This is a drawing showing another form of motions in a planets interior.
Click on image for full size
Motions in Uranus' Interior, part 2
Motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Uranus may be very different from the motions within the Earth.
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 that underneath the clouds of Uranus, long logs of material may be in motion, rolling in different directions. It is thought that this pattern may be in operation because the tips of the logs may match 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 Uranus.
You might also be interested in:
The picture shows places on Jupiter which are hot. Jupiter is a very warm place, as shown in the picture, sort of like a warm log in the fireplace which gives off heat. Unlike Jupiter, Uranus is like a
...more
Motions in the interior of a planet help carry heat from the inside to the outside. The drawing to the left illustrates the kind of movements that happen in interior of a planet. Material rises from the
...more
Motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Uranus may be very different from the motions within the Earth. A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet is shown in this
...more
The giant planets have definitely changed since their formation. But how much remains to be seen. Most of the original air of the giant planets remains in place. (The earth-like planets lost most of their
...more
Uranus' atmosphere is made of methane, a medium sized molecule. At the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere, methane gas breaks apart due to energy from the sun and from the magnetosphere. The remins of
...more
Motion of air in the atmosphere means wind. The major winds in the Uranian atmosphere called zonal winds. Motion of air in the atmosphere can also happen by diffusion. There is a continual circulation
...more
This is the temperature profile of Uranus' entire atmosphere. The horizontal lines indicate the boundaries between the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere.
...moreThe ionosphere of Uranus is a region of charged particles. Elevated temperatures can sometimes cause a molecule to become ionized, therefore, the ionosphere and thermosphere can overlap.
...more
