Lab 8 (1)
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Dec 6, 2023
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1. Jupiter is often called a “failed star” because although it is pretty massive, it is not massive enough to cause nuclear fusion in its core (which is how a star “burns”). The minimum amount of mass needed for an object to become a star is roughly 2 x 1029 kg. The mass of Jupiter is 2 x 1027 kg. How many Jupiters would you have to combine to get the smallest possible star?
Mass needed to be a star is 2 x 10^29 kg
Real Number =200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Mass of Jupiter is
2 x 10^27kg
Real Number = 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Subtract both mases.
Scientific notation: = 1.98 × 1029
Real number: 198,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
2. Watch the clip of Juno footage taken of the Great Red Spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOlkr8LTDR0
a. It takes a feature on the edge about 6 Earth days to move in a complete circle around the center of the storm. How many hours is that?
144 hours
b. Six days may seem like a long time - but remember that the Great Red Spot is huge: almost 2
Earths could fit inside. This means that a feature moves about 63,780 kilometers around the edge of the Great Red Spot. What is its speed as it moves around? Use the equation: distance
= speed x time. This is the wind speed at the outer edge of the storm!
63,780 km= speed x 144 hours
63,780 km/144 hours
= 123.032407 m / s
3. How do clouds form? Why are there different layers of clouds on Jupiter? (Don’t confuse these with the bands we see on Jupiter – though they are related.)
A cloud forms when water vapor condenses in the air and forms visible ice crystals or droplets. The air has to be saturated in order for this to happen, and it will condense into either a solid or liquid. There are at least three major layers on Jupiter, which are made up of different chemicals. These clouds all sit at an altitude where their temperature is cold enough to allow the
substances to condense. The planet's highest cloud is composed of ammonia clouds.
4. Many people call Jupiter (and the other Jovian planets) a “gas giant.” They think it is made entirely of gas and you could fly a spaceship right through. What is the interior of Jupiter mostly made of? The composition of Jupiter resembles that of the Sun, with mostly hydrogen and helium, and it forms the largest ocean within the solar system. The rising temperature and pressure in its atmosphere can compress the gas into a liquid, which then forms the largest ocean on the planet. Most of the planet's interior is filled with hydrogen and helium, and its central temperatures are around 13,000 to 35,000 degrees Celsius.
5. Explain why the colors of Saturn’s bands are more subdued than Jupiter’s.
The clouds of Saturn are lower in the atmosphere, which means they don't reflect as much as Jupiter.
6. a. Why are Uranus and Neptune bluish in color?
Both Saturn and Uranus have blue-colored atmospheres due to the methane that they contain. On the other hand, the middle layer of the methane haze on the planet Uranus is twice as thick as that on Neptune.
b. What evidence do we have that there may be a layer of compressed water on Uranus and Neptune?
Based on measurements of density, it's believed that both Neptune and Uranus have core structures that can contain water.
7. What is the difference between how the magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn are created versus how the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune are created?
The amount of fluid flowing through a planet's magnet field determines its strength. Both Neptune and Uranus have weak magnetic fields. Both of these planets' interiors are devoid of metallic hydrogen. On the other hand, the atmospheres of Saturn and Jupiter mainly contain hydrogen and helium.
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8. The Cassini spacecraft studied Saturn, its rings and moons in unprecedented detail. Read the following about a storm observed in the planet’s northern hemisphere: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/newsrelease20110706/. What is different about weather on Saturn versus on Jupiter and Earth? What are some characteristics of this new storm? What seem to be the factors driving the storms on Saturn?
Saturn is not like Earth and Jupiter, where storms are fairly frequent. Weather on Saturn appears to hum along placidly for years and then erupt violently. At its most intense, the storm generated more than 10 lightning flashes per second. There are usually large storms on Saturn around every 20 to 30 years. Unlike on Earth, they can't be predicted. But what causes these massive storms on the planet is unknown. The atmosphere is composed of various substances, such as ammonia, water, and hydrogen.
9. The two outermost planets remain the most mysterious. Read the following article about why we should send a mission to study Uranus: http://www.space.com/13248-nasa-uranus-
missions-solar-system.html. How could an orbiter get a better idea of the internal structure of Uranus? Why is Uranus’s climate mechanism so different from that of Jupiter and Saturn? What is the “Nice model” and how could it be tested with a mission to Uranus?
To sort out this internal structure, Hofstadter, Arridge and their colleagues want to send an orbiter to map the gravitational field around Uranus. The atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus are expected to be more complicated than those of Saturn and Jupiter due to their abundances of condensable liquids and the number of cloud layers. The concept of the Nice model suggests
that the large planets started in a compact configuration. It would have remained stable for millions of years, but then something interesting would happen after that. According to the Nice model, which was presented in France, the late hea\\y bombardment on Earth may have started
around four billion years ago when Uranus and Neptune separated from the Sun. This planetary
shift could have caused the comets to scatter in the outer regions of the solar system. A Uranus mission could test the Nice model by carrying a probe, which could be dropped into Uranus's atmosphere. The probe could measure the abundances of certain noble gases, which can tell scientists at what distance from the sun Uranus formed.
10. a. Io is about the same size as the Moon, but it is very active geologically. What evidence do we have for this?
Large telescopes can spot Io's powerful volcanoes, which are capable of producing molten silicate lava on the surface. Although it's only slightly larger than the Moon, Io is around one-
quarter the size of Earth. Its remarkable activity is caused by Jupiter's powerful gravitational pull, which is timed to pull the planet from its two neighboring moons, Ganymede and Europa.
b. Io is so geologically active due to the consequences of two effects: orbital resonance and tidal heating. Carefully describe these two effects.
Orbital resonance: When two satellites have orbits that are related to integer relationships, they can exert gravitational pull on one another and change their orbits.
Tidal heating: The rotation and orbital energy of satellites and planets are dissipated as the heat
from their internal or surface portions is carried away by tidal forces.
c. What other moons of Jupiter experience orbital resonance and tidal heating?
The inward migration and formation of these satellites led them to lock into orbital resonances, which are arrangements where they go around Jupiter every four times. Europa, Io, and
Ganymede go around once, twice, and thrice respectively. Io also exhibits volcanic activity, which is a result of tidal heating but at a higher intensity than on Earth, which is in its early history.
d. What evidence is there for liquid water on Europa?
A salt-water ocean beneath the surface of Europa was one of the most surprising discoveries in recent years. This ocean, which is about as deep as the oceans on Earth, is believed to contain more liquid water than the oceans on our planet. However, the ocean's surface is frozen because Europa is not near the Sun.
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