The more we know about Jupiter, the less hope we have of reaching its interior. The planet is the second largest body in the solar system and has twice the mass of all other planets in the neighborhood combined. However, there are no rocks in it. The planet has so much gas that, if it had accumulated a little more hydrogen and helium 4.6 billion years ago, it would probably have become a lower form of star.
The available images of Jupiter only allow us to see a system of clouds of various colors arranged in stripes. Its category as a “gas planet” summarizes its nature very well. Although it is huge, all the matter in it is in the form of elusive particles. If you had a ship that could penetrate that first layer of visible clouds, no matter how deep you went you would not find a surface to park on. However, phenomena occur within Jupiter that cannot be observed on any rocky planet like Earth.
This is the center of Jupiter, the gaseous planet
Jupiter’s interior is hostile at best. The enormous force of gravity of the planet, its temperature and atmospheric pressure, cause the gases that make it up to change shape as it descends towards its center. At first there would be clouds of different compositions depending on their height. A hypothetical astronaut would see a relatively normal sky with winds of up to 1,450 kilometers per hour. However, at some point on the journey toward the center of Jupiter, all the molecular hydrogen gradually changes to a very dense liquid state.
OK with NASAMuch of Jupiter’s interior is a metallic-looking hydrogen liquid. It is difficult to find that state of matter on Earth. For a better understanding, astronomers propose to imagine it as a fluid with a metallic shine similar to mercury. This dense “ocean” of hydrogen is responsible for Jupiter having a huge magnetic field that influences all of its moons.
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