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ATMOSPHERE AND PLANETARY COMPOSITION
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Atmosphere
: Jupiter is a gaseous planet; it does not have a solid surface like the Earth does (but probably has a solid, rocky core 10 to 15 times the mass of the Earth). When we look at Jupiter, we are seeing icy clouds of gases moving at high speeds in the atmosphere. Jupiter's atmosphere is composed of about 90% hydrogen and 10 % helium . There are only minute traces (0.07%) of methane (CH 3 ), water, ammonia, and rock dust.
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Mantle
: Pressurized hydrogen in the
mantle may generate electric currents which generate
Jupiter's powerful magnetic field. The outer mantle is
liquid hydrogen; the inner mantle is liquid metallic
hydrogen. The layers of extraordinarily-compressed
hydrogen are in a state so extreme that it has never been
produced on Earth. The pressure is so great that the
hydrogen molecules inside Jupiter conduct heat and
electricity very well, in a metal-like fashion (they do
not do this under Earth-like condition). Inside Jupiter,
electrons from hydrogen molecules move freely from
molecule to molecule (like the electrons of a metal); this
is what allows the electrical and heat conductivity.
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Core
: At the center
of the planet is a molten rock core which is many times
bigger and more massive than the entire Earth. It is
20,000 °C, about three times hotter than the Earth's core.
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Internal Heat
: Jupiter is a
heat source; it radiates 1.6 times a much energy as it receives
from the Sun. This energy is produced by Jupiter's shrinking due
to gravity, and this produces heat. Also, it is still cooling
down, losing its initial energy (the energy it received as the
Solar System formed ).
Does Jupiter produce energy by nuclear fusion
-- NO. Jupiter, the biggest of the gas giants, is too small to
produce a core temperature that is hot enough to undergo fusion
(you need about 3 million degrees to start the fusion of
hydrogen). You'd need a body that was many times the mass of
Jupiter to get nuclear fusion (the theoretical limit is about 8
percent of the mass of the Sun).
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Magnetic Field
:
Jupiter has a very
strong magnetic field. The magnetic field is probably
generated as the planet spins its deep metallic-hydrogen
layer with electrical currents .
Jupiter's magnetic field (Jupiter's magnetosphere) extends
for millions of miles into space. The tail of this magnetic
field (which is extended by the solar wind), extends into
the orbit of Saturn! A tremendous amount of charged
particles are trapped within this magnetosphere, especially
in the inner parts of this field. This makes Jupiter the
most deadly radiation environment of any of the planets.
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