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Jovian Planets

Jovian Planets. Rulers of the Solar System. Properties. Most of Jupiter and Saturn and about half of Uranus and Neptune are made of Hydrogen and Helium. Voyager. Energy. With no surface, no surface modification processes No craters No volcanoes No tectonics No erosion

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Jovian Planets

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  1. Jovian Planets Rulers of the Solar System

  2. Properties • Most of Jupiter and Saturn and about half of Uranus and Neptune are made of Hydrogen and Helium

  3. Voyager

  4. Energy • With no surface, no surface modification processes • No craters • No volcanoes • No tectonics • No erosion • These are big planets • Big planets have lots of internal energy • With no endogenic surface processes, where does the energy go?

  5. Bands & Storms

  6. Bands • Differential rotation – poles take longer to rotate than equator

  7. Storms

  8. The great red spot

  9. SL9

  10. Interiors

  11. Magnetosphere

  12. Uranus’ orbit

  13. Planetary Rings • All the “Jovian planets” have rings • These are not solid, but composed of millions of tiny particles of ice and dust • Rings have structure: gaps and spokes

  14. Rings

  15. Ring structure

  16. What makes the rings?

  17. Shepard moons

  18. Planetary rings – Why? • Left to itself, a ring will slowly spread out due to gravitational interactions • Rings are bounded by the stronger gravity of larger bodies: The planet itself and some of the larger and nearby moons • Some bounds are due to gravitational resonances, others due to the direct action of sheparding satellites • The origin of the rings is unknown – either a failed satellite or a broken satellite • A reason is known: the tidal stability limit at 2.5 times the radius of the body. Interior to this, 2 touching particles will be pulled apart by the planet’s gravity • Why don’t inner planets have rings? Gravitation perturbations by the Sun will cause any small particles to spiral into the planets on a relatively short time scale.

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