Gas Giants

System Giants Jupiter –Fifth planet –5.2 AU from Sun –11 times Earth size –318 times Earth mass –12 year revolution –10 hour day –Metallic hydrogen core –Temperature -110 °C Saturn –Sixth planet –9.5 AU from Sun –9 times Earth size –95 times Earth mass –30 year revolution –11 hour day –Metallic hydrogen core –Temperature -140 °C

Quick Spin Jupiter rotates in about 10 hours. –Equatorial bulge –Saturn similar Jupiter’s axis Smaller radius, less centrifugal force Larger radius, more centrifugal force

Deep Atmosphere Jupiter and Saturn are mostly gas. –86% hydrogen –13% helium –1% every thing else (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, etc.) The atmosphere forms layers with other chemicals. –Top - ammonia ice –Next - ammonium-hydrogen sulfide crystals –Bottom - water and water ice

Wind Wind speed is fastest at the equator. –Bands of color

Thunderstorms Mixing between layers can result in storms. –Rotating bands and eddies –Visible lightning Jupiter Saturn

The Great Red Spot The Great Red Spot is a unusually large storm. –Visible for over 300 years –Larger than Earth –Colder than normal –Red from organic compounds There are white spot storms on Jupiter as well.

Under the Gas The atmospheres get denser as one goes deeper. –No solid surface –Hydrogen becomes liquid from pressure At very high pressure the hydrogen gas becomes a metallic liquid. –Temperature reaches 30,000 K –Magnetic field –Radio waves

Magnetosphere Jupiter and Saturn have strong magnetic fields. –14 million kilometers from Jupiter –Tail from Jupiter out to Saturn –Energy in towards Earth Jupiter solar wind

Aurora Particles in the magnetic field create auroras. –Ultraviolet image Jupiter Saturn