Astr - 101 Notes Of A Ravenclaw
First-Year notes of a Ravenclaw student. Edition one. Part One of Seven. ASTR - 101. Astronomy. Professor Afolayon as the Instructor. Lessons One through Nine. DOES NOT INCLUDE HOMEWORK INFORMATION. Volume One in the "First Year" Class Series.
THIS IS NOT TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR LESSONS.
Last Updated
05/31/21
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Lesson Five - Jupiter
Chapter 5
- Jupiter
is the largest planet in our solar system and the fifth from the Sun. - The
planet is located just outside the Asteroid Belt, making it
about five to six AU from the Sun. - This
celestial body is the third brightest in space, overshadowed by our Moon
and Venus. - This
allows us to observe the planet rather easily. - Jupiter
has a very strong gravitational level in comparison to Earth. - While
the planet's exact mass is unknown, it is approximately twice the mass of
all other planets' masses combined. - Despite
this, the Sun still weighs more than Jupiter. - One
day on Jupiter is approximately nine hours and fifty-five minutes. - Ninety-nine
percent of Jupiter's atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium. - While
other gases have been located in the atmosphere of the planet, there are
less than one percent of them present. - Such
other gases include methane and water vapor. - These
gases make up the colors that we can visually see on the planet. - Jupiter
has what is known as a banded atmosphere. - A
banded atmosphere means that there are belts circling the planet. - There
are two known forms of belts that are called dark
belts
and light colored zones. - The
dark belts show the low pressure regions while the lighter zones show
high pressure regions. - The
belts are the planet's version of weather. - Due
to the rotation of the planet, the bands wrap completely around making
the weather almost constantly the same within a certain region. - The
Great Red Spot is a feature
that is very pronounced when you view the planet through a telescope. - The
spot is a pile of winds similar to a hurricane on Earth. - Jupiter,
if cut in half, would reveal several distinct layers that make up the
interior of the planet. - The
core if made up of rocky
material. - The
layer above the core is an element known as liquid metallic hydrogen. - This
layer is the source of Jupiter’s magnetic field. - Pieces
of helium and ice are known to possibly be contained inside. - The
outermost later of the planet is made up of hydrogen and helium. - The
elements transform from liquid to gassy form as they rise closer to the
surface and the atmosphere. - The
celestial body has sixty-seven moons overall, but four main ones. - The
four most well known moons are Ganymede,
Io, Callisto and Europa. - Ganymede
is the largest, being about the size of Mercury - Io
is the only celestial body aside from Earth that has an active volcano. - Due
to the body’s sulfuric dioxide
snowfields, the moon is full of fire and ice. - Callisto’s
surface is dented with craters. - Europa
is dented with a few craters, but it is thought that, beneath the
surfrace of the moon, there may be an ocean capable of supporting life. - These
moons are all referred to as the Galileans
moons. - The
name was derived from their founder, Galileo, who found the moons in 1610. - Jupiter
does indeed have rings made of dust that is emitted from the planet. - These
rings are not visible to the naked eye.
