Chapter 8 Jupiter and Saturn

Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Jupiter Largest and most massive planet in the solar system: Contains almost 3/4 of all planetary matter in the solar system. Most striking features visible from Earth: Multi-colored cloud belts Explored in detail by several space probes: Visual image Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Juno arrives July ’16 Infrared false-color image

The Mass of Jupiter Mass can be inferred from 2 things: 1)The orbit of Io, which is the innermost of the 4 Galilean Moons: Io Moon Jupiter Earth Relative sizes, and distances, to scale 2)Using Kepler’s third law  MJupiter = 318 MEarth

Jupiter’s Interior From radius and mass  Average density of Jupiter ≈ 1.34 g/cm3 => Jupiter can not be made mostly of rock, like earthlike planets.  Jupiter consists mostly of hydrogen and helium. T ~ 20,000 K and 1x108 the pressure of Earth Due to the high pressure, hydrogen is compressed into a liquid, and even metallic state.

The Chemical Composition of Jupiter and Saturn

Jupiter’s Rotation Jupiter is the most rapidly rotating planet in the solar system: Rotation period slightly less than 10 hr. Centrifugal forces stretch Jupiter into a markedly oblate shape. And the rapid spin with a large metallic hydrogen interior creates a HUGE magnetic field

Jupiter’s Magnetic Field Discovered through observations of decimeter (radio) radiation Magnetic field is nearly 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field. Magnetosphere over 100 times larger than Earth’s. Extremely intense radiation belts: Very high energy particles can be trapped and surround the rings and inner moons. That means radiation  enough to kill unprotected humans instantly

Aurorae on Jupiter Just like on Earth, Jupiter’s magnetosphere produces aurorae concentrated in rings around the magnetic poles. ~ 1000 times more powerful than aurorae on Earth. The particles causing them are thought to come from the inner moons, not the Sun as on Earth

The Io Plasma Torus Some of the heavier ions originate from Jupiter’s moon Io. Io flux tube Io flux tube Visible UV Inclination of Jupiter’s magnetic field against rotation axis leads to wobbling field structure passing over Io  Acceleration of particles to high energies.

Jupiter’s Atmosphere Jupiter’s liquid hydrogen ocean has no surface: Gradual transition from gaseous to liquid phases as temperature and pressure combine to exceed the critical point. Jupiter shows limb darkening  hydrogen atmosphere above cloud layers. Only very thin atmosphere above cloud layers; transition to liquid hydrogen zone ~ 1000 km below clouds.

Galileo probe mission

Jupiter’s Atmosphere (2): Clouds Three layers of clouds: 1. Ammonia (NH3) crystals 2. Ammonia hydrosulfide 3. Water crystals

The Cloud Belts on Jupiter Dark belts and bright zones. Zones higher and cooler than belts; high-pressure regions of rising gas.

The Cloud Belts on Jupiter (2) Just like on Earth, high-and low-pressure zones are bounded by high-pressure winds. Jupiter’s Cloud belt structure has remained basically unchanged since humans began mapping them in 1600’s.

The Great Red Spot Several bright and dark spots mixed in with cloud structure. Largest and most prominent: The Great Red Spot. Has been visible for over 350 years. Formed by rising gas carrying heat from below the clouds, creating a vast, rotating storm. ~ 2 DEarth

The Great Red Spot (2) Structure of Great Red Spot may be determined by circulation patterns in the liquid interior

Rings must be constantly re-supplied with new dust. Jupiter’s Ring Galileo spacecraft image of Jupiter’s ring, illuminated from behind Not only Saturn, but all four gas giants have rings. Jupiter’s ring: dark and reddish; only discovered by Voyager 1 spacecraft. Composed of microscopic particles of rocky material. 3 parts: Main, Halo(closer to J), and Gossamer Main ring ~6400 km wide ~123,000 km from J Halo is ~23,000 km wide ~ 100,000 km from J Gossamer is ~85,000 km wide outside of the main ring Ring material can’t be old because radiation pressure and Jupiter’s magnetic field force dust particles to spiral down into the planet. Rings must be constantly re-supplied with new dust.

Roche Limit Image of Uranus and its rings with moons. Image credit: Hubble The Roche limit is a distance, the minimum distance that a smaller object (e.g. a moon) can exist, as a body held together by its self-gravity, as it orbits a more massive body (e.g. its parent planet); closer in, and the smaller body is ripped to pieces by the tidal forces on it. Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/56538/roche-limit/#ixzz2DXWFSN5Q

Comet Impact on Jupiter Impact of 21 fragments of comet SL-9 in 1994 Impacts occurred just behind the horizon as seen from Earth, but came into view about 15 min. later. Impact sites appeared very bright in the infrared. Visual: Impacts seen for many days as dark spots Impacts released energies equivalent to a few megatons of TNT (Hiroshima bomb: ~ 0.15 megaton)!

The History of Jupiter Formed from cold gas in the outer solar nebula, where ices were able to condense. In the interior, hydrogen becomes metallic (very good electrical conductor) Rapid rotation  strong magnetic field Rapid growth Soon able to trap gas directly through gravity Rapid rotation and large size  belt-zone cloud pattern Heavy materials sink to the center Dust from meteorite impacts onto inner moons trapped to form ring

Jupiter’s Influence on its Moons Presence of Jupiter has at least two effects on geology of its moons: 2. Focusing of meteoroids, exposing nearby satellites to more impacts than those further out. 1. Tidal effects: possible source of heat for interior of Io and Europa

Jupiter’s Family of Moons Over five dozen moons known now; 50 are named, with another 17 still to be named the latest 2 just discovered in 2011. Four largest moons discovered by Galileo in 1610: They are now called Galilean moons Io Europa Ganymede Callisto Interesting and diverse individual geologies.

Callisto: The Ancient Face Tidally locked to Jupiter, like all of Jupiter’s moons. Av. density: 1.86 g/cm3  composition: mixture of ice and rocks Dark surface, heavily pocked with craters. No metallic core: Callisto never differentiated to form core and mantle.  No magnetic field. Layer of liquid water, ~ 10 km thick, ~ 100 km below surface (?) , probably heated by radioactive decay.

Ganymede: A Hidden Past Largest of the 4 Galilean moons. Largest in SS and even larger than Mercury Av. density = 1.9 g/cm3 Iron core = Mag. field Rocky mantle Crust of ice 1/3 of surface old, dark, cratered; rest: bright, young, grooved terrain Bright terrain probably formed through flooding when surface broke

Europa: A Hidden Ocean Av. density: 3 g/cm3  composition: mostly rock and metal; icy surface. Close to Jupiter  should be hit by many meteoroid impacts; but few craters visible.  Active surface; impact craters rapidly erased.

The Surface of Europa Cracked surface and high albedo (reflectivity) provide further evidence for geological activity.

The Interior of Europa Europa is too small to retain its internal heat  Heating mostly from tidal interaction with Jupiter. Core not molten  No magnetic field. Europa has a liquid water ocean ~ 15 km below the icy surface.

Io: Bursting Energy Most active of all Galilean moons; no impact craters visible at all. Over 100 active volcanoes! Activity powered by tidal interactions with Jupiter. Av. density = 3.55 g/cm3  Interior is mostly rock.

Interaction with Jupiter’s Magnetosphere Io’s volcanoes blow out sulfur-rich gasses  tenuous atmosphere, but gasses can not be retained by Io’s gravity  gasses escape from Io and form an ion torus in Jupiter’s magnetosphere

The History of the Galilean Moons Minor moons are probably captured asteroids, ~32 of them and they mostly have retrograde motions. Galilean and other ‘inner’ moons probably formed together with Jupiter. Densities decreasing outward  Probably formed in a disk around Jupiter, similar to planets around the sun. Simulations suggest earlier generations of moons around Jupiter may have been lost and spiraled into Jupiter; Today’s Galilean moons are possibly a fifth generation of moons.

Saturn Cassini Division Av. density: 0.69 g/cm3  Would float in water! Most distant of the planets you can see unaided. In 1610 Galileo saw the rings but drew them as handle-like. In 1659 Christian Huygens said it was a thin flat ring that surrounded Saturn. And in 1675 Dominique Cassini saw that there was a gap in the rings (we now call it the Cassini Division) between the A and B set of rings

Saturn Mass: ~ 1/3 of mass of Jupiter Radius: ~ 16 % smaller than Jupiter Av. density: 0.69 g/cm3  Would float in water! Rotates about as fast as Jupiter, but is twice as oblate  No large core of heavy elements. Mostly hydrogen and helium; liquid hydrogen core. Saturn radiates ~ 1.8 times the energy received from the sun. Probably heated by liquid helium droplets falling towards center.

Saturn’s Magnetosphere Magnetic field ~ 20 times weaker than Jupiter’s  weaker radiation belts Magnetic field not inclined against rotation axis  Aurorae centered around poles of rotation

Saturn’s Atmosphere Cloud-belt structure, formed through the same processes as on Jupiter, but not as distinct as on Jupiter; colder than on Jupiter.

Saturn’s Atmosphere (2) Three-layered cloud structure, just like on Jupiter Main difference to Jupiter: Fewer wind zones, but much stronger winds than on Jupiter: Winds up to ~ 500 m/s near the equator!

Rings must be replenished by fragments of passing comets & meteoroids. Saturn’s Rings Ring consists of 3 main segments: A, B, and C Ring and fainter D,E,F, and G A Ring B Ring C Ring separated by empty regions: divisions/gaps Rings can’t have been formed together with Saturn because material would have been blown away by particle stream from hot Saturn at time of formation. Cassini Division Rings must be replenished by fragments of passing comets & meteoroids.

Composition of Saturn’s Rings Rings are composed of mainly ice particles, believed to be from shattered comets/asteroids, or moons. Moving at large velocities around Saturn, but small relative velocities (all moving in the same direction). They vary in size from tiny dust sized ice grains to Mt. sized

Shepherd Moons Some moons on orbits close to the rings focus the ring material, keeping the rings confined. And two moons even travel in gaps

Divisions and Resonances Moons do not only serve as “Shepherds”. Where the orbital period of a moon is a small-number fractional multiple (e.g., 2:3) of the orbital period of material in the disk (“resonance”), the material is cleared out  Divisions

Electromagnetic Phenomena in Saturn’s Rings Radial spokes in the rings rotate with the rotation period of Saturn: Magnetized ring particles lifted out of the ring plane and rotating along with the magnetic-field structure

Titan About the size of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede (but slightly smaller). Rocky core, but also large amount of ice. Thick hazy atmosphere, hiding the surface from direct view.

Titan’s Atmosphere Because of the thick, hazy atmosphere, surface features are only visible in infrared images. Many of the organic compounds in Titan’s atmosphere may have been precursors of life on Earth. Surface pressure: ~60% greater than air pressure on Earth Surface temperature: 94 K (-290 oF)  methane and ethane are liquid! Methane is gradually converted to ethane in the Atmosphere  Methane must be constantly replenished, probably through breakdown of ammonia (NH3).

Saturn’s Smaller Moons Saturn’s smaller moons formed of rock and ice; heavily cratered and appear geologically dead. Over 60 total moons Tethys: Heavily cratered; marked by 3 km deep, 1500 km long crack. Iapetus: Leading (upper right) side darker than rest of surface because of dark deposits. Enceladus: Possibly active; regions with fewer craters, containing parallel grooves, possibly filled with frozen water.

Saturn’s Smaller Moons (2) Hyperion: Too small to pull itself into spherical shape. All other known moons are large enough to attain a spherical shape.

The Origin of Saturn’s Satellites No evidence of common origin, as for Jupiter’s moons. Probably captured icy planetesimals. Moons interact gravitationally, mutually affecting each other’s orbits. Co-orbital moons (orbits separated by only 100 km) periodically exchange orbits! Small moons are also trapped in Lagrange points of larger moons Dione and Tethys.

New Terms oblateness liquid metallic hydrogen Io plasma torus Io flux tube belt zone forward scattering Roche limit gossamer rings grooved terrain tidal heating shepherd satellite spoke  

Discussion Questions 1. Some astronomers argue that Jupiter and Saturn are unusual, while other astronomers argue that all solar systems should contain one or two such giant planets. What do you think? Support your argument with evidence. 2. Why don’t the terrestrial planets have rings?