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Jupiter and Saturn Jupiter and Saturn Linda T. Elkins-Tanton Jupiter and Saturn Copyright © 2006 by Linda T. Elkins-Tanton All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elkins-Tanton, Linda T. Jupiter and Saturn / Linda T. Elkins-Tanton. p. cm. — (Solar system) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-5196-8 (acid-free paper) 1. Jupiter (Planet)—Popular works. 2. Saturn (Planet)—Popular works. I.Title. QB661.E45 2006 523.4’5—dc22 2005014190 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text and cover design by Dorothy M. Preston Illustrations by Richard Garratt Printed in the United States of America VB CH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. To my mother and father, Sally and Leonard Elkins, and to my brother and sister-in-law, James P. Elkins and Margaret MacNamidhe Elkins. Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii PART ONE: JUPITER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1. Jupiter: Fast Facts about a Planet in Orbit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Fundamental Information about Jupiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What Makes Gravity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2. The Interior of Jupiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Materials,Temperatures, and Pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Elements and Isotopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 What Is Pressure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Radio Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 3. Jupiter’s Surface Appearance and Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Remote Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Optical Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Changes in Jupiter’s Surface within Human History: Storms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Changes in Jupiter’s Surface within Human History: Comet Shoemaker-Levy . . . 52 4. Jupiter’s Rings and Moons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Surprise of Jupiter’s Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Jupiter’s Moons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 What Are Synchronous Orbits and Synchronous Rotation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Moment of Inertia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Rheology, or How Solids Can Flow . . . . .