Tag

Gas Giants

All articles tagged with #gas giants

space22 days ago•60 min saved

New Juno measurements shrink Jupiter and refine its shape

NASA’s Juno mission refines Jupiter’s size and shape, finding a polar radius of about 66,842 km (roughly 12 km smaller) and an equatorial radius of about 71,488 km (roughly 4 km smaller) than older measurements. By tracking how Juno’s radio signals bend through the atmosphere and accounting for winds, scientists produced more accurate dimensions, improving models of Jupiter’s interior and gas giants overall; as co-author Yohai Kaspi notes, “Textbooks will need to be updated.”

via Live Science|

#gas-giants #juno #jupiter

astronomy1 month ago•71 min saved

Polar storms hint at Jupiter and Saturn’s hidden interiors

New simulations link Jupiter’s multi-vortex polar pattern with Saturn’s single hexagonal vortex to how soft or dense the gas is at the bottom of each vortex, suggesting surface weather patterns could reveal the giants’ deep interior compositions.

via Space|

#astronomy #gas-giants #interiors

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Deep Interior Coupling May Shape Jupiter and Saturn’s Polar Storms

MIT researchers show that Jupiter’s multiple polar vortices and Saturn’s single polar storm stem from how strongly storms are coupled to deeper interior layers. A 2D fluid-dynamics model suggests Jupiter’s weaker layering and stronger atmospheric forcing keep many discrete storms from merging, while Saturn’s deeper layering and greater energy loss allow vortices to merge into one giant storm. These surface patterns may encode information about each planet’s interior properties and formation history.

via ScienceAlert|

#gas-giants #interior-structure #jupiter

science3 months ago•4 min saved

NASA's James Webb Discovers Unexplained Phenomenon in Saturn's Atmosphere

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered two mysterious atmospheric phenomena on Saturn—dark beads in the ionosphere and an asymmetric star-shaped pattern in the stratosphere—that defy current scientific understanding, suggesting new, unexplored dynamics in planetary atmospheres.

via Indian Defence Review|

#atmospheric-anomalies #gas-giants #james-webb-space-telescope

science5 months ago•4 min saved

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Reveals Origins and Impact on Planet Formation

Astrophysicist Susanne Pfalzner proposes that interstellar objects may serve as seeds for giant planet formation, especially around high-mass stars, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of planetary genesis and explaining the rapid formation of gas giants like Jupiter.

via Rude Baguette|

#accretion-disks #cosmic-visitors #gas-giants

science6 months ago•2 min saved

Revolutionary Findings Challenge Our Understanding of Jupiter's Mysterious Core

New research challenges the traditional impact theory of Jupiter's core formation, suggesting instead that its dilute, layered core formed gradually over time, a process that may also apply to other gas giants like Saturn and exoplanets.

via Futurism|

#gas-giants #impact-theory #jupiter

science7 months ago•3 min saved

The Surprising Reality of Standing on Uranus

Landing on Uranus is impossible due to its lack of a solid surface and extreme atmospheric conditions; any probe attempting to land would be crushed by high pressures and temperatures, but scientists continue to study these planets to better understand their composition and nature.

via IFLScience|

#gas-giants #ice-giants #planetary-landing

science8 months ago•5 min saved

James Webb Telescope Reveals New Insights into Exoplanets and Planet Formation

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first direct infrared images of two exoplanets in the YSES-1 system, revealing unique features such as silicate clouds and a dust disk, providing valuable insights into early planetary formation.

via Mashable|

#direct-imaging #exoplanets #gas-giants

science8 months ago•4 min saved

James Webb Telescope Reveals Infant and Young Exoplanets in Formation

The James Webb Space Telescope has directly imaged two massive, young exoplanets orbiting a star about 16 million years old, revealing they are at different stages of development with distinct atmospheric features, highlighting the complexity of planetary system formation.

via Reuters|

#exoplanets #gas-giants #james-webb-space-telescope

science1 year ago•2 min saved

"Saturn's Energy Imbalance Fuels Massive Storms, Cassini Reveals"

Scientists have discovered a significant seasonal energy imbalance on Saturn, with energy absorption and emission varying by up to 16% due to its elliptical orbit. This finding challenges existing models of gas giant atmospheres and suggests similar imbalances may exist on other gas giants like Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus. The research, based on Cassini data, could also enhance our understanding of planetary weather and climate.

via ScienceAlert|

#cassini-data #climate #energy-imbalance

astronomy2 years ago•2 min saved

"Astronomers Discover 'Cold Saturn' with Unusually Long Year"

NASA's TESS has discovered two giant planets, TOI-4600 b and c, orbiting a star 700 light-years away, with the outer planet having the longest year of 483 days and being among the coldest exoplanets found so far. These planets could provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of large, gaseous planets, filling a gap in knowledge between gas giants like Jupiter and "hot Jupiters." While space telescopes have been able to measure some atmospheric components of hot and warm Jupiters, TOI-4600 b and c offer the rarer prospect of revealing atmospheric ingredients of "temperate" gas giants.

via Science@NASA|

#astronomy #exoplanets #gas-giants

science-and-astronomy2 years ago•3 min saved

"Revealing the Flat Truth: Jupiter's Surprising Past and Baby Exoplanets' Shape"

New simulations suggest that gas giant protoplanets may initially form as flattened oblate spheroids before settling into their familiar round shape, shedding light on the diverse ways planets can grow in the turbulent disks of dust and gas around young stars. This finding challenges the assumption that planets form as perfect spheres and provides insight into the process of disk instability planet formation. The research, conducted by astrophysicists at the University of Central Lancashire, has been accepted into Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters and offers valuable implications for understanding and interpreting developing planets in stellar disks.

via ScienceAlert|

#astrophysics #gas-giants #planet-formation

science-and-astronomy2 years ago•7 min saved

"Unraveling the Enigma: The Absence of Gas Moons in Space"

Gas moons do exist, but they are not found in our solar system. While most moons in our solar system formed through the bottom-up core accretion process, there was not enough leftover material to form gas moons. The top-down process of gas world formation also has limitations, as objects smaller than 3 Jupiter masses cannot form. However, there are oddities in the solar system, such as captured moons, that formed independently and later got caught by a planet's gravity. In the case of exoplanets, there are two possible gas exomoons, Kepler 1625b-i and Kepler 1708b-i, which are gas giants orbiting even larger gas giants. These exomoons challenge existing theories and may have been captured objects rather than true moons.

via Space.com|

#exoplanets #gas-giants #gas-moons

science-and-astronomy2 years ago•4 min saved

"Unveiling the Colossal Giant: The Largest Planet Ever Discovered"

The largest known planet depends on various factors, including how one defines a planet. One candidate is ROXs 42Bb, a gas giant about nine times the mass of Jupiter and with a radius 2.5 times that of Jupiter. However, there are other objects, including protoplanets, that may be larger. The uncertainty arises from different measurement methods and the challenge of distinguishing between planets and brown dwarfs. The formation process of an object is not currently part of the formal definition of a planet. The debate over what constitutes a planet highlights the diversity of planetary systems and the many possible outcomes.

via Space.com|

#biggest-planet #brown-dwarfs #exoplanets

astronomy2 years ago•4 min saved

Young Stars Host Hot Jupiters as Old Ones Feast

Hot Jupiters, gas giants that orbit close to their host stars, are more common around younger stars because they don't live long enough to orbit older ones, according to a new study. The research suggests that hot Jupiters form early or migrate early in a star system's life. Older stars that once had hot Jupiters may have already consumed them. The study provides insights into how these gas giants form and offers a way to test models of planet formation.

via Inverse|

#astronomy #gas-giants #hot-jupiters