1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, 2 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: the planet Jupiter has superlatives despair. We'd expect nothing less 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: from a giant planet named after a mythic king of 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: the gods. Not only is Jupiter the largest planet in 5 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: our Solar system, but it also spins at the fastest rate. 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: This massive planet is a world where the days may 7 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: be short, but giant storms can rage on for centuries. 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: So today let's talk about Jupiter. The fifth planet from 9 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: our Sun, has an equatorial diameter of about eighty nine 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: thousand miles or one hundred and forty three thousand kilometers. 11 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,919 Speaker 1: Were Jupiter a hollow shell, you could fit more than 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 1: one thousand, three hundred earths inside of it. For its 13 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: huge size, its mass is only around three hundred and 14 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: eighteen times that of Earth, but that's still two and 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: a half times as massive as all all of the 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: other planets in our Solar system combined. Still, next to 17 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: the Sun, Jupiter looks puny. Our star accounts for ninety 18 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: nine point eight percent of all of the mass in 19 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: our Solar system, Jupiter included. Nevertheless, Jupiter is large enough 20 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: to affect the Sun in ways that Earth never could. 21 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: Jupiter doesn't orbit the Sun's center like all of the 22 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: other planets. Instead, Jupiter orbits a spot in empty space 23 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: just outside of the Sun's surface. Oh why, Okay, technically 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,760 Speaker 1: everything in the Solar System does exert gravity on everything else. 25 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: The term for the center of mass between any two 26 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: or more bodies is their Berry center. And now every 27 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: other planet is so much less massive than the Sun 28 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: that we barely tug on it. Our berry center with 29 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: the Sun is within the Sun. But Jupiter is so 30 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: big that it affects how the Sun moves too, so 31 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: it's Berry center with the Sun is a little outside 32 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: of the Sun. Jupiter's gargantuine bulk gives the Sun a 33 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: slight but noticeable wobble. This is good to know, because 34 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: if scientists ever detect that kind of wobble in a 35 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: far off star, it could mean that a Jupiter sized 36 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: planet is in its orbit. But size isn't the only 37 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: thing setting Earth and Jupiter apart. Compositionally, our planets are 38 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:30,679 Speaker 1: totally different. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are all terrestrial 39 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: or rocky planets, a meaning that they have hard, rocky 40 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: surfaces with a relatively thin gaseous atmosphere. Underneath the surface, 41 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: layers of liquid and solid rock and metals make up 42 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:48,639 Speaker 1: their cores. Jupiter is a gas giant, which means lacks 43 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: a solid surface and has an overwhelmingly thick gaseous atmosphere. 44 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: For its part, Jupiter's two main ingredients are hydrogen and helium, 45 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: though smaller quantities of metaane, ammonia, and water have also 46 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: been detected. Since it doesn't have a hard crust, scientists 47 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: define Jupiter's surface as the outer layer at which its 48 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: atmospheric pressure equals that of Earth. Far below this external area, 49 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: there's a layer dominated by molecular hydrogen. Beneath that you'll 50 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: find a level whose primary component is liquid metallic hydrogen, 51 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: a material reminiscent of the liquid mercury we find on Earth. 52 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: The core at Jupiter's very center has inspired a lot 53 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: of debate. Some astronomers have argued that there's no solid 54 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: core at all, that Jupiter formed from gas and dust alone, 55 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: or that any core once had eroded slowly over millions 56 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: and billions of years. A data collected by NASA's Juno 57 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: spacecraft tells us that there probably is a core, but 58 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: we still don't know what it's made of. Our best 59 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: guesses are rock and ice, as it seems less dense, 60 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: and Earth's iron and nickel based in our core. The 61 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: Juno mission, which entered Jupiter's orbit on July fourth of 62 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, was the first to get below the planet's 63 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: clouds and send back detailed information about Jupiter's atmosphere and 64 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: its moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, plus more data on 65 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: how our Solar system formed. But let's talk more about 66 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:29,799 Speaker 1: Jupiter's so called surface. The planet has stripes or bands 67 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: of color running around it from top to bottom, in 68 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: shades of white to gray to reddish brown, each swirling 69 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: with storms. Amazingly, neighboring bands of swirls move in opposite directions. 70 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: Astronomers call the darker ones belts, while their lighter counterparts 71 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: have been dubbed zones. Jupiter's stripes and swirls are windy 72 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: clouds of ammonia and water floating in that gaseous atmosphere 73 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: of hydrogen and helium. Variations in chemistry, trans its, parency, shape, 74 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: and or temperature might explain the color differences. Tempests riddle 75 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: the gas giant a far south of Jupiter's equator, there's 76 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: a series of oval shaped storms that rotate counterclockwise, being 77 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: whitish in coloration, and set off because they're moving through 78 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: darker bands. These are nicknamed the String of Pearls. Since 79 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty six, the number of Pearl storms has varied 80 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: from six to nine. Even better known is the Great 81 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: Red Spot, closer to the equator than the Pearls, a 82 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: giant storm with a crimson tint. It's made up of 83 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: winds that whirl at a rate of some two hundred 84 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: and seventy miles an hour that's four hundred and thirty 85 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: kilometers an hour. Although researchers think that the giant storm 86 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: may be shrinking, its current dimensions are still highly impressive. 87 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: At over ten thousand miles wide, that's more than sixty 88 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: thousand kilometers, the Great Red Spot is large enough to 89 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: envelope our entire planet. It's caught between two powerful jet streams, 90 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: one to the east and one to the west, that 91 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: keep it more or less in place. Astronomers have been 92 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: keeping a constant eye on the storm since eighteen thirty. Therefore, 93 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: we know that at minimum, it's more than one hundred 94 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:24,559 Speaker 1: and ninety earth years old. Its longevity may have something 95 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: to do with Jupiter's rotational orbit, that is, the length 96 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: of its days. Here on Earth, we complete a new 97 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: spin around Earth's axis once every twenty four hours, no 98 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: matter where on the planet we reside. But since Jupiter 99 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: is largely gaseous, some of its latitudinal regions rotate faster 100 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: than others do. At Jupiter's poles, a day lasts for 101 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: nine hours and fifty six minutes. Meanwhile, places near Jupiter's 102 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: equator see brisk nine hour fifty minute days. Jupiter has 103 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: the shortest days of all the planet in this solar system. 104 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: Of course, Jupiter's infamous storms aren't its only feature. It 105 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: also boasts rings and a plethora of moons. Yep Like Saturn, Uranus, 106 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: and Neptune, Jupiter also has rings, albeit less dramatic ones. 107 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: NASA's Voyager one spacecraft discovered Jupiter's rings in nineteen seventy nine. 108 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: They're so faint that they're practically invisible from Earth's surface. 109 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: The most visible one is bright and thin, only about 110 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: twenty miles thick in some places that's about thirty kilometers. 111 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: One inside and two outside of it are thicker and 112 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: much less defined. Data sent back by the Galileo spacecraft 113 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: show that they might have formed when dust from interplanetary 114 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: meteoroids smashed into Jupiter's moons, which the planet has. As 115 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: we said, a lot of No less than ninety five 116 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: known moons are currently orbiting this gas giant. Jupiter's four 117 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: large moons were the first moons discovered beyond Earth. These 118 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: are the four Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. 119 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: Ganymede is the biggest. It's actually the biggest moon in 120 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: the Solar System and is larger than the planet Mercury, 121 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: a fitting jewel in the crown of this planetary giant. 122 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: But these moons aren't just beautiful. They may help us 123 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: learn about the possibility of sustaining life beyond our own 124 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: little blue planet. In particular, Europa may be geologically active 125 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: under its crust, and it seems to even contain an 126 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: ocean of liquid water under its frozen surface, meaning it's 127 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 1: possible that there are places on Europa that could support 128 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: life as we know it. NASA researchers are launching a 129 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: spacecraft called Europa Clipper on October tenth of twenty twenty 130 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: four to conduct dozens of flybys of the Moon and 131 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: help us learn more about its icy shell, the ocean underneath, 132 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 1: and its geology and inner makeup to follow along with 133 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: its cherney, which will take several years. Because space is big. 134 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 1: You can go to Europa dot NASA dot gov. Today's 135 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: episode is based on the article Jupiter, Anatomy of a 136 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,239 Speaker 1: gas Giant on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Mark Mancini. 137 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how 138 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,439 Speaker 1: Stuffworks dot com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four 139 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 140 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.