Trolls Around The Solar System (Part 5 - Jupiter)

You can read here the first four parts: Part 1 (Mercury) - Part 2 (Venus) - Part 3 (Mars) - Part 4 (The Asteroid Belt)

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The DIY rocket has crossed the asteroid belt and is finally getting closer to Jupiter. The strong magnetic field of the gas giant is too dangerous for their shuttle and equipment, so the trolls will not land on the planet. 

- Wow! Jupiter is humongous!

- It is, it didn't get the nickname gas giant for nothing.

- And very beautiful! Look at all those colors!

- Why don't we get closer?

- Because the planet has a very strong magnetic field, it will damage our equipment, X31 started explaining, Jupiter is huge and has the strongest magnetic field in our solar system, about 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. 

- The planet's magnetic field traps charged particles and blows them towards the planet's moons and rings with radiation 1,000 times higher than lethal levels for humans, T-800 said, It is very dangerous if we get too close.

- I wouldn't want to get in the middle of such a blast, X54 sounded scared.

- Me neither, X42 agreed.

- The magnetosphere also expands towards the sun for 1-3 million kilometers and behind the planet it forms a taper tail one billion kilometers long, T-800 added.

- The radio waves Jupiter emits are detectable on Earth and help scientists study the oceans of its moons, X31 continued.

- But how did it get so big? X42 asked.

- While our solar system was forming, some 4.5 billion years ago, the sun had taken up most of the available materials of the original planetary nebula. Jupiter pulled most of the remaining gas and dust around it and if it had managed to accumulate 80 times more material it would have evolved into a star as well, X31 said.

- True, Jupiter's composition resembles that of a star. It is mainly comprised of Hydrogen and Helium, T-800 added.

- Is it all gassy? X54 asked.

- Most of it yes, X31 answered. Jupiter is believed to have a rocky core, 1o times smaller than the Earth's total mass. This core is covered by a sea of liquid, metallic Hydrogen that forms a huge sphere of 110,000 kilometers in diameter. 

- All this liquid ends up increasing pressure and temperature with depth, which leads electrons to get away resulting in a conductive liquid, T-800 continued. The planet rotates too fast, think that a day there lasts only 1o hours, and this causes the electrical currents to move around creating the powerful magnetic field of the planet.

- What about the atmosphere? Is it thick like Venus? X42 asked.

- Jupiter has an atmosphere rich in liquid and gas Hydrogen, X31 started explaining. It is probably distincted in three layers. The upper one made of ammonia ice, the middle of ammonium hydrosulfide crystals and the one closer to the surface might be made of water ice and vapor. Atmospheric pressure is also higher than on Earth.

- So, these colorful bands that seem to circle the planet are made of ammonia? X54 asked.

- These bands are swirling clouds probably originating from gases of Sulfur and Phosphorus coming up from the planet's interior where temperatures are warmer, X31 explained.

- And the famous spot? Is it made of the same things? X42 asked.

- Yes. It has been around for almost 3 centuries now, X31 said. And it's not the only one, the Great Red Spot is a strong storm that travels across the planet, but there are others, smaller than that too.

- The planet rotates so fast, that strong winds blow at high speeds all the time, especially around the equator, so spots are easily to be maintained for too long, T-800 added.

- So if I get it right, Jupiter is like a ball of crazy spinning liquids and gases, X42 concluded.

- That's right, T-800 answered.

- And because it's not tilted too little the planet cannot have seasons, just like Venus, X31 added.

- You said earlier that a day on Jupiter lasts 10 hours, but what about a year? X42 asked.

- Jupiter completes an orbit around the sun in 12 earth years, X31 said.

- Oooh! That's sad! People on Jupiter miss out on so many birthday parties, X54 said. For every birthday cake they blow out the candles on, we get 11 more.

- X54, there are no people on Jupiter, X42 said.

- Actually the environment on Jupiter is not friendly for life, but there is a possibility that life might exist on one of the planet's 53 or more moons, X31 said.

- 53?! X42 and X54 were surprised.

- Or more, T-800 said. Four are the bigger ones, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Galileo Gallilei was the first to observe them back in 1610.

- And from those four, Europa makes a good candidate for life sustainance because evidence showed that it has large masses of water beneath its ice, X31 added.

- If a night on Mars with two moons shining in the sky sounds cool, how would a night on Jupiter be? X54 wondered.

- It's hard to tell, since the atmosphere is too thick to see the sky and winds keep blowing all the time, X31 answered.

- Can we visit some of the moons, please? X54 got excited.

- If the rest of the team agrees, why not? X31 said.

- Sure! X42 and T-800 replied.

- But first let's take a quick look at Jupiter's rings before heading to the moons, X31 suggested.

- Rings? X54 asked.

- Yes, Jupiter has rings less distinctive than the ones around Saturn, X31 started explaining. They are made of dusty particles that are hard to see unless sunlight shines upon them. 

- They are three, with the outer one being the least dense, and they are made of dust that gets away after impacts on the planet's moons, T-800 added.

- Jupiter is really beautiful, X42 said.

- Indeed. A lot of magnificent things happen around here, X54 agreed.

- A lot of magnificent things happen all over the universe. We live in a blessed world. Wonders our minds cannot even think of are taking place every moment. We should feel grateful to be given the ability to explore some of them and never cease to look for more, X31 said.

- You are right, X31, X42 said

And the DIY rocket continued its journey around the gas giant as the trolls were about to take a tour over the planet's moons.

To be continued...

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References

solarsystem.nasa.gov_1
solarsystem.nasa.gov_2
space.com

*Images by @ruth-girl

Thank you so much for reading today's post. I 'm waiting to see your comments below. If you want to see some more of my work, follow the links below: 

• Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol. 38 - A Hole In The Water (The Great Blue Hole)
• 5 Facts About Me (Expose Yourselves)
• Let's Cultivate... Crystals! (Part 1)
• The Red Raven - A Short Story Of Fiction
• You Left Me - A Short Story Of Romance

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!