A gas giant and the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System.
Questions tagged [jupiter]
74 questions
53
votes
10 answers
Can Jupiter be ignited?
Our solar system itself contains two candidate "Earths"
One is Jupiter's moon Europa and another is Saturn's moon Titan. Both of them have the problem of having at low temperature as Sun's heat cannot reach them.
Jupiter is made up mostly of…
Xinus
- 1,281
45
votes
4 answers
What would happen if Jupiter collided with the Sun?
This question is inspired by a similar one asked on Quora. Let's say a wizard magicked Jupiter into the Sun, with or without high velocity. What happens?
The Quora question has two completely opposed answers: one saying "nothing much happens" and…
Allure
- 23,373
29
votes
3 answers
Is Jupiter a failed star?
In my physics lessons, my teachers have always been keen to tell my class that Jupiter is considered a 'failed star' by scientists. Is this true?
In my own effort I wondered if maybe this could just be being regurgitated from an outdated physics…
alexjohnj
- 545
26
votes
3 answers
Why do the storms of Jupiter have long life unlike that of Earth?
Recently I saw How the Universe Works. In one of the episodes, concerning Jupiter, they told that the storms on Jupiter can survive many, many, times longer than those on Earth.
What is the reason behind it? They said that it is due to its big…
user36790
23
votes
2 answers
How deep is the Great Red Spot?
The Great Red Spot (GRS) is a very persistent storm system that's easily visible through a telescope on the surface of Jupiter. But what is the three-dimensional structure of the GRS, and how deep into the planet does it extend?
When I first wrote…
N. Virgo
- 35,274
23
votes
1 answer
How did Rømer measure the speed of light by observing Jupiter's moons, centuries ago?
I am interested in the practical method and I like to discover if it is cheap enough to be done as an experiment in a high school.
user6090
- 1,446
23
votes
4 answers
How did they take photos of Jupiter?
How did they take photos of Jupiter - I mean Jupiter is illuminated and that's a lot of light to produce. Am I missing something, and there was some sort of dark photo technology used, or was there simply enough light from Sun to begin with? Or is…
user56328
- 241
21
votes
3 answers
Why is Jupiter so sharply defined?
In photographs of Jupiter, the limb seems extremely definite. Being a gas giant, my naive self thinks that the atmosphere should have a more gradual cut off, creating a hazy effect similar to that on Titan. I am aware of Jupiter's immense size, so…
dotancohen
- 4,543
19
votes
1 answer
I'm trying to replicate Rømer's experiment but can't seem to get even close to the correct value for the speed of light
I am trying to replicate Rømer's experiment where he determined the speed of light by observing and measuring the eclipse timings of Io by Jupiter. I'm using Stellarium for this experiment and no matter how I try I can't seem to land on the correct…
RugbyRene
- 191
18
votes
3 answers
On the Rømer experiments and the speed of light
In 1676, Rømer determined that the speed of light must be finite.
His experiment consisted on observing the eclipses of Io, one of Jupiter's moons, by Jupiter itself. He timed these eclipses over a period of half a year, starting when the earth was…
user137661
16
votes
2 answers
Would a submarine float in the atmosphere of Jupiter?
Would a submarine float in the atmosphere of Jupiter, or would it get crushed?
Ansis Māliņš
- 271
15
votes
1 answer
Why is the orbital resonance of the Galilean moons stable?
It is well known that the orbits of Ganymede, Europa and Io are in a 4:2:1 resonance. Most online sources (including but not limited to Wikipedia) say that such an orbital resonance, along with the 3:2 resonance, is "stable and self-correcting", but…
mark2222
- 343
15
votes
3 answers
What would be the characteristics of Jupiter if it shrank?
So, I've heard from various works of science fiction about the prospect of turning Jupiter into a star. From what I know about the physics of such a task, it would require somehow condensing Jupiter into something quite a bit smaller than it…
PearsonArtPhoto
- 3,759
12
votes
3 answers
What would be the effects if Jupiter was to blow up?
So, in one science fiction story, that tries to be as realistic as possible apart from a few space magics, humanity has a contingency plan to blow up Jupiter. As in, totally destroy it in one massive nuclear explosion.
I'd like to know the effects…
Mandemon
- 261
11
votes
3 answers
Can Jupiter turn into a star if it radiated off enough heat?
Since a star heats up when it radiates more heat (via gravitational compression), and since that's also how protostars turn into stars, I was wondering what are the chances of Jupiter reaching the point where nuclear fusion kicks off within it given…
Ranjan
- 355