Planet Jupiter: rings, satellites, structure and interesting facts

Despite the fact that today mankind has learned to look deep into space, trying to find life in distant clusters of stars, our own solar system remains an unexplored place. One of the most enigmatic planets of our system is considered to be Jupiter. Rings, satellites, spots - all this has this huge planet for the sake of which not a single research satellite was launched.

general information

Jupiter is located in the fifth place from the Sun, revolving around the star in orbit, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Saturn. It is not in vain that this planet is considered the largest in our system - its volume is comparable to the size of 1,300 such "balls" as the Earth. The attraction on Jupiter is two and a half times stronger than the usual one. Thus, a person weighing 100 kilograms, when moving to Jupiter, will see the number 250 on the scales. The weight of the giant planet itself is 317 times greater than the Earth. In addition, its weight is two and a half times the total weight of all the other planets of our star system.

The name of the planet was received in ancient times - it was named after the main ancient Roman god.

Despite its incredible size, Jupiter (whose rings do not make it unique - they have many planets) is the fastest planet in the solar system. A complete revolution around the axis takes only 10 hours. This speed is due to the strong radiation and magnetic field of the planet. In order to complete the rotation around the star, the giant requires 12 terrestrial years.

Jupiter was considered a gas giant for many years, but not so long ago, scientists established that it does not consist entirely of hydrogen and helium - it is only a composition of the atmosphere of the planet. Jupiter itself consists of a liquid metal core covered with a huge layer of metallic hydrogen. It covers this ocean from liquid hydrogen. What appears to us in the images as the surface of a giant is actually just the upper part of the clouds. Bright spots are clouds of ammonia, dark spots are made of ammonium hydrosulfide.

Rings

The existence of the rings was discovered in 1979 by a Voyager-1 flying near the planet. At the moment, three components are distinguished, of which this natural phenomenon is composed. The rings of Jupiter and Saturn have much in common, although they differ in the main points. For example, the layers surrounding the giant do not have ice particles in their composition. It is believed that the most important of the rings is formed as a result of a collision of the planet's satellites with meteorites. Earlier it was believed that there are only three rings, but recent observations have made it possible to conclude that there is another, previously unnoticed, ring that is very close to the surface of the planet.

Satellites

The planet Jupiter, whose rings struck scientists, has an amazing feature: a huge number of satellites. In total there are currently 63 units. However, the overwhelming majority of them have very small dimensions - less than 10 kilometers in diameter. They force scientists to assume that not all satellites have been discovered so far. There are suggestions that in reality there may be more than a hundred. There are only four relatively large ones: Ganymede, Io, Callisto and Europe - they were discovered by Galileo Galilei. The largest - Ganymede - reaches 5262 km in diameter - larger than Mercury. This satellite is completely covered by an ice crust, it turns around a giant in 7 days. Io is one of the most mysterious objects - on this satellite volcanoes constantly erupt, lava lakes arise. It has mountains up to 16 km. Io is much closer to Jupiter than our companion to Earth, which is also a mystery for scientists.

Spot

As early as 1665, Jupiter, whose rings had not yet been discovered, surprised the observers with a strange large spot on their surface. It was like a huge anti-cyclone - a hundred years ago its length was more than 40 thousand kilometers. Today this number has decreased by half. In our galaxy, this hurricane is considered to be the largest atmospheric phenomenon. On its surface could accommodate three planets, like ours. The hurricane rotates with a huge speed of 435 km / h, and not in the direction in which it occurs in all other cases.

Observation

With a telescope and good binoculars in the night sky, it's easy to spot Jupiter. Of course, it is impossible to discern its rings, but the white disk of the planet and even its satellites can be seen quite realistically. By brightness, this is the third object in the sky - after the Moon and Venus. Even the brightest star Sirius fades before the brilliance of the giant planet.

A magnetic field

The number of rings in Jupiter is not the most interesting fact. In addition, the power of the magnetic field of this planet is amazing. This is the highest rate in our galaxy. The magnetic field of Jupiter exceeds the corresponding index of the Earth by 14 times. Leading astronomers believe that this power is achieved through the constant movement of metallic hydrogen in the bowels of the planet. This enables Jupiter to be an incredibly powerful source of radiation, capable, if not destroyed, of causing significant damage to any satellite sent from Earth. However, not only radiation can damage any artificial body, but a ring around Jupiter can cause serious damage to the body of these objects.

The magnetic field is associated with the solar wind, forming a magnetosphere. The main shock wave is removed by approximately 70 radii of the giant. Depending on the state of the wind, the wave can be at a distance of up to 100 radii. The magnetopause is approximately 50 radii apart. Inside it, particles under the influence of a magnetic field rotate together with the planet.

Study

Jupiter, whose rings were discovered not so long ago, seriously interested scientists. The very first companion, which was sent to study this planet, was the "Pioneer-10". During this time, eight space satellites were involved in the study of the giant. In 2011, the Earth launched "Juno," which, after arriving at the site in late 2016, should help scientists unravel some of the secrets of the largest planet in the solar system.

Studying other planets, experts hope to meet life. Perhaps a hint at her. At least something that would prove that we are not alone in the universe. However, it is unlikely that the giant planet in our own star system will be able to surprise us. Scientists believe that life on Jupiter is almost impossible because of the low water vapor content in the planet and around it. In the 1970s, it was suggested that life might arise in the upper atmosphere, but confirmation of this phantom possibility was never found. The probability of the existence of water-carbon life is extremely low, since clouds contain a small amount of water.