Jupiter and Planet Earth

8/7/2019 Jupiter and Planet Earth

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J UP ITE R AND P LANE T E ARTHf o r mat ion m ay ha ve pa r a ll e led t he f o r mat ionh e i n n e r -t y p e p l a n e t s s u r ro u n d e dq l the So lar S y s t e m i ts e l f .d e e p a t m o s p h e r e s .EVOLUTION OF PLANETSPlanets of the Solar System probably formedf ou r to f ive b i l li on years ago when hos ts o fsm a l l rocky pa r t ic les and c louds o f gasesco l lec ted toge ther by the i r own g rav i ty . Anid , a can be ga ined o f how long fou r bo '' ' onyea i - by le t ti ng the th ickness o f th is paperrepresent one y ear . Four b i ll ion yea rs needsa stack ) f paper 200 mi les h ighrGr av i ty bope a s to be a un ive rsa l p rope r tyof m at ter is a resu l t o f wh ich every p ar t ic le ,no m at te r how sm al l , a t t rac ts every o the r .Thus, le f t tt themse lves in space, ind iv idua lPart icles land a gas also con sists of pa rt icles)tend to co l lec t together in to la rge m asses.Af te r the Sun i .se l f conden sed f rom a p r ii n e v a l n e b u la , p l a n e t s o f d i f f e r e n t s i ze sco l lec ted f rom d i " ' e ren t concen t ra t ions o fm at ter present at va ious d is tances f rom theS u n . A n d e l e c tr c a n d m a g n e t ic f o r ce si n t h e g a s c lo u d s p r o b a b l y t h r u s t th e s econden s ing p lane ts in to o rb its a round thec e n t r a l S u n . I f o n e p l a n e t s t a r te d e a r l y i tscooped up m ore ma t ter than those star t ingl a te r w i th l ess f ree m ate r ia l to co l lec t . Theo ldes t c ra te rs on Mars and c ra te rs on theMoo n are thought to be evidence of the f inals tages of p lanetary a ccret ion as th is processis ca' i ed {F igure One) .Much o f t he p r imeva l gas was hyd roge r t h emost common material in the universewhichconsists o f a pro ton an d a c i rc l ing e lect ron.The S un, for example, is near ly a ll hydrogen,as are the stars. And ast ronomers ha ve d isc o v e r e d v a s t c lo u d s o f h y d r o g e n i n t h es p a c e s b e t w e e n s t a r s .W hi le it is most probab le that the Ear th as i tfo rmed was nev er ab le to pu l l to i tse l f muchhydrogen , it m ight have possessed som e ini ts a tm osphe re for a shor t wh i le . The c lose-ness o f the Ear th to the Sun makes the Ear tht o o w a rm t o h o l d f re e h y d ro g e n f o r l o n g .Hyd rogen escap es l ike s team bubbl ing froma hot saucepan. Most hydrogen rema in ing onE a r t h i s lo c k e d w i t h o x y g e n t o f o r m m o l e -cules of water the Earth's oceans.Sim i la r l y , the M oon , Me rcu ry , Venus, a r idMa rs c a n n o t h o l d h y d ro g e n . T h e y w o u l dneed to be much larger have m uch s trongergrav i t y - -to p reve n t hyd rogen 'bo i l-o f f ' fromhea t due to t he i r c loseness to t he Sun . Bu tc o o le r Ju p i t e r , 3 5 0 m i ll io n m i le s b e y o n dMars, a lso has a st rong grav i ty which ho ldshyd rogen i n t rem endous q uan t i t ies . So d ryt h e o t h e r la r g e , d i s t a n t p l a n e t s : S a t u r n ,Uranus, and Neptune.Jupi ter, if st r ippe d of i ts hydrogen , might be aso l id p lane t no t much la rger than the inne rp lane ts . So a l l t he ou te r p lane ts may rea l ly

THE ATMO SPHEREK n o w le d g e a b o u t t h e s e c o m p l e x a t mm a y h e l p u s t o u n d e r s t a n d E a r t hs i m p l e a t m o s p h e re . A l re a d y t h e dust s torms in Ma rs ' very th in atmoshelpi , ig Earth's meteorologists.At s o m e l e v e l in t h e d e e p a t m o sJupiter an a tm osphere o f hydrogen swi th hel ium, m e t hane, amm onia , anthe temp erature should equal that oAt th is leve l ar r . .no nia crysta ls deJupi ter 's c lout tops becom e l iqu id adrop le- Wa r , condense s, too. T hera in f rom the c louds, some t imes f rosnows o f wa te r a r id am mon ia . B u t tand the sn owf lakes cou ld neve r fs u r fa c e a s t h e y d o o n E a r t h . I n swarm lower reg ions of the deep atmthey aga in m ust evaporate and r ise the clouds.The c i rcu la tion m ust cause end lesturbu lence in the Jov ian a tmosphev i o l e n t t h a n a n y t h u n d e rs t o rm s oA n d a c c o m p a n y i n g e l e c t r ic a l d is c h a r gEa r th 's ligh tn ing f lashe s rne re spcomparison.T h u s t h e v e r t ic a l m o v e m e n t s in t hsphere o f Jup i ter prov ide m odels o f vio lent s torm s imagin?ble. At the sat he j e t c i rcu la t ions in the c loud bazones, descr ibed in the second pamth is ser ies, compa re to Ear th 's majspheric pat terns, t rade winds and jetStud ies o f the c loud pat terns o f Jut he i r mot ions can he lp us unders tEarth 's a tmosphe re c i rcu la tes and h

Figure 1, Craters on Mars ( top ohsMoon (bo t tom pho to ) ,The que st ion I beg inn ings has a lways in -t r igued peop le . How d id some th ing appea rf rom noth ing? A l l c iv i l iza t ions have t r ied tog u e s s h o w t h e U n i v e r s e , t h e E a r t h , a n d p e o p l eor ig inated. Ear ly peop le thought every th ingw a s b o r n f r o m a o n i v e r s a l m o t h e r . T o d a y ,s t e e p e d in the nuclear age, scientists suggesteverytW .y came f rom a big bang, a universala tom ic bom b, abou t 13 b i ll ion yea rs ago .Stars and 'hei r p lanets la ter condensed f romt he c louds o f gas (hydroge n) tha t resu l tedf r om the c rea t ive ex p los ion .% . 1 ,2ere st i l l fa r f rom h av ing sat isfactory ans w e r s a s t o h o w s o m e t h in g ( th e u n i v e r s e ) w a scr ea ted f r om no th i ng ( the vo i d ) and even ast o h o w t h e S o l a r S y s t e m c o n d e n s e d f r o melect ri f ied a toms, da r t ing m olecu les, and in .t e r tw in ing fo rces o f some p r imeva l ma ss o fgas (nebu la ) . How d id the va r ious p lane tsevolve the i r unique cha racter is t ics? Ha w didl i f e % N o s s o m h e r e o n E a r th ?I t is not easy to f ind ans% ,. . ,r s o n E a r t h s i n c eth i j p lanet can be stueo,d on ly in i ts presentstage of evolut ion, a s ing le f rame in the longmo t ion p ic ture o f Ea r th . And the s ingle p ic-t u re d o e s n o t p r o v i d e e n o u g h In f o r m a t i o nfo r sc ien t is ts to be sure a bou t the p as t l e ta l o n e E a r t h ' s p ro b a b l e f u tu re . H o w e v o r ,other p lanets ma y pass through evo lutionaryahea d, o thers lag beh ind Ea r th . So i f theseother p lanets are stud ied a t c lose hand , byspace probes rather than rem otely by ast ro-nom ica l te lescopes, they prov ide c lues aboutEar th ' s h i s to ry , deve lopm en t o f na tu ra l re -sou rces, changes i n a tm osphe re and the i ref fec ts upon l i f e p rocesses , and exp ec tedevo lu t ion.l e d g e a b o u t t h e o t h e r p l a n e t s is i in -po r ten t to ou r unde rs tand ing Ea r th 's pas ta n d f u t u r e a n d i s v it a l to t h e l o n g - te r msurvival of the huma n species i f people are toadap t to i nev i tab le na tu ra l and m an-m adechanges to Ear th 's env i ronm ent .In many resp ects Jupi ter m odels what takesp lace in the un ive rse a t l a rge . Man y p rocesses on Jupi ter are s imi lar to those in a star(o r t he Sun ) , beforE i ts nuc lear f i re ign` tes.A n d t h e g r e a t tu r m o i l o f Ju p i t e r ' s p i o c -esses , coup led w i th h igh speed o f ro ta t ionon i ts ax is , provides a m odel for the s tudy ofje t s tr e a m s a n d w e a t h e r i n t h e E a r th ' sre lat ive ly quiet atmo sphere.Jupi ter may also repre sent a stage para l lel ingan ea r ly per iod of Ear th- - the s tage when l ifebegan to fo rm here In fac t , Jup i te r may bem ore favorable to l ife than any othe r p lanet ,not except ing Ear th .And the c i rc l ing sate l l i tes o f Jup i ter are aver i tab le So la r Sys tem in min ia tu re . The i r


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OF CHARM

I D E 0 1 1 0 TR I Cr R A D I O S K , N M _ S

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S P A C E C R A F T T R A J E C T O R YA N D P A T H A C R O S SJ U P I T E R S U R F A C E

o), the result of strong magnetic fields

p rotons, race

dle of a magnetic compassard the north.)

SOits radiation belts extend

ntain at least 100 trillion times the energy

ith Earth's, and are the two fields caused

R A D I ON O I S E

C HA R GE D P A R T I ( , t . E SF R O M T H E S U N T 4 A PP E DI N J U P IT E R S M A G N E T I C F I E L D

, rather systemsways to

ON BELTS

PIONEER PASSAGE THROUG H M A G N E T I C R O T A T I O NJ U P IT E R ' S M A G N E T I C F I E L DAXIS AXISA N D R A D I A T IO N B E L T S( --.aFigure 2.Jupiter's radiation belts (NASApicture).important because theirffect instruments

spacecraft. Many missions to explore thelose to Jupiter to use its gravity asslingshot. This considerably shortens thees needed to reach, say, Neptuneranus. But if Jupiter's radiation belts

s tell us about the number ofI' . , ebelts. But it is the protons in

, carrying instruments into the. v should know how much we cans a slingshot for subsequent

me satellites have odd characteristics. Thee, large satellite, lo, normally a very

from Jupiter's shadow. Could thisIf so, it would

I ias an atmosphere.

Pioneer spacecraft will get close looks at thelarger satellites and help to resolve currentmysteries about them.EVOLU TION OF LIFELife might be described as an unexplainedforce that somehow organizes inanimatematter into a living system that perceives,reacts to, and evolves to cope with, changesto the physical environment that threatento destroy Its organization.In 1953 a mixture of hydrogen, methane,ammonia, and water vaporthe kind ofatmosphere the Earth probably had scionafter it was formed and the kind Jupiter hastoday--was treated in a laboratory. Scientistspassed electrical discharges through the gasmixture to obtain the same effect as bolts oflightning. The result was surprising andimportant. The electrical energy changedsome of the simple gases into more complexrr.xtures of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen andoxygen, new molecules that we believe to bethe essential building blocks for livingsystems.We conclude that natural processes such aslightning and ultraviolet light from the Sun(the light that sunburns) can produce com-plex chemicals to E ^rm building blocks forliving things. In fact, some of the complexchemicals are found in the space between thestars and on meteorites (the familiar 'fallingstars'): small rocks that plunge into theEarth from outer space.

At some point in the past, probably3 11, billion years ago, something orgthe complex carbon based moleculiving systems which were then able tcopies of themselves to reproduce,hen on, by slight changes t o subcopies, biological evolution producedliving creatures c.f Earth. And at onespecial consciousness appeared that gto Man himself (Figure Three).A big question is whether life has evthis way in the atmosphere of Jupiknown that temperatures could be rigknown that the gas mixture is rigknown that electrical discharges takeStudies of the Great Red Spot suggesbe rich in amino acids, an important building the living cell which is the sform of life.While the Pioneer spacecraft is not dto answer directly the question ofJupiter or its satellites (we would spacecraft to enter the atmosphere ter), these spacecraft will add considekn_ wledge about the physical procesing place in Jupiter's atmosphereshould also provide close looks at sombig satellites. Thus these Pioneers wtribute to a better understanding of wor nut life could exist in the Jovian sJupiter may, indeed, hold keys notthe origin of life but also to secretsstars, for Jupiter is almost big enoughstar in the making.


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STUDY PROJECTSON EAssuming that electrical discharges createdIrving systems in Jupiter's atmosphere andthat amino acids cc,rimually drift downfrom the clouds as food, a kind of "mannafrom heaven," use your imagination to drawthe type of life that rnight have evolved.Remember that the atmosphere is verystormy with swift and furious winds andpowerful currents so the life form wouldhave to be able to move about quicklywings, lets f om gas bags? Arid would otherlife forms evilve as on Earth to r ey onlesser creatures? Draw or paint a pi,ture de-picting life as it might be in the atmosphereof Jupiter.TW ORead astronomical textbooks and make threelists; a) those things on or about Jupiter thatare similar to their counterparts on Earth,b) those that are different, and c) unansweredquestions about Jupiter. Make notes on howfurther information about these similaritiesand differences and answers to the questionscan aid onunderstanding Earth. When Proneer 10 flies by Jupiter this December updateyour list and check off those unknuwnswhich are then answered.READING LISTLawless, Folsome, acid Kvenvolden, Scienti-

fic American, June 1972, (Organic Matterin Meteorites).

Frieden, Scient fic American, July 1972,(The Chemical Elements of Life).

Molton, Sr:acefli ht, June 1972, pp. 220 223(Exobio ogy, Jupiter and Life).Scientific American, whole issue, September1970, (The Biosphere).

TIME GEOLOGIC LIVING SYSTEMS EARTH CHANGESERA EVOLVEPRESENT MAN ICE AGE (MOST(CONSCIOUSNESS) RFCENT)CENOZOIC

MESOZOIC FIRST MAMMALSCREATURES WITH CLOSE TO PRESEPALEOZOIC SPINES DAY ATMOSPHERFIRST MULTI-CELLED1000 CREATURES I

1)IIIIOXYGEN

Ln 2000 INCREASESQ IwLLO PRE 1Iz CAMBRIAN lO ATMOSPHERE

FNRICHED WITH3000 OXYGEN BY ALGATMOSPHERE WFIRST MICROFOSSILS METHANE, AMMO(ALGAE, BACTERIA) AND POSSIBLYHYDROGENEVOLUTION OF CARBON

COMPOUNDS (THE A CRUST AND WA4000 BUILDING BLOCKS OF OCEANSLIVING SYSTEMS)-------- AN EARTH SPHETOO HOT AND CHAOTIC FORMSEARTH FOR LIVING SYSTEMSFORMATIONPARTICLESGASESA FORMLESS VO5000

Figure 3.fhe evolution of li v ing systems.

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Jupiter and Planet Earth