The gas giants of the solar system, like any other, are mostly composed of gases. The physical and chemical characteristics of these planets are so different from our entire environment that they cannot but arouse the interest of even those who are very far from astronomy.
Gas giants
It is known that objects of our star system are conventionally divided into two groups: earthly and gas. The second includes planets that do not have a hard shell. Our star has four such objects:
- Jupiter.
- Saturn.
- Uranus.
- Neptune.
The gas giants of the solar system are distinguished by the uncertainty of the boundaries between the core, shell and atmosphere of the planet. Actually, scientists do not even have confidence in the presence of a nucleus.
According to the most probable system of our world’s origin, the gas giants of the solar system appeared much later than the planets of the earth group. The pressure in the atmosphere of the giants increases as it deepens. Experts believe that closer to the center of the planet it is so great that hydrogen goes into liquid form.
Gas bodies rotate around their axis faster than solids. It is curious that the planets (gas giants) of the solar system emit more heat than they receive from the luminary. This phenomenon can be partially explained by gravitational energy, but the origin of the remaining part to scientists is not completely understood.
Jupiter
The largest planet in the solar system is the gas giant Jupiter. It is so large that it can be seen even with the naked eye - in the night sky it is the third brightest object, only the Moon and Venus are more visible. Even in a small telescope, you can see the disk of Jupiter with four points - satellites.
The planet boasts not only the largest sizes, but also the strongest magnetic field - it is 14 times more than the earth's. There is an opinion that it was created by the movement of metallic hydrogen in the bowels of the giant. The radio emission of the planet is so powerful that it damages any devices that come close. Despite the gigantic size of Jupiter, it rotates faster than all its counterparts in the star system - a complete revolution takes only 10 hours. But its orbit is so great that the flyby around the luminary takes 12 earth years.
Jupiter is the closest gas giant to us, therefore it is the most studied among the planets of its group. It was to this body that most spacecraft were directed. Currently in orbit is the probe "Juno", collecting information about the planet and its satellites. The ship was launched in 2011, in July 2016 it reached the orbit of the planet. In August of that year, he flew as close as possible - he circled Jupiter only 4,200 km from its surface. In February 2018, it is planned to flood the device in the atmosphere of a giant. The whole world is waiting for pictures of this process.
Saturn
The second largest gas giant in the solar system is Saturn. This planet is considered the most mysterious, thanks to its rings, the origin of which is debated by scientists around the world. Today it is known that they consist of pieces of rock of various sizes, ice and dust. There are particles with a speck of dust, but there are objects up to a kilometer in diameter. It is curious that the width of the rings could be enough to go along them from the Earth to the Moon, while their width is only about a kilometer.
The reflected light of this object exceeds the amount reflected by the planet. Not even a very powerful telescope is enough to make out the rings of Saturn.
Scientists have found that the density of the planet is half that of water: if it were possible to immerse Saturn in water, it would stay afloat.
The giant has very strong winds - vortices are recorded at the equator at an average speed of 1800 km / h. To roughly imagine their strength, you should compare them with the most powerful tornado, the speed of which reaches 512 km / h. Saturn’s Day flies quickly - in just 10 hours, 14 minutes, while the year lasts 29 Earth years.
Uranus
This planet is called the ice giant, because under the atmosphere of hydrogen, helium and methane are located not only rocks, but also high-temperature modifications of ice. Scientists have discovered clouds of hydrogen, ammonia and ice floating in the atmosphere of Uranus.
The planet boasts the coldest atmosphere in our Star system - minus 224 degrees. Scientists suggest the presence of water on the giant, which, in turn, makes life possible.
An interesting feature of Uranus is its equator located across the orbit: the planet seemed to lie on its side. This situation makes the change of seasons absolutely unique. The poles of the planet for our 42 years do not see sunlight. It is easy to calculate that Uranus completes a complete revolution around the Sun in 84 years. Rotation around its axis occurs in 17 hours 14 minutes, however, strong winds up to 250 m / s (900 km / h) accelerate some parts of the atmosphere, forcing them to run over the planet in 14 hours.
It was previously believed that the planet’s tilt changed after a collision with a large object, but today scientists are leaning towards a version of the impact of neighbors in the system. It is assumed that the gravitational fields of Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune were brought down by the axis of Uranus.
Neptune
This planet is the most distant from the Sun, so most of the information about it is based on calculations and remote observations.
A year in Neptune is almost 165 Earth years. The atmosphere is so unstable that the equator of the planet rotates around its axis in 18 hours, the poles in 12, the magnetic field in 16.1.
Giant gravity has a significant impact on objects located in the Kuiper belt. There is evidence that the planet disabled several areas of the belt, as a result of which gaps appeared in its structure. The temperature of the center of Neptune reaches 7000 degrees - the same as that of most known planets or on the surface of the luminary.
The gas giants of the solar system have similar characteristics, but still they are completely different objects from each other, each of which deserves to be known as much as possible about them.