You will also be interested
[EN VIDÉO] Fly over Jupiter with the Juno spacecraft Discover Jupiter as you’ve never seen it before thanks to the work of a citizen scientist. Using the images collected by the Juno probe, he managed to create a 3D model of the Jovian surface, of which he offers a breathtaking overview.
Fifth planet in our Solar System in order of distance to our star, Jupiter is on the other hand the largest (nearly 140,000 kilometers in diameter) and the most massive (more than 300 times the mass of the Earth). Similar in composition to Sunessentially made up ofhydrogen and D’heliumthe gas giant probably formed by accretion of materials in the nebula solar. But the presence of so-called metallic elements, heavier than helium, seems to indicate that Jupiter would not only have accreted gaseous materials during its first phases of existence, but also metallic elements, potentially coming from proto-planets. solids, called planetesimals.
Many probes to study the giant of the Solar System
Despite the visit of several probes since the beginning of the 1970s, Jupiter is still full of mysteries: the beautiful volutes of gas known to him are only representative of the upper 50 kilometers of theatmosphere of the planet, thus obstructing any view one might have of its structure and internal composition.
In 1995, the probe Galileo stands in orbit around Jupiter and drops a small atmospheric probe there, providing us with valuable information on the composition of the upper layers of its atmosphere, before being crushed by the strong pressure who reigns there. It was then necessary to wait until 2016 for the probe Juno of the Nasa is placed in orbit around Jupiter with the aim of collecting data on the internal layers of the planet, in particular through the study of its gravitational field. It is still in operation today, and NASA plans to stop the mission in 2025.
Training processes still debated
Although the idea that Jupiter was formed by gas accretion in the cloud protosolar is commonly accepted, the period and the processes of accretion of metallic elements are still subject to debate. The majority of the scientific community agrees that during its formation, the planet first accreted rocky material, then followed a rapid period of gaseous accretion, giving it its current dimensions. But the period of accretion of rocky material remains very vague: could the planet have accreted large rocky bodies — planetesimals — during its first phases of existence, or would it have been confined to capturing debris ?
A new study claims to be able to decide, thanks to the exploitation of gravitational data collected by Juno: according to the authors, the clues to the formation and evolution of Jupiter reside in the depths of its atmosphere. By mapping the presence of metallic elements in the planet’s core, derived from measurements made by the Gravity Science instrument mounted on the probe, the scientists succeeded in highlighting the highly inhomogeneous nature of its atmosphere: the majority of metallic elements are concentrated towards the center, for a total mass varying between 11 and 30 times the terrestrial mass.
Thus, Jupiter would have continued to accrete large quantities of metallic elements during the extension of its gaseous envelope.
According to the authors of the study, when a protoplanet is massive enough, it would begin to expel the surrounding debris, because of their too low mass; however, the richness in metallic elements observed in the gas giant could not have been reached before Jupiter was too massive to repel all the debris, thus implying the role of more massive rocky bodies in the first phases of accretions of the planet.
Thus, Jupiter would have continued to accrete large quantities of metallic elements during the extension of its gaseous envelope, calling into question the hypothesis of two distinct accretion periods. Moreover, the inhomogeneous nature of Jupiter’s atmosphere seems to demonstrate the absence of effective convective processes in its inner layers, which scientists previously thought were present.
In addition to a much more precise vision of the internal composition of Jupiter and its evolutionary processes, this study could also have repercussions on the study of exoplanets gasses and their metallicity.
Jupiter Color mosaic made up of 27 images taken from nine locations (in red, green and blue) by the Cassini-Huygens probe on December 29, 2000, when it was 10 million km from Jupiter. This is the finest portrait of Jupiter ever made, which allows you to view details, the smallest of which measure 60 km.
Shoemaker-Levy impact on Jupiter Photo taken in July 1994, just after the impact.
Io and Jupiter from Cassini
Jupiter and its system
Eruption on Io Incredible images of an eruption on Io in the Tvashtar region
The pack ice on Europe 1
The pack ice on Europe 2
Eruption on Io: Tvashtar region Lava fountains in the caldera of the Tvashtar region.
Ice Cliffs in Europe
Models of the structure of Europe
Volcanic plumes on Io
Evolution of volcanic plumes on Io
Evolution of the ground on Io
Important volcanic areas on Io
Comparison of the main satellites of Jupiter (surfaces)
Comparison of the main satellites of Jupiter
Comparison of Io and Amalthe In this image we compare the size of two moons of Jupiter. Note the similarity in color which possibly implies that Amalthe owes its color to sulfur plumes ejected by Io.
Lava fountains on Io
The volcanic region of Tvashtar
Recent sinking on Io The image shows, in dark, a recent flow on Io, covering an older deposit area (?). For more: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02557
Sodium clouds surrounding Io This image taken with filters shows the gaseous envelope of sodium and sulfur from eruptions on Io For more: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01111
When Jupiter approaches On September 21, 2010, Jupiter was 591 million kilometers from Earth, the shortest distance since 1963. The planet then shone at magnitude -2.9. © BA Tafreshi
An asteroid disintegrates in Jupiter’s atmosphere June 3, 2010: A light flash recorded in Jupiter’s atmosphere reveals the disintegration of a small celestial body. We can notice that the southern equatorial band is missing (located under the luminous point), masked for several weeks by white clouds. © A. Wesley
When amateur astronomers photograph Jupiter’s satellites Anthology of the best images of Jupiter’s satellites taken between 2007 and 2010 by amateur astronomers. © D.Peach/M. Karrer/D. Lozen/J.-P. Prost
Temporary disappearance of the southern equatorial band Between the image on the left taken in 2006 by C. Go and the one on the right taken in May 2010 by A. Wesley, the disappearance of the southern equatorial band is evident. © C. Go and A. Wesley
The red spot in infrared The top image shows the Great Red Spot and its surroundings photographed in the visible by the Hubble telescope in May 2008. At the bottom, the image made in infrared at the VLT at the same time made it possible to draw up a thermal map. © ESO/Nasa/JPL/Esa/L. Fletcher
Impact on Jupiter in 2009 Photograph taken July 23, 2009 by WFC-3, the Hubble Space Telescope’s wide-field camera. It shows the dispersion of debris from the asteroid or comet which struck Jupiter’s upper atmosphere four days earlier. © NASA/Esa/H. Hammel (Space Science Institute)/Jupiter Impact Team
The Great Red Spot and its little sisters Three images of Jupiter’s red spots taken by Hubble in 2008. The arrow indicates the small spot that stands out from the large one having lost its red color. © NASA/Esa/A. Simon-Miller (Goddard Space Flight Center)/N. Chanover (New Mexico State University)/G. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
Aurora on Jupiter Like all planets with a magnetic field, Jupiter shows aurorae, here photographed by the Hubble telescope. © Nasa/Esa/John Clarke (University of Michigan)
Interested in what you just read?