Jupiter what is the surface like

Beneath the surface, convection from the liquid and plasma hydrogen generate more heat than from the sun. This convection keeps the massive gas giant warm enough to avoid it freezing into an icy world. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more!

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It is reasonable to assume, that under more extreme conditions, Jupiter could have evolved into a double-star companion to our Sun. However, Jupiter would have had to become at least 80 times more massive to become a star. The atmosphere is probably a few hundred miles in depth, pulled toward the surface by the intense gravity. Closer to the surface, the gases become more dense, and likely turn into a compound of slurry.

Pioneer's 10 and 11 found evidence that the planet itself is composed almost entirely of liquid hydrogen and that there likely is no real interface between the atmosphere and surface.

Jupiter's rocky core lies well below the "surface" and is very hot around 36, degrees F. But Jupiter is much too small and cool to ignite nuclear fusion reactions which are required to become a star. As mentioned above, Jupiter's extremely fast rotation flattens the globe at the poles and drives extremely changeable weather patterns in the clouds which envelope the planet.

The clouds are likely made of ammonia ice crystals, changing to ammonia droplets further down. It is estimated that the temperature of the cloud tops are about degrees F. Overall, Jupiter's average temperature is degrees F. Since Jupiter is only tilted slightly more then 3 degrees on its axis, seasonal fluctuations are minimal. Jupiter is basically a turbulent, stormy, whirlpool of wind, banded with variable belts and a giant "Red Spot. The storm is by far the largest of similar ovals found on other parts of Jupiter and the other gas giants.

Jupiter's wind appears to be driven by internal heat rather than from solar insolation. A probe dropped by the Galileo spacecraft late in provided evidence of wind speeds of more than mph and some lightning. Average distance from Sun: Average distance from the center of a planet to the center of the Sun. Perihelion: The point in a planet's orbit closest to the Sun. But despite the fact that it is the largest planet in the solar system, the gas giant just doesn't have the mass needed to push it into stellar status.

When scientists call Jupiter a gas giant, they aren't exaggerating. If you parachuted into Jupiter in hopes of hitting the ground, you would never find firm landing. The atmosphere of Jupiter is 90 percent hydrogen. The remaining 10 percent is almost completely made up of helium, though there are small traces of other gases inside. These gases pile on top of one another, forming layers that extend downward.

Because there is no solid ground, the surface of Jupiter is defined as the point where the atmospheric pressure is equal to that of Earth. Scientists think that, at depths perhaps halfway to the planet's center, the pressure becomes so great that electrons are squeezed off the hydrogen atoms, making the liquid electrically conducting like metal.

Jupiter's fast rotation is thought to drive electrical currents in this region, generating the planet's powerful magnetic field. It is still unclear if deeper down, Jupiter has a central core of solid material or if it may be a thick, super-hot and dense soup. It could be up to 90, degrees Fahrenheit 50, degrees Celsius down there, made mostly of iron and silicate minerals similar to quartz.

The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids. The extreme pressures and temperatures deep inside the planet crush, melt, and vaporize spacecraft trying to fly into the planet. Jupiter's appearance is a tapestry of colorful cloud bands and spots. The gas planet likely has three distinct cloud layers in its "skies" that, taken together, span about 44 miles 71 kilometers.

The top cloud is probably made of ammonia ice, while the middle layer is likely made of ammonium hydrosulfide crystals. The innermost layer may be made of water ice and vapor. The vivid colors you see in thick bands across Jupiter may be plumes of sulfur and phosphorus-containing gases rising from the planet's warmer interior. Jupiter's fast rotation — spinning once every 10 hours — creates strong jet streams, separating its clouds into dark belts and bright zones across long stretches.

With no solid surface to slow them down, Jupiter's spots can persist for many years. Stormy Jupiter is swept by over a dozen prevailing winds, some reaching up to miles per hour kilometers per hour at the equator. The Great Red Spot, a swirling oval of clouds twice as wide as Earth, has been observed on the giant planet for more than years. More recently, three smaller ovals merged to form the Little Red Spot, about half the size of its larger cousin.

Anticyclones, which rotate in the opposite direction, are colder at the top but warmer at the bottom. The findings also indicate these storms are far taller than expected, with some extending 60 miles kilometers below the cloud tops and others, including the Great Red Spot, extending over miles kilometers.

This surprising discovery demonstrates that the vortices cover regions beyond those where water condenses and clouds form, below the depth where sunlight warms the atmosphere. With their gravity data, the Juno team was able to constrain the extent of the Great Red Spot to a depth of about miles kilometers below the cloud tops.

Belts and Zones In addition to cyclones and anticyclones, Jupiter is known for its distinctive belts and zones — white and reddish bands of clouds that wrap around the planet. Strong east-west winds moving in opposite directions separate the bands.

Juno previously discovered that these winds, or jet streams, reach depths of about 2, miles roughly 3, kilometers.