Does Jupiter have a differential rotation?
Abstract. Jupiter's atmosphere is rotating differentially, with zones and belts rotating at speeds that differ by up to 100 metres per second. Whether this is also true of the gas giant's interior has been unknown1,2, limiting our ability to probe the structure and composition of the planet3,4.
What is differential rotation and how is it observed on Jupiter?
What is differential rotation, and how is it observed on Jupiter? Differential rotation: rotation of a planet is not constant from one location to the other. (Equatorial zones rotate faster on Jupiter, the interior rotates at the same rate as the polar regions).
What type of rotation does Jupiter have?
Speed Demon Most planets, including Jupiter, rotate counterclockwise. When it comes to rotation, Jupiter is the leading planet once again; it has the fastest spin. Jupiter completes its rotation in just under 10 Earth hours. Because Jupiter is primarily made of gases, the entire planet does not rotate at the same rate.
Do planets have differential rotation?
Examples of differential rotation are found throughout astronomy. In stars (including the Sun) and the gas giant planets, the equatorial regions rotate faster than regions closer to the poles, meaning that equatorial sunspots and cloud formations will move across the face of the object faster than their polar cousins.
How does Jupiter rotate?
One day on Jupiter takes only about 10 hours (the time it takes for Jupiter to rotate or spin around once), and Jupiter makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Jovian time) in about 12 Earth years (4,333 Earth days). Its equator is tilted with respect to its orbital path around the Sun by just 3 degrees.
What causes differential rotation?
Differential rotation is caused by convection in stars. The movement of mass is due to steep temperature gradients from the core outwards.
What is differential rotation in astronomy?
Differential rotation is seen when different parts of a rotating object move with different angular velocities (rates of rotation) at different latitudes and/or depths of the body and/or in time. This indicates that the object is not solid. In fluid objects, such as accretion disks, this leads to shearing.
Do Jovian planets have differential rotation?
o They exhibit fast (10 -16 hrs) differential rotation: it takes shorter time for equatorial regions to finish one round about the axis than for polar regions (similar to the Sun's differential rotation) — they're fluid. The visible “surfaces” of Jovian planets are the cloud tops.
Why does Jupiter rotate?
When Jupiter formed, it accreted its atmosphere (over 95% of the planet's total mass!) from the hydrogen and helium gas in the protoplanetary disk surrounding our Sun. As Jupiter ate up this gas mass, it must have begun to spin faster as it also ate up the gas's angular momentum.
What is interesting about Jupiter’s rotation period?
What is interesting about Jupiter's rotation period? It is the fastest in the solar system.
What is differential rotation which planets do exhibit differential rotation?
However, unlike Earth which rotates at all latitudes every 24 hours, the Sun rotates every 25 days at the equator and takes progressively longer to rotate at higher latitudes, up to 35 days at the poles. This is known as differential rotation. The Sun rotates in the same direction as Earth.
How many rotations does Jupiter make?
Next to each planet's name, we have listed the time it takes for each planet to make one full rotation as well as the speed each planet moves at its equator. Jupiter, for example, makes one rotation in 9h 55m but moves 27 times faster than Earth at its equator, spinning at a whopping 45,583 km/h!
How do you determine differential rotation?
There are many ways to measure and calculate differential rotation in stars to see if different latitudes have different angular velocities. The most obvious is tracking spots on the stellar surface. By doing helioseismological measurements of solar "p-modes" it is possible to deduce the differential rotation.
Why does Jupiter spin so fast?
When Jupiter formed, it accreted its atmosphere (over 95% of the planet's total mass!) from the hydrogen and helium gas in the protoplanetary disk surrounding our Sun. As Jupiter ate up this gas mass, it must have begun to spin faster as it also ate up the gas's angular momentum.
Does Saturn rotate differential?
Galaxies and protostars usually show differential rotation; examples in the Solar System include the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn.
How does Jupiter rotate so fast?
Without any slow-down, Jupiter simply speeds up as the planet contracts in order to conserve angular momentum. But with magnetic braking, Jupiter first spins down to a rotation period of 36 hours in about 25,000 years.
Why is Jupiter the fastest rotating planet?
This means that Jupiter has the shortest days of all the planets in the Solar System. Since Jupiter is a gas planet, it does not rotate as a solid sphere. Jupiter's equator rotates a bit faster than its polar regions at a speed of 28,273 miles/hour (about 43,000 kilometers/hour).
Can you determine the spin direction of Jupiter?
Jupiter's whirlwinds rotate opposite to the rotation of the planet i.e. clockwise on the northern and anti-clockwise on the southern hemisphere.
Does Venus have differential rotation?
Compared to Earth, Venus twirls at a leisurely pace on its axis, with its surface taking 243 Earth days to complete one rotation. However, the hot, deadly atmosphere of Venus spins nearly 60 times faster than its surface, whirling around the planet once every 96 hours, an effect known as super-rotation.
What are 5 interesting facts about Jupiter?
Ten Interesting Facts About Jupiter
- Jupiter Is Massive: …
- Jupiter Cannot Become A Star: …
- Jupiter Is The Fastest Spinning Planet In The Solar System: …
- The Clouds On Jupiter Are Only 50 km Thick: …
- The Great Red Spot Has Been Around For A Long Time: …
- Jupiter Has Rings: …
- Jupiter's Magnetic Field Is 14 Times Stronger Than Earth's:
Why is Jupiter’s magnetic field so strong?
Jupiter's outer core is also thought to be responsible for its enormous magnetic field, though it is liquid hydrogen crushed by intense pressure into a metallic form that generates the magnetism rather than iron compounds.
Does Jupiter spin backwards?
Right now, for example, the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn are moving backwards — a motion known as retrograde. That doesn't mean the planets have reversed direction, though. Instead, it's caused by Earth's motion relative to the two planets. Earth is closer to the Sun, so it moves faster in its orbit.
Why has Jupiter retained its atmosphere?
Jupiter retained most of its original atmosphere because it has a very high mass, and because the temperature was not as high as that of the terrestrial planets during their formation.
Which planet rotates anti clockwise?
in this solar system) rotate. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Every planet in our solar system except for Venus and Uranus rotates counter-clockwise as seen from above the North Pole; that is to say, from west to east.
Does it rain diamonds on Jupiter?
New research by scientists apparently shows that it rains diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn. In fact the planets have the capability to create 1000 tonnes of diamonds a year.
Does Jupiter spin fast or slow?
Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet in our Solar System rotating on average once in just under 10 hours. That is very fast especially considering how large Jupiter is.
What generates Jupiter’s magnetic field?
Jupiter's outer core is also thought to be responsible for its enormous magnetic field, though it is liquid hydrogen crushed by intense pressure into a metallic form that generates the magnetism rather than iron compounds.
How many Tesla is Jupiter magnetic field?
From analysis of the radio frequency emission, it is implied that the magnetic field on Jupiter is nearly 20,000 times stronger that that of Earth. With Earth's field of about 0.5 gauss, this implies that Jupiter's field is about 10,000 gauss or 1 tesla.
Why does Jupiter exhibit retrograde motion?
The retrograde motion is caused by the Earth's own motion around the Sun. As the Earth circles the Sun, our perspective changes, and this causes the apparent positions of objects to move from side-to-side in the sky with a one-year period.
Is Jupiter prograde or retrograde rotation?
Just as the movement of Mars appears to change between retrograde and prograde, so does that of Jupiter. Jupiter moves across the sky in a very predictable pattern, but every now and then it reverses direction in the sky, making a tiny loop against the background stars – this is Jupiter in retrograde.