The Structure of Jupiter, Saturn, and Exoplanets: Key Questions for High-Pressure Experiments
نویسنده
چکیده
We give an overview of our current understanding of the structure of gas giant planets, from Jupiter and Saturn to extrasolar giant planets. We focus on addressing what high-pressure laboratory experiments on hydrogen and helium can help to elucidate about the structure of these planets. Subject headings: planetary systems, Jupiter, Saturn
منابع مشابه
Formation of Giant Planets
The observed properties of giant planets, models of their evolution and observations of protoplanetary disks provide constraints on the formation of gas giant planets. The four largest planets in our Solar System contain considerable quantities of hydrogen and helium; these gasses could not have condensed into solid planetesimals within the protoplanetary disk. Jupiter and Saturn are mostly hyd...
متن کاملA model of force balance in Saturn’s magnetodisc
We present calculations of magnetic potential functions associated with the perturbation of Saturn’s planetary magnetic field by a rotating, equatorially-situated disc of plasma. Such structures are central to the dynamics of the rapidly rotating magnetospheres of Saturn and Jupiter. They are ‘fed’ internally by sources of plasma from moons such as Enceladus (Saturn) and Io (Jupiter). For these...
متن کاملInteriors of giant planets inside and outside the solar system.
An understanding of the structure and composition of the giant planets is rapidly evolving because of (i) high-pressure experiments with the ability to study metallic hydrogen and define the properties of its equation of state and (ii) spectroscopic and in situ measurements made by telescopes and satellites that allow an accurate determination of the chemical composition of the deep atmospheres...
متن کاملInterior models of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune
Interior model calculations of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune require EOS-data of hydrogen, helium and water in the regime of warm dense matter. In case of Saturn, the pressure in the deep interior rises up to 15 Mbar at 600010000 K and a hydrogen mass fraction of at least 40%. In Jupiter, due to his larger total mass compared to Saturn, the high-pressure region is more extended with pressures up ...
متن کاملThe formation and differentiation of Earth
www.physicstoday.org T he solar system began to form 4568 million years ago, from a disk of dust and gas around the young Sun. Within a few million years, Jupiter and Saturn had formed and the terrestrial planets had reached significant fractions of their present size. The processes by which the planets formed are of particular interest at a time when the search for Earth-like planets around ot...
متن کامل