Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Jovian Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Observations of Jupiter and Saturn The Discoveries of Uranus and Neptune Bulk Properties of the Jovian Planets Jupiter’s Atmosphere The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds Jovian Interiors Summary of Chapter 7 Units of Chapter 7

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Observations of Jupiter and Saturn  Jupiter can be imaged well from Earth, even with a small telescope  Here: Jupiter with its Galilean moons

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Observations of Jupiter and Saturn True-color image of Jupiter

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Observations of Jupiter and Saturn Natural-color image of Saturn

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Cassini image of Jupiter, true color Observations of Jupiter and Saturn

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Discoveries of Uranus and Neptune  Uranus, in natural color.  Note the absence of features.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Neptune in natural color The Discoveries of Uranus and Neptune

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Jovian planets are large and much less dense than the terrestrial planets; Saturn is less dense than water! 7.3 Bulk Properties of the Jovian Planets

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jovian planets, compared to Earth Bulk Properties of the Jovian Planets

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Bulk Properties of the Jovian Planets  Peculiarity of Uranus: Axis of rotation lies almost in the plane of its orbit. Seasonal variations are extreme.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jupiter’s Atmosphere Atmosphere has bright zones and dark belts. Zones are cooler, and are higher than belts. Stable flow underlies zones and bands, called zonal flow.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jupiter’s Atmosphere No solid surface Lowest cloud layer cannot be seen by optical telescopes. Measurements by Galileo probe show high wind speeds even at great depth – probably due to heating from planet, not from Sun.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jupiter’s Atmosphere  The Galileo probe descended into Jupiter’s atmosphere and returned valuable data. The arrow indicates its entry point.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jupiter’s Atmosphere Major visible features:  Bands of clouds  Great Red Spot

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jupiter’s Atmosphere  Two examples of smaller storms merging  First into a smaller red spot  Second into existing Great Red Spot

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds The atmosphere of Saturn is similar to that of Jupiter  Somewhat colder  Atmosphere is thicker.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds Saturn’s atmosphere is similar to Jupiter’s, except pressure is lower. It has three cloud layers. Cloud layers are thicker than Jupiter’s; see only top layer.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.  Saturn also has large storms, and bands. The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.  Storms near Saturn’s equator The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Enormous thunderstorm on Saturn 7.5 The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds  Rotation of Uranus can be measured by watching storms.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. The Atmospheres of the Outer Jovian Worlds  Neptune has storm systems similar to those on Jupiter, but fewer.  The large storm system at top has disappeared in recent years.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jovian Interiors  No direct information is available about Jupiter’s interior  main components  hydrogen and helium  The central portion is thought to be a rocky core.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jovian Interiors Interior structure of Uranus and Neptune, compared to that of Jupiter and Saturn:

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jovian Interiors Jupiter’s magnetosphere:  Intrinsic field strength is 20,000 times that of Earth.  Magnetosphere can extend beyond the orbit of Saturn.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jovian Interiors  Aurorae are seen on Jupiter, and have the same cause as those on Earth – the interaction of solar wind particles with the magnetosphere.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Jovian Interiors  Uranus and Neptune both have substantial magnetic fields, but at a large angle to their rotation axes.  The rectangle within each planet shows a bar magnet that would produce a similar field.  Note that both Uranus’s and Neptune’s are significantly off center.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 7 Jupiter and Saturn were known to the ancients; Uranus was discovered by chance, and Neptune was predicted from anomalies in the orbit of Uranus. Jovian planets are large but not dense; they are fluid and display differential rotation. Cloud layers have light zones and dark bands; wind pattern, called zonal flow, is stable.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary of Chapter 7, cont. Storms appear with regularity; the Great Red Spot of Jupiter has lasted for hundreds of years (that we know of). Due to conductive interiors and rapid rotation, Jovian planets have large magnetic fields. Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune radiate more energy than they receive from the Sun.