Lecture 17 Flashcards
Gas Giants
What is a Gas Giant
Large planets that have deep atmospheres and have NO solid surfaces; have rings of particles around them, and many icy/rocky satellites
Composition of Jupiter’s Atmosphere
Mostly H2 and He
What are clouds made of in Jupiter?
Ammonia Ice
What is the Great Red Spot?
A group of storms that span 26000 km
Saturn’s Atmosphere Composition
Mostly H2 and He
Saturn’s Bulk Composition
Mostly H2 and He
What are storms on Saturn caused by?
Heat released by the planet’s interior. Radiates more heat than received from the Sun
Uranus Bulk Composition
H2, He, CH4 and Ices
Uranus Atmosphere
H2, He and CH4
Neptune Bulk Composition
H2, He, CH4, ices and rock
Neptune Atmosphere
H2, He, CH4
Gas Giant Origins
2 Models:
Core Accretion: Accretion of rock and ice to form core Accretion of massive gaseous envelope
Disk Instability Model: Clumping of gas and dust in the disk gravitational collapse to form the planet
Why does Jupiter have a strong magnetic field while the other Giants don’t?
Due to its rapidly spinning metallic hydrogen interior
What is the problem with the Core Accretion Model?
The Nebula was all gone 10 Ma after the start of the Solar System
Least Dense Planet in the Solar System
Saturn
