PHYS 190 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Galilean Moons, Roche Limit, Dwarf Planet
31 Mar 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Often called jovian planets, meaning they resemble jupiter. Saturn - slightly smaller, uranus & neptune quite a bit smaller than jupiter but still 4 times earth"s diameter. Pluto was considered planet from time of its discovery in 1930 until decision by iau in. Saturn"s rings - bright & beautiful & composed of billions of ice particles. Jupiter, uranus, neptune also have rings but not easily detected from earth. 4 jovian worlds have hydrogen-rich atmospheres filled w/ clouds. On jupiter & saturn, clouds form stripes circling each planet. Models based on observations indicate that below atmospheres, jupiter & saturn are mostly liquid, so term gas giants should probably be changed to liquid giants. Uranus & neptune sometimes called ice giants b/c rich in water in both solid & liquid forms. Near centres, jovian planets have cores of dense material w/ composition of rock & metal. None of jovian worlds has definite solid surface on which you could walk.
