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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 12 hours
    Level: Introductory

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • The core of this unit is Chapter 9 of Teach Yourself Planets, by David Rothery, which is found in Section 1 of this unit page by page, followed by a guided discussion and questions in Sections 2 through...
 

1 Chapter 9 of Teach Yourself Planets

 

2 Discussion of Chapter 9: Jupiter itself

  • 2.1 Jupiter and its missions: an update Resource
  • Jupiter's visibly flattened shape is a result of the planet's rapid rotation. The flattening is not really apparent in Figure 9.1, because the terminator (the day-night boundary) is within the left-hand...
  • 2.2 Jupiter's magnetic field and radiation zone Resource
  • The latter part of Section 1.4 describes Jupiter's enormously strong magnetic field, and Section 1.3 mentions the associated radiation belt of magnetically-confined charged particles that are liable to...
  • 2.3 Jupiter's atmosphere Resource
  • The circulation of Jupiter's atmosphere is discussed in Section 1.5, and the movies below document various scales of atmospheric motion, including rotation of the Great Red Spot. The clouds forming the...
  • 2.3 Movie 1 – Voyager 1 'Blue Movie' Resource
  • This is the original Voyager ‘Blue Movie’ (so named because it was built from Blue filter images). It records the approach of Voyager 1 during a period of over 60 Jupiter days. Notice the difference in...
  • 2.3 Movie 2 – Red Spot Movie Resource
  • This brief movie shows counterclockwise atmospheric motion around Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The clip was made from blue-filter images taken with the narrow-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft during...
  • 2.3 Movie 3 – Jupiter Polar Winds Movie Resource
  • Bands of eastward and westward winds on Jupiter appear as concentric rotating circles in this movie composed of Cassini spacecraft images that have been re-projected as if the viewer were looking down...
  • 2.3 Movie 4 – Planetwide Colour Movie Resource
  • The first colour movie of Jupiter from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows what it would look like to peel the entire globe of Jupiter, stretch it out on a wall into the form of a rectangular map, and watch...
  • 2.3 Movie 5 – Small Storms Near Great Red Spot Resource
  • This movie clip, created from images taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, shows small spots slipping over each other east of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. These small storms are born in the turbulent region...
  • 2.3 Movie 6 – Jupiter Hot Spot Resource
  • In this movie clip, created from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, the blue region in the center is a relatively cloud- free area where thermal radiation from warmer, deeper levels emerges. NASA's...
  • 2.3 Movie 7 – Jupiter's High Latitudes Resource
  • This movie clip, created from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, shows a high-latitude area of Jupiter. At latitudes above 45 degrees, the banded appearance of Jupiter's clouds gives way to a more...
  • 2.3 Jupiter's atmosphere (continued) Resource
  • In what way does the composition of Jupiter's clouds differ from those in the Earth's atmosphere?
 

3 Discussion of Chapter 9: Rings and the satellite family

  • 3.1 Jupiter's rings and satellites Resource
  • There can be few people who have never heard of the rings of Saturn, but you may be surprised to discover that every one of the giant planets has rings, including Jupiter. Another feature common to the...
  • 3.2 Io Resource
  • Io is one of the most marvellous bodies in the Solar System, but the intense radiation bathing its surface (Figure 2) makes it unlikely that anyone will ever be able to visit. Even robotic spacecraft cannot...
  • 3.3 Europa Resource
  • Although Io may be more spectacular, Europa is perhaps more intriguing. To get the most out of this section you needed to look again carefully at images in Chapter 9 of Teach Yourself Planets (such as...
  • 3.4 Ganymede and Callisto Resource
  • The images of Ganymede and Callisto in Section 1.11 and Section 1.12 and below demonstrate that ancient icy surfaces can display just as large a range of features as any rocky world. Given the similarity...
 

4 Questions

  • 4 Questions Resource
  • Now try to answer the following questions, to remind you of some of the things you have learned and test your understanding of them.
 

References and Acknowledgements

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