This is a drawing showing another form of motions in a planets interior.
Click on image for full size
Motions in Jupiter's Interior, part 2
Motions, or currents in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Jupiter may be very different from the motions typical of the earth's interior.
A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet is shown in this picture. Strong heat coming from within a planet can cause this kind of motion to take place. The drawing shows layered cylinders of material, in motion, rolling in different directions. It is thought that this pattern may be in operation because the tips of the cylinders may correspond to the striped pattern of clouds seen in the atmosphere.
It is not known which of these two kinds of motion, one typical of the earth, and one like this, prevails in the interior of Jupiter.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
books on science education, ranging from
evolution,
classroom research, and the
need for science and math literacy!
You might also be interested in:
The energy that Jupiter and Saturn make has been found be very high. There are several ways in which astronomical objects make energy from inside. The first is by thermonuclear fusion, the way a star makes
...more
Jupiter shows a pattern of clouds of white, brown, and orange. And then there is the Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is the largest of the clouds of Jupiter. Other cloud shapes include eddy shapes,
...more
Motions in the interior of a planet help carry heat from the inside to the outside. The drawing to the left illustrates a kind of global motion that is typical of motions in the atmosphere as well as the
...more
Motions, or currents in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Jupiter may be very different from the motions typical of the earth's interior. A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant
...more
This is the temperature profile of Jupiter's entire atmosphere. The horizontal lines indicate the boundaries between the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere.
...more
This is a picture of a brown barge. The accompanying clouds, next to the barge, look very similar to earth clouds.
...more
There are three different layer of clouds, or clouddecks, in Jupiter's atmosphere, as shown in this picture. The clouddecks are made of different molecules. The first clouddeck is made of ammonia clouds.
...more
This picture shows the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, in the center of the image. Swirling white clouds below, and to the right of the Great Red Spot, in this picture, are eddys. This image does not have
...more
