This is a drawing depicting the motions in earth's atmosphere.

Motions in Jupiter's Interior

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 interior of a planet. Material rises from where is it warmest, and moves in a roiling motion like the boiling of a pot. In the dr awing, there are three different cells of activity in the atmosphere where the air turns over (depicted by red sheets).

In the interior of Jupiter, the liquid layers are warm enough to move in this fashion. Some scientists think, however, that the heat from within Jupiter causes different sorts of motions.

In any case, the enormous and powerful magnetosphere of Jupiter is produced by motions in the liquid metallic hydrogen layer inside Jupiter.

You might also be interested in:

The Source of Heat from Within Jupiter

Frequently in astromony, the luminoscity of a star is calculated. The luminoscity indicates the energy, and the temperature of the star. When the luminoscity of the outer planets was calculated, that of...more

Motions in Jupiter's Interior, part 2

Motions, or currents in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Saturn 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

The Generation of Jupiter's Magnetosphere

Magnetospheres are generated with 1.) magnetic materials and 2.) with motions within the magnetic material. The terrestrial planets generate magnetospheres within the iron cores at the center. This leads...more

An Overview of Jupiter's Interior

The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the terrestrial planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the terrestrial planets, and they have less solid material inside....more

Motions in Jupiter's Interior

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

A Diagram of Jupiter's Atmospheric Structure

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

A Brown Barge in the Jovian Atmosphere

This is a picture of a brown barge. The accompanying clouds, next to the barge, look very similar to earth clouds. ...more

Jupiter Cloud Decks

There are three regions in Jupiter's atmosphere, as shown in this picture, where clouds of a particular kind, or clouddecks, are to be found. There is a clouddeck of ammonia clouds, a clouddeck of ammonia...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA