Astronomy & Astrophysics 101: Jupiter

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Hubble Jupiter 2021

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Hubble’s 2021 pictures of Jupiter track the ever-changing landscape of its unstable environment, where a number of brand-new storms are making their mark. Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), and M. H. Wong (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Jupiter</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and the fifth planet from the sun. It is a gas giant with a mass greater then all of the other planets combined. Its name comes from the Roman god Jupiter.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{" attribute="">Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. It is a gas giant, and the largest and most massive planet in our Solar System. It is famous for its ‘stripy’ appearance and for the Great Red Spot.

Orbiting between Mars and Saturn, Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. With a mass more than 317 times that of Earth, it is by far the most massive planet in the Solar System. Jupiter is a gas giant, which means it is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium, much of which is in the gaseous state. Jupiter probably does have a rocky core, but the vast majority of its radius is taken up by layers of metallic hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, and its atmosphere.

If Jupiter had the same average density as Earth, then it would only have a radius about seven times greater than Earth’s. In reality, Jupiter’s radius is over eleven times greater than that of Earth, thanks to its inflated gaseous atmosphere.

Jupiter has a very recognizable appearance, its surface atmosphere visibly split into turbulent strips, and the Great Red Spot, resembling a red eye, below its equator. The Great Red Spot is actually the largest and longest lasting storm in the Solar System. It is larger than planet Earth, and is believed to have been observed in 1665; if so, it has been raging for over 350 years. Jupiter is currently thought to have 79 moons, the largest of which, Ganymede, is bigger than the planet Mercury.

Hubble has actually seen extraordinary information in Jupiter’s aurorae. These aurorae resemble those seen above Earth’s polar areas, however are practically 1000 times more energetic and far more intricate. Aurorae can be seen at both of Jupiter’s poles– however just in ultraviolet light, so they might have not been observed with any ground-based telescope. Hubble has actually likewise charted the vibrant activity on Jupiter and its moon Io.

In contrast to probes that need to take a trip huge ranges and need years of preparing to check out the worlds, Hubble has the ability to turn its attention rapidly to abrupt remarkable occasions taking place in the SolarSystem This permitted it to witness the spectacular plunge of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter’s environment in July1994 Hubble followed the comet pieces on their last journey and provided high-resolution pictures of the effect scars, from which essential brand-new details on conditions in the Jovian environment was gotten. The repercussions of the effect might be seen for a number of days later and by studying the Hubble information astronomers had the ability to acquire essential details about the structure and density of the huge world’s environment.

Word Bank Jupiter

Jupiter Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)

Hubble’s observations have actually likewise tracked vibrant weather condition activity onJupiter Hubble’s spectacular 2020 photo of the world exposed an amazing brand-new storm developing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot altering colour. The world is likewise observed in numerous wavelengths to offer scientists with insights into the elevation and circulation of the world’s haze and particles to match visible-light images that reveals the ever-changing cloud patterns. Hubble observations likewise expose that Jupiter’s hallmark Great Red Spot is diminishing.

Hubble’s collection of Jupiter images can be checked out here.