Jupiter

29 Jun, 2023 520 Astronomy

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and it’s hard to imagine a world more alien and different from Earth. It’s known as a Gas Giant, and its diameter is eleven times the size of Earth’s: our planet would fit inside it one thousand three hundred times. But its mass is only three hundred and twenty times greater, suggesting that although Jupiter is much bigger than Earth, the stuff it’s made of is much, much lighter. When you look at it through a powerful telescope you see a mass of colourful bands and stripes: these are the tops of ferocious weather systems that tear around the planet, including the great Red Spot, probably the longest-lasting storm in the solar system. Jupiter is so enormous that it’s thought to have played an essential role in the distribution of matter as the solar system formed - and it plays an important role in hoovering up astral debris that might otherwise rain down on Earth. It’s almost a mini solar system in its own right, with 95 moons orbiting around it. At least two of these are places life might possibly be found.

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Guests

  • Michele Dougherty 2 episodes
    Professor of Space Physics and Head of the Department of Physics at Imperial College London, and principle investigator of the magnetometer instrument on the JUICE spacecraft (JUICE is the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, a mission launched by the European Space Agency in April 2023)
  • Leigh Fletcher No other episodes
    Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester, and interdisciplinary scientist for JUICE
  • Carolin Crawford 20 episodes
    Emeritus Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, and Emeritus Member of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge

Reading list

  • Jupiter: The Planet, Satellites and Magnetosphere
    Fran Bagenal, Timothy E. Dowling and William B. McKinnon (eds.) (Cambridge University Press, 2004) Google Books →
  • How Well Do We Understand the Belt/Zone Circulation of Giant Planet Atmospheres?
    Leigh N. Fletcher, Yohai Kaspi, Tristan Guillot and Adam P. Showman
  • Jupiter Science Enabled by ESA's Jupiter Ice Moons Explorer
    Leigh N. Fletcher et al
  • Universe
    Roger Freedman and William J. Kaufmann (W.H. Freeman, 2010) Google Books →
  • The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System
    Kenneth R. Lang (Cambridge University Press, 2011) Google Books →
  • Planetary Climates
    Andrew P. Ingersoll (Princeton University Press, 2013) Google Books →
  • Planets: A Very Short Introduction
    David A. Rothery (Oxford University Press, 2010) Google Books →

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Programme ID: m001n8mv

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001n8mv

Auto-category: 523.4 (Planets and their moons)

Hello (First sentence from this episode) Hello, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and it's hard to imagine a world more alien and different from Earth.