphere. Magnetically trapped solar wind ions are shown in red in the diagram, Io's neutral volcanic gas belt is shown in green, and Europa's neutral gas belt is shown in blue. ENA are neutral atoms. According to the Cassini probe, obtained in early 2001.

The oncoming solar wind is balanced by the pressure of the magnetic field at distances of 50-100 planetary radii, without the influence of Io, this distance would be no more than 42 RJ. On the night side, it extends beyond the orbit of Saturn, reaching a length of 650 million km or more. Electrons accelerated in Jupiter's magnetosphere reach the Earth. If Jupiter's magnetosphere could be seen from the Earth's surface, then its angular dimensions would exceed the dimensions of the Moon.

radiation belts

Jupiter has powerful radiation belts. When approaching Jupiter, Galileo received a dose of radiation 25 times the lethal dose for humans. Radio emission from Jupiter's radiation belt was first discovered in 1955. The radio emission has a synchrotron character. Electrons in the radiation belts have a huge energy of about 20 MeV, while the Cassini probe found that the density of electrons in Jupiter's radiation belts is lower than expected. The flow of electrons in the radiation belts of Jupiter can pose a serious danger to spacecraft due to the high risk of equipment damage by radiation. In general, Jupiter's radio emission is not strictly uniform and constant - both in time and in frequency. The average frequency of such radiation, according to research, is about 20 MHz, and the entire frequency range is from 5-10 to 39.5 MHz.

Jupiter is surrounded by an ionosphere with a length of 3000 km.

Auroras on Jupiter

Jupiter's aurora pattern showing the main ring, aurorae and sunspots resulting from interactions with Jupiter's natural moons.

Jupiter shows bright, steady auroras around both poles. Unlike those on Earth that appear during periods of increased solar activity, Jupiter's auroras are constant, although their intensity varies from day to day. They consist of three main components: the main and brightest region is relatively small (less than 1000 km wide), located about 16 ° from the magnetic poles; hot spots - traces of magnetic field lines connecting the ionospheres of satellites with the ionosphere of Jupiter, and areas of short-term emissions located inside the main ring. Aurora emissions have been detected in almost all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to X-rays (up to 3 keV), but they are brightest in the mid-infrared (wavelength 3-4 µm and 7-14 µm) and deep ultraviolet region of the spectrum (length waves 80-180 nm).

The position of the main auroral rings is stable, as is their shape. However, their radiation is strongly modulated by the pressure of the solar wind - the stronger the wind, the weaker the auroras. The aurora stability is maintained by a large influx of electrons accelerated due to the potential difference between the ionosphere and the magnetodisk. These electrons generate a current that maintains the synchronism of rotation in the magnetodisk. The energy of these electrons is 10 - 100 keV; penetrating deep into the atmosphere, they ionize and excite molecular hydrogen, causing ultraviolet radiation. In addition, they heat up the ionosphere, which explains the strong infrared radiation of the auroras and partly the heating of the thermosphere.

Hot spots are associated with three Galilean moons: Io, Europa and Ganymede. They arise due to the fact that the rotating plasma slows down near satellites. The brightest spots belong to Io, since this satellite is the main supplier of plasma, the spots of Europa and Ganymede are much fainter. Bright spots within the main rings that appear from time to time are thought to be related to the interaction of the magnetosphere and the solar wind.

large x-ray spot

Combined image of Jupiter from the Hubble telescope and from the Chandra X-ray telescope - February 2007

In December 2000, the Chandra Orbital Telescope discovered a source of pulsating X-ray radiation at the poles of Jupiter (mainly at the north pole), called the Great X-ray Spot. The reasons for this radiation are still a mystery.

Models of Formation and Evolution

A significant contribution to our understanding of the formation and evolution of stars is made by observations of exoplanets. So, with their help, features common to all planets like Jupiter were established:

They are formed even before the moment of scattering of the protoplanetary disk.
Accretion plays a significant role in formation.
Enrichment in heavy chemical elements due to planetesimals.

There are two main hypotheses explaining the processes of the origin and formation of Jupiter.

According to the first hypothesis, called the "contraction" hypothesis, the relative similarity of the chemical composition of Jupiter and the Sun (a large proportion of hydrogen and helium) is explained by the fact that during the formation of planets in the early stages of the development of the Solar System, massive "clumps" formed in the gas and dust disk, which gave rise to planets, i.e. the sun and the planets were formed in a similar way. True, this hypothesis still does not explain the existing differences in the chemical composition of the planets: Saturn, for example, contains more heavy chemical elements than Jupiter, and that, in turn, is larger than the Sun. The terrestrial planets are generally strikingly different in their chemical composition from the giant planets.

The second hypothesis (the “accretion” hypothesis) states that the process of formation of Jupiter, as well as Saturn, took place in two stages. First, for several tens of millions of years, the process of formation of solid dense bodies, like the planets of the terrestrial group, went on. Then the second stage began, when for several hundred thousand years the process of accretion of gas from the primary protoplanetary cloud onto these bodies, which by that time had reached a mass of several Earth masses, lasted.

Even at the first stage, part of the gas dissipated from the region of Jupiter and Saturn, which led to some differences in the chemical composition of these planets and the Sun. At the second stage, the temperature of the outer layers of Jupiter and Saturn reached 5000 °C and 2000 °C, respectively. Uranus and Neptune reached the critical mass needed to start accretion much later, which affected both their masses and their chemical composition.

In 2004, Katharina Lodders of the University of Washington hypothesized that Jupiter's core is composed primarily of some organic matter, which has adhesive abilities, which, in turn, to a large extent influenced the capture of matter by the nucleus from the surrounding region of space. The resulting stone-tar core "captured" gas from the solar nebula by its gravity, forming modern Jupiter. This idea fits into the second hypothesis about the origin of Jupiter by accretion.

Satellites and rings

Large satellites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto and their surfaces.

Jupiter's moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto

As of January 2012, Jupiter has 67 known moons - maximum value for the solar system. It is estimated that there may be at least a hundred satellites. The satellites are given mainly the names of various mythical characters, one way or another connected with Zeus-Jupiter. The satellites are divided into two large groups- internal (8 satellites, Galilean and non-Galilean internal satellites) and external (55 satellites, also divided into two groups) - thus, there are 4 "varieties" in total. The four largest satellites - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered back in 1610 by Galileo Galilei]. The discovery of Jupiter's satellites served as the first serious factual argument in favor of the Copernican heliocentric system.

Europe

Of greatest interest is Europe, which has a global ocean, in which the presence of life is not excluded. Special studies have shown that the ocean extends 90 km deep, its volume exceeds the volume of the Earth's oceans. The surface of Europa is riddled with faults and cracks that have arisen in the ice shell of the satellite. It has been suggested that the ocean itself, and not the core of the satellite, is the source of heat for Europe. The existence of an under-ice ocean is also assumed on Callisto and Ganymede. Based on the assumption that oxygen could penetrate into the subglacial ocean in 1-2 billion years, scientists theoretically assume the existence of life on the satellite. The oxygen content in Europa's oceans is sufficient to support the existence of not only single-celled life forms, but also larger ones. This satellite ranks second in terms of the possibility of life after Enceladus.

And about

Io is interesting for the presence of powerful active volcanoes; the surface of the satellite is flooded with products of volcanic activity. Photographs taken by space probes show that Io's surface is bright yellow with patches of brown, red, and dark yellow. These spots are the product of Io's volcanic eruptions, consisting mainly of sulfur and its compounds; The color of eruptions depends on their temperature.
[edit] Ganymede

Ganymede is the most great companion not only Jupiter, but in general in the solar system among all the satellites of the planets. Ganymede and Callisto are covered with numerous craters, on Callisto many of them are surrounded by cracks.

Callisto

Callisto is also thought to have an ocean below the moon's surface; this is indirectly indicated by the Callisto magnetic field, which can be generated by the presence of electric currents in salt water inside the satellite. Also in favor of this hypothesis is the fact that the magnetic field of Callisto varies depending on its orientation to the magnetic field of Jupiter, that is, there is a highly conductive liquid under the surface of this satellite.

Comparison of the sizes of the Galilean satellites with the Earth and the Moon

Features of the Galilean satellites

All large satellites of Jupiter rotate synchronously and always face Jupiter with the same side due to the influence of the powerful tidal forces of the giant planet. At the same time, Ganymede, Europa and Io are in orbital resonance with each other. In addition, there is a pattern among the satellites of Jupiter: the farther the satellite is from the planet, the lower its density (Io has 3.53 g/cm2, Europa has 2.99 g/cm2, Ganymede has 1.94 g/cm2, Callisto has 1.83 g/cm2). It depends on the amount of water on the satellite: on Io it is practically absent, on Europa - 8%, on Ganymede and Callisto - up to half of their mass.

Minor moons of Jupiter

The rest of the satellites are much smaller and are irregularly shaped rocky bodies. Among them are those who turn in the opposite direction. Of the small satellites of Jupiter, Amalthea is of considerable interest to scientists: it is assumed that there is a system of voids inside it that arose as a result of a catastrophe that took place in the distant past - due to the meteorite bombardment, Amalthea broke up into parts, which then reunited under the influence of mutual gravity, but never became a single monolithic body.

Metis and Adrastea are the closest moons to Jupiter with diameters of approximately 40 and 20 km, respectively. They move along the edge of the main ring of Jupiter in an orbit with a radius of 128 thousand km, making a revolution around Jupiter in 7 hours and being the fastest satellites of Jupiter.

The total diameter of the entire satellite system of Jupiter is 24 million km. Moreover, it is assumed that Jupiter had even more satellites in the past, but some of them fell on the planet under the influence of its powerful gravity.

Satellites with reverse rotation around Jupiter

Jupiter's satellites, whose names end in "e" - Karma, Sinop, Ananke, Pasiphe and others (see Ananke group, Karme group, Pasiphe group) - revolve around the planet in the opposite direction (retrograde motion) and, according to scientists, formed not together with Jupiter, but were captured by him later. Neptune's satellite Triton has a similar property.

Interim moons of Jupiter

Some comets are temporary moons of Jupiter. So, in particular, the comet Kushida - Muramatsu (English) Russian. in the period from 1949 to 1961. was a satellite of Jupiter, having made two revolutions around the planet during this time. In addition to this object, at least 4 temporary moons of the giant planet are also known.

Rings of Jupiter

Rings of Jupiter (diagram).

Jupiter has faint rings discovered during Voyager 1's transit of Jupiter in 1979. The presence of rings was assumed back in 1960 by the Soviet astronomer Sergei Vsekhsvyatsky, based on a study of the far points of the orbits of some comets, Vsekhsvyatsky concluded that these comets could come from the ring of Jupiter and suggested that the ring was formed as a result of the volcanic activity of Jupiter's satellites (volcanoes on Io were discovered two decades later ).

The rings are optically thin, their optical thickness is ~10-6, and the particle albedo is only 1.5%. However, it is still possible to observe them: at phase angles close to 180 degrees (looking "against the light"), the brightness of the rings increases by about 100 times, and the dark night side of Jupiter leaves no light. There are three rings in total: one main, "spider" and a halo.
Photograph of Jupiter's rings taken by Galileo in direct diffused light.

The main ring extends from 122,500 to 129,230 km from the center of Jupiter. Inside, the main ring passes into a toroidal halo, and outside it contacts the arachnoid. The observed forward scattering of radiation in the optical range is characteristic of micron-sized dust particles. However, the dust in the vicinity of Jupiter is subjected to powerful non-gravitational perturbations, because of this, the lifetime of dust particles is 103 ± 1 years. This means that there must be a source of these dust particles. Two small satellites lying inside the main ring, Metis and Adrastea, are suitable for the role of such sources. Colliding with meteoroids, they generate a swarm of microparticles, which subsequently spread in orbit around Jupiter. Gossamer ring observations revealed two separate belts of matter originating in the orbits of Thebes and Amalthea. The structure of these belts resembles the structure of zodiac dust complexes.

Trojan asteroids

Trojan asteroids - a group of asteroids located in the region of the Lagrange points L4 and L5 of Jupiter. Asteroids are in 1:1 resonance with Jupiter and move with it in orbit around the Sun. At the same time, there is a tradition to call objects located near the L4 point by the names of Greek heroes, and near L5 - by Trojan ones. In total, as of June 2010, 1583 such facilities were opened.

There are two theories explaining the origin of the Trojans. The first asserts that they arose at the final stage of the formation of Jupiter (the accreting variant is being considered). Together with the matter, planetozimals were captured, on which accretion also took place, and since the mechanism was effective, half of them ended up in a gravitational trap. The disadvantages of this theory are that the number of objects that have arisen in this way is four orders of magnitude larger than the observed one, and they have a much larger orbital inclination.

The second theory is dynamic. 300-500 million years after the formation solar system Jupiter and Saturn went through a 1:2 resonance. This led to a restructuring of the orbits: Neptune, Pluto and Saturn increased the radius of the orbit, and Jupiter decreased. This affected the gravitational stability of the Kuiper belt, and some of the asteroids that inhabited it moved into the orbit of Jupiter. At the same time, all the original Trojans, if any, were destroyed.

The further fate of the Trojans is unknown. A series of weak resonances of Jupiter and Saturn will cause them to move chaotically, but what this force of chaotic movement will be and whether they will be thrown out of their current orbit is difficult to say. In addition, collisions between each other slowly but surely reduce the number of Trojans. Some fragments can become satellites, and some comets.

Collisions of celestial bodies with Jupiter
Comet Shoemaker-Levy

A trail from one of the debris of comet Shoemaker-Levy, image from the Hubble telescope, July 1994.
Main article: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

In July 1992, a comet approached Jupiter. It passed at a distance of about 15 thousand kilometers from the upper boundary of the clouds, and the powerful gravitational effect of the giant planet tore its core into 17 large parts. This swarm of comets was discovered at Mount Palomar Observatory by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and amateur astronomer David Levy. In 1994, during the next approach to Jupiter, all the fragments of the comet crashed into the planet's atmosphere at a tremendous speed - about 64 kilometers per second. This grandiose cosmic cataclysm was observed both from the Earth and with the help of space means, in particular, with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, the IUE satellite and the Galileo interplanetary space station. The fall of the nuclei was accompanied by bursts of radiation in a wide spectral range, the generation of gas emissions and the formation of long-lived vortices, a change in Jupiter's radiation belts and the appearance of auroras, and a decrease in the brightness of Io's plasma torus in the extreme ultraviolet range.

Other falls

On July 19, 2009, the aforementioned amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley discovered a dark spot near Jupiter's South Pole. Later, this find was confirmed at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. An analysis of the data obtained indicated that the most probable body that fell into the atmosphere of Jupiter was a stone asteroid.

On June 3, 2010 at 20:31 UT, two independent observers - Anthony Wesley (Eng. Anthony Wesley, Australia) and Christopher Go (Eng. Christopher Go, Philippines) - filmed a flash above the atmosphere of Jupiter, which is most likely a fall new, previously unknown body to Jupiter. A day after this event, no new dark spots were found in Jupiter's atmosphere. Observations have already been made with the largest Hawaiian instruments (Gemini, Keck and IRTF) and observations are planned with the Hubble Space Telescope. On June 16, 2010, NASA published a press release stating that the images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on June 7, 2010 (4 days after the outbreak was detected) showed no signs of falling in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter.

On August 20, 2010 at 18:21:56 IST, an outburst occurred above Jupiter's cloud cover, which was detected by Japanese amateur astronomer Masayuki Tachikawa from Kumamoto Prefecture in a video he made. The day after the announcement of this event, confirmation was found from an independent observer Aoki Kazuo (Aoki Kazuo) - an amateur astronomer from Tokyo. Presumably, it could be the fall of an asteroid or comet into the atmosphere of a giant planet.

Jupiter is the fifth planet in terms of distance from the Sun and the largest in the solar system. Just like Uranus, Neptune and Saturn, Jupiter is a gas giant. Mankind 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 got its name in honor of the ancient Roman god.

Atmospheric phenomena on Jupiter are much larger than those on Earth. The most remarkable formation on the planet is 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. G. Galileo was the first to discover them in 1610.

All studies of the planet are carried out using orbital and ground-based telescopes. Since the 70s, 8 NASA vehicles have been sent to Jupiter. During the great confrontations, 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.

Jupiter observations

Optical range

If we consider an object in the infrared region of the spectrum, we can pay attention to the molecules of He and H2, in the same way the lines of other elements become noticeable. The number H speaks about the origin of the planet, and you can learn about the internal evolution thanks to the qualitative and quantitative composition other elements. But helium and hydrogen molecules do not have a dipole moment, which means that their absorption lines are not noticeable 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.

As for the rest of the elements, their analysis and interpretation is very difficult. It is impossible to say with full certainty about the ongoing processes 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 follows that they do not carry any special changes in the distribution of substances.

Jupiter radiates 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 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 range concerns the aurora and the study of the disk. Einstein's space laboratory registered this in 1979. From the Earth, the regions of the aurora in the ultraviolet and X-rays coincide, but this does not apply to Jupiter. Earlier observations established a pulsation of radiation with a frequency of 40 minutes, but later observations showed this dependence much worse.

Astronomers hoped that the X-ray spectrum would make Jupiter's auroral glow similar to that of comets, but the Chandra observations disproved that hope.

According to the XMM-Newton space observatory, it turns out that the disk radiation in the gamma spectrum is a 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 ranges. 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 sec. The radiation is polarized, and in a circle it can reach 100%.

The radio emission of the planet in the short centimeter-millimeter bands has a purely thermal character, although, unlike the equilibrium temperature, the brightness is much higher. This feature speaks of the flow of heat from the bowels of Jupiter.

Gravitational Potential Calculations

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

In addition, processing the data, one has to postulate the theory of the motion of Galileo's satellites revolving around the center of the planet. A huge problem for exact calculations is the consideration of acceleration, which has a non-gravitational character.

Jupiter in the solar system

The equatorial radius of this gas giant is 71.4 thousand km, thereby exceeding the Earth's by 11.2 times. Jupiter is the only planet of its kind that has its center of mass with the Sun located outside the Sun.

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

The planet Jupiter as a "failed star"

Some studies of theoretical models have shown that if the mass of Jupiter were slightly larger than it actually is, then the planet would begin to shrink. Although small changes would not greatly affect the radius of the planet, provided that the actual mass increased four times, the planetary density increased so much that the process of size reduction due to the action of strong gravity would begin.

Based on this study, Jupiter has the maximum diameter for a planet with a similar history and structure. A further increase in mass led to the duration of the contraction until Jupiter, in the process of star formation, turned into a brown dwarf with a mass exceeding its current mass by 50 times. Astronomers believe that Jupiter is a "failed star", although it is still not clear whether there is a similarity 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 as 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. Farthest away 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 distance is 967 million kilometers.

The confrontation between the 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 the Earth is 50 arc seconds.

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

Age-old - it has been operating for 70 thousand years. This changes the eccentricity of the planet's orbit.

Resonance - is manifested due to the proximity ratio of 2:5.

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

The rotation of the planet 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 makes a revolution around its axis in 9 hours 50 minutes and 30 seconds, and the middle latitudes make this revolution 5 minutes and 10 longer. Due to this rotation, the planet's radius at the equator is 6.5% larger than at mid-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 due to the low content of water in the composition of the planet's atmosphere and the lack of a solid foundation of the planet. It should be noted that in the 70s of the last century, a theory was put forward that in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, the existence of living organisms that live on the basis of ammonia is possible. In support of this hypothesis, we can say that the atmosphere of the planet, even at shallow depths, has a high temperature and high density, and this contributes to chemical evolutionary processes. This theory was expressed by Carl Sagan, after which, together with E.E. Salpeter, scientists did a series of calculations that led to the conclusion of three alleged life forms 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 are busy pumping helium out of the atmosphere and leaving hydrogen behind. They live in the upper atmosphere and produce molecules for food on their own.
• Sinkers are microorganisms that can multiply very quickly, which allows the species to survive.
• Hunters are predators that feed on floaters.

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

The structure of the planet

Modern technologies do not yet allow scientists to accurately determine the chemical composition of the planet, but nevertheless, the upper layers of Jupiter's atmosphere have been studied with high accuracy. The study of the atmosphere became possible only due to the descent spacecraft named Galileo, it 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 detected. 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 atmosphere of the planet due to collisions with comets, as an example, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is given.

The reddish color of the planet is due to the presence of compounds of red phosphorus, carbon and sulfur, or even due to organic matter, which was born when exposed to electrical discharges. It should be noted that the color of the atmosphere is not uniform, which indicates that different areas consist of different chemical components.

Jupiter structure

It is generally accepted that the internal structure of the planet under the clouds consists of a layer of helium and hydrogen with a thickness of 21 thousand kilometers. Here, the substance has a smooth transition in its structure from a gaseous state to a liquid state, after which there is a layer with metallic hydrogen with a capacity 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 subdivided into three more:

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

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

The creation of this model became possible due to the analysis of observations and studies, taking into account the laws of extrapolation and thermodynamics. It should be noted that this structural structure does not have clear boundaries and transitions between adjacent layers, and this, in turn, indicates that each layer is completely localized, and they can be studied separately.

Atmosphere of Jupiter

Temperature indicators of growth throughout the planet are not monotonous. 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 are significantly reduced, 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 boundary 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 an indicator of 1000 K. Scientists have not yet been able to explain why there is such a high temperature here.

Data from the Galileo apparatus 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 rises to +153 ° C and a pressure of 22 atmospheres.

The future of Jupiter and its moons

Everyone knows that in the end, the Sun, like another star, will exhaust the entire supply of thermonuclear fuel, while its luminosity will increase by 11% every billion years. Due to this, the familiar habitable zone will significantly shift beyond the orbit of our planet until reaching the surface of Jupiter. This will make it possible to melt all the water on the moons of Jupiter, which will allow the birth of living organisms on the planet to begin. 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 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 say that Jupiter has 67 natural satellites. According to scientists, it can be concluded that there can be more than a hundred such objects around Jupiter. The satellites of the planet are named mainly after mythical characters who are to some extent connected with Zeus. All satellites are divided into two groups: external and internal. Only 8 satellites belong to the internal ones, among which are the Galilean ones.

The first satellites of Jupiter were discovered in 1610 by the famous scientist Galileo Galilei, these are Europa, Ganymede, Io and Callisto. This discovery was a confirmation of 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 with powerful ground-based telescopes and radio telescopes, but the biggest advances in this industry have come from 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.

The giant of the solar system, a gas giant, is located between Saturn and Mars, rotating at a distance of 770 million kilometers from the Sun. On a clear night, Jupiter is clearly visible through a small telescope or multiple binoculars: the light it emits is second only to the Moon, Venus and the Sun in saturation. Modern name it was appropriated by the ancient Romans, correlating the planet with the most important actor pagan pantheon - Jupiter. Planet Jupiter - interesting facts about vortices, auroras, the Great Red Spot.

space giant

The equatorial diameter of the giant exceeds the diameter of the Earth by 11 times. The volume of the fifth planet can easily fit 1300 planets like ours.

The supergiant has a shape flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator due to the rapid speed of circling around its own axis.

The absence of firmament, depressions and mountain ranges gives the colossus a smooth, even surface.

Having the greatest mass, Jupiter is also distinguished by the greatest agility: it completes a revolution around its axis in less than 10 hours.

It takes 12 years to complete one revolution around the Sun.

There is no change of seasons on the supergiant.

On Earth, they are used to the fact that shaded places are cooler than those illuminated by the Sun. On Jupiter, the opposite is true: the shadow surface is heated much more than the illuminated areas.

It turns out that the gigantic planetoid emits more energy than it absorbs heat from the sun's rays.

Compound

The composition of the gas giant is similar to the Sun.

The core of Jupiter is similar in size to the core of the Earth, but 10 times lighter. The centrosphere is solid, heated to 20,000°C, surrounded by a mixture of light gases—hydrogen and helium.

The atmosphere has a brownish-orange hue due to compounds of phosphorus and sulfur, the density is 18 times higher than that of the earth. The troposphere contains hydrosulfites, ammonia, and frozen water. Here prevail low temperatures: minus 150° - minus 100°С. The stratosphere is made up of hydrocarbons. Above it is the thermosphere, heated to 725 ° C.

An interesting fact about Jupiter. In terms of earthly values, the supergiant is considered the richest astronomical object: it rains diamonds on the planet.

Giant lightning transforms gas (methane) into carbon. As it approaches the surface, the compound hardens and transforms into graphite. By continuing to move, graphite becomes diamond. As it reaches the planet's core, it melts, creating a (hypothetically) shoreless sea of ​​liquid carbon.

Giant bands encircle the equatorial part of the Fifth Planet, they have been observed for a long time and are distinguishable even to a novice astronomer. There is no single hypothesis regarding their origin.

The picturesque color of the planetoid is due to the layering of gas layers that form the remarkable red and white bands of the Fifth Planet. The red layers (bands) are hot, the white ones (zones) have a low temperature.

Whirlwinds and auroras

The fifth planet is the element of winds and storms. Its main driving forces are hot streams from the core and the energy of the rapid movement of a celestial body around its axis.

The wind speed here exceeds 600 km/h.

Numerous spots of anticyclones and cyclones can be seen on the surface of Jupiter. The cause of these atmospheric anomalies has not been studied.

On the gas giant, monstrous lightning flashes, a thousand times greater than the earthly heavenly guests in extent and power.

Near the poles there is a bright glow. The phenomenon is permanent, only its intensity changes. The aurora is formed from three main components: a central bright beam, hot spots, and impulse emissions inside the main zone.

The auroras of Jupiter outshine the terrestrial northern flashes in the intensity of coloring and the vastness of the area (larger than the surface of the Earth).

gravity

The force of gravity exceeds the earth's gravity by two and a half times. If a 100-kilogram object is placed on a giant planetoid, its weight will increase to 250 kilograms.

The gravitational force of the planet changes the trajectories of comets, attracts them to itself. Jupiter - interesting fact- is a shield for the planets of the solar system, protecting them from the fall of celestial particles.

There is a hypothesis that the gravitational force of the supergiant influenced the formation of our planetary system.

Jupiter, like Saturn, has rings. Ground equipment does not allow them to be seen, they were spotted with the help of the Voyager-I spacecraft.

Rings are formed from the universal dust formed as a result of the collision of the planet's satellites with meteors. The Fifth Planet has several of them: the main (main) ring, Halo (made of solid dark particles) and the web ring (transparent, consists of small fragments of satellites). Distinctive feature rings of Jupiter is the absence of ice in them.

A magnetic field

The planet is considered the queen of the solar system's magnetic fields. It is shrouded in a mantle of charged electrical particles, spread over 650 million km. The magnetic sphere of the Fifth Planet is about 18,000 times stronger than Earth's.

The level of radioactive radiation near the giant is a thousand times higher than the level that is lethal to humans. The accuracy of the bombardment with radioactive particles is such that it damages specially protected space vehicles. Hypothetically, this power would be enough to swallow the Sun.

The planetary giant makes noises that sound like human voices. This hubbub is called electromagnetic speech. Such “voices” are often mistaken by ufologists for audio signals from alien cultures.

The gas giant has four moons and 67 small satellites. It can be considered as a kind of "Jupiterocentric" system within the heliocentric one.

The first four Jupiter moons are Ganymede, Europa, Io and Callisto- were discovered by Galileo Galilei at the beginning of the 17th century. They are defined as dark dots on the bright body of Jupiter. The discovery of satellites confirmed Copernicus' conjecture that the Earth is not the center of the universe.

Each of the moons is larger than the earth's moon by about one and a half times. The most impressive size Ganymede: its diameter is only three and a half times smaller than our planet. On a surface And about observed 8 active volcanoes; besides the Earth, this is the only known space object that has mountains and active volcanoes. On the Europe water was found under the thickness of centuries-old ice. Perhaps the ocean is hiding here. Callisto is non-reflective and presumably formed from impenetrable stone.

The density of satellites depends on the distance from Jupiter: the closer to it, the higher the density.

In addition to permanent moons, the colossus also has temporary ones (comets).

Great Red Spot

The Great Red Spot phenomenon was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in the second half of the 17th century.

The famous egg-shaped rust-colored mark is visible in all photographs of the Fifth Planet. This is a vortex anticyclone that has been raging for three and a half centuries. The rotation speed in the center of the tornado is 400 - 500 km / h. Its movement is counterclockwise.

More than a century ago, tan was the size of our planet, since then it has almost halved. The mysterious spot is constantly changing: now its area increases, and it becomes even brighter, then it subsides and dims.

Only its location remains unchanged.

Fiction

The composition of the atmosphere of the gas giant is similar to the Earth's atmosphere in the distant past. In the second half of the 20th century, the topic of the possibility of life in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, where water vapor is present, where temperature and pressure contribute to the development of water-hydrocarbon life, was discussed. But so far the hypothesis has not been confirmed, rather refuted by the latest research.

Austrian physicist Edwin Salpeter and American astrophysicist Carl Sagan have outlined hypothetical life forms adapted to the features of Jupiter. They are tiny and very thriving. sneakers(similar to viruses); gigantic (the size of an earthly city) floaters similar to the terrestrial flora; and hunters - predators that eat floaters. This is interesting information, but it has the character of a literary fantasy work.

There is a hypothesis about the habitability of Jupiter's satellites: there is water on Europa, tidal waves give heat, the presence of oxygen is possible, although life can completely do without O 2. The presence of extraterrestrial life, even in primitive forms, has not been confirmed, while this information is a destiny for the work of science fiction writers, nothing more.

Powerful, impetuous, majestic mini-universe. Is the Fifth Planet ready to reveal its secrets to earthlings? Astronomers have something to work on, there is no need to retire to the depths of the universe, our solar system still has many mysteries, including about Jupiter.

Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system, belonging to the category of gas giants. 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 smaller mass become planets. Jupiter, due to its enormous size, may well have been known to today's scientists as a star. However, during formation, he received an 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 zones between them. In fact, such a picture is created by clouds of different temperatures: light clouds are colder than dark ones. From this we can conclude that the telescope can see the atmosphere of Jupiter, and not its surface.

Jupiter often experiences auroras similar to those seen on Earth.

It should be noted 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 the planet's ring system. The main ring of the planet Jupiter is very thin, and can be seen edge-on with telescopic observations, so it was difficult to see it. 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. Helium, methane, ammonium and water are also present in the atmosphere. Astronomers suggest that behind the planet's cloudy layer and gas-liquid metallic hydrogen, it is quite possible to detect Jupiter's solid core.

Basic information about the planet

The planet of the solar system Jupiter has truly unique characteristics. The main 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 the cosmos 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 to confirm the theory of the heliocentric system of the world.

In the 60s of the seventeenth century, Giovanni Cassini was able to detect "bands" on the surface of the planet. As mentioned above, this effect is created due to the different temperatures of the clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere.

In 1955, scientists became aware 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 to Saturn took several detailed pictures of the planet. In 1977-1779, much became known about the atmosphere of Jupiter, about atmospheric phenomena occurring on it, as well as about the planet's ring system.

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 thunder, 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. AT ancient Greek mythology the place of Jupiter is occupied by the almighty Zeus.

His father is Saturn (the god of the earth), his mother is Opa (the goddess of fertility and abundance), his brothers are Pluto and Neptune, and his 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, all-powerful god. Therefore, it was divided into separate incarnations, 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 a 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, guarded 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 in the atmosphere of Jupiter there are vortices 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. Its existence was known to astronomers more than four hundred years ago.

The size of the Great Red Spot - 40 × 15,000 kilometers - is 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 spot has not yet been finally determined. It is assumed that it consists of hydrogen and ammonium, and sulfur and phosphorus compounds give it a red color. Also, some scientists believe that the stain turns red when it enters the zone. ultraviolet radiation Sun.

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

Moons of Jupiter

Jupiter itself is the largest main star solar system. Unlike the planet Earth, Jupiter has 69 moons, 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 in 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. In addition to the four discovered by Galileo, as well as Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea and Thebes, the moons of Jupiter are not too large. And the other "neighbor" of Jupiter - the planet Venus - has not been found to have satellites at all. This table shows some of them.

Consider the most important satellites of the planet - the results of the famous discovery of Galileo Galileo.

And about

Io is the fourth largest satellite 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 take place on Io, so outwardly the satellite is very similar to pizza. Regular eruptions of numerous volcanoes periodically change the appearance of this celestial body.

Europe

Jupiter's next moon is Europa. It is the smallest among the Galilean satellites (diameter - 3122 km).

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

The surface of Europa is also considered the flattest in the entire solar system. There is nothing on the satellite that rises more than 100 meters.

Ganymede

Ganymede is the largest moon 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 near the equator.

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

Callisto

The Galilean satellite 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. Craters on the surface of the satellite have different depths and colors, which indicates a sufficient age of Callisto. Some scientists even consider the surface of Callisto to be the "oldest" in the solar system, claiming that it has not been updated 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 unstable 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) arise above the surface of Jupiter. From this it follows that among the atmospheric phenomena of Jupiter, crushing hurricanes can be distinguished, 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. Such a 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, Jupiter, visible to us, consists only of a gaseous atmosphere, so astronomers still know little about the weather on the planet's solid surface.

Conclusion

So, in this article we got acquainted with the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter. It became clear that if Jupiter, during its formation, had been given a slightly larger amount of energy, 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 really amazing.

The planet itself was named after the ancient Roman sky god. But many other, terrestrial objects have been named after the planet itself. For example, the brand of Soviet tape recorders "Jupiter"; sailing ship Baltic Fleet in early XIX century; brand of Soviet electric batteries "Jupiter"; battleship of the British Navy; film award approved in 1979 in Germany. Also in honor of the planet was named the famous Soviet motorcycle "IZH planet Jupiter", which marked the beginning of 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. Outer space surrounding our planet is a curious phenomenon that captures the imagination. Modern scientists are making new discoveries that allow us to find out 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 space.