Jupiter's Geography

Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume of more than a thousand times great than that of Earth, and a mass greater than all of the other planets combined. It differs greatly from the terrestrial planets. A substantial area of Jupiter consists of an atmosphere containing primarily helium and hydrogen with traces of ammonia, methane, and other compounds. The pressure and temperature increase remarkedly towards the center of the planet, whilst the atmosphere grows denser and its properties change. At a depth of around 50,000 km, the pressure is so great that the hydrogen solidifies into a substance that acts like a metal. The main difference between Jupiter and the Earth is that the source of thermal energy that mixes the atmosphere does not come primarily from the Sun but from the planet's interior. Jupiter has not yet cooled down from when it was first created; it interior is very hot and this provides the thermal energy that heats the atmosphere from below. Masses of heated gas soar upward, carrying chemical compounds, which condense at higher , cooler levels, and form high clouds in the brighter zones. Cooled gases then move elsewhere, carrying cloud particles to warmer, lower layers, where clouds then evaporate and vainsh.

Jupiter's North Pole

Looking at Jupiter through a telescope, one can see only cloud formations, which have the form of dark and light belts that run parallel to the planet’s equator. By following the details within the belt we can observe the planet’s rapid rotation, which Jupiter rotates round its axis once within a ten hour period. Due to this rapid rotation, Jupiter is considerably flattened at it’s poles.

Jupiter's South Pole

The appearance of Jupiter not only changes because of its rapid rotation, but also because of the meteorological processes and the effects of the chemical properties in Jupiter's atmosphere. The overall distance between the belts and their distribution from the equator remain fairly constant. The cloud formations on the planet are of a much longer duration than those of Earth. A unique feature to this planet is the so called Great Red Spot, a reddish oval with a diameter bigger than the size of our Earth. This red spot has been observed by astronomers for over a hundered years, perphaps as early as the 17th century. The Great Red Spot (GRS) is the coldest and the highest cloud formation on Jupiter. Masses of clouds rotate counterclockwise around the outside of the GRS. The GRS can be likened to an unprecedented storm; a hurricane that contains winds reaching to the speed of more than 55 km/h.

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter

The belts are produced by the circulation of the atmosphere. The light zones consist of cooler clouds at a greater height. The dusky belts are more transparent. The coloration of the belts on Jupiter show up very well in pictures taken by probes at close range. The colours are caused by various compounds that are created at specific temperatures, and thus at certain heights in the planet's atmosphere. The temperature in the upper-most cloud layer is -140 C , but in the lower layers it rises to 0 C.