StarDate

Moon and Jupiter


Listen Later

In most ways, Jupiter is the most impressive planet in the solar system. It’s heavier than all the other planets combined. It has by far the strongest magnetic field, and the deadliest radiation belts. And it keeps jockeying with Saturn for the leadership in the number of moons.

One category where Jupiter is clearly outranked is rings. It has four main rings, but they’re puny compared to the rings of Saturn. Although their span is greater than the distance between Earth and the Moon, the rings are so faint that they weren’t discovered until 1979, when the Voyager 1 spacecraft flew past them.

The innermost ring is actually more like a doughnut — it’s thousands of miles thick. It begins not far above Jupiter’s clouds. Next out is the main ring, which contains most of the material in the ring system. And outside that is a pair of gossamer rings — rings that are so thinly spread that they’re especially hard to see.

The rings consist of dust grains and larger bits of rock and ice. That material quickly spirals into Jupiter. But the rings are kept supplied by collisions between space rocks and some of Jupiter’s moons. The impacts blast fresh material into orbit around Jupiter — keeping its rings from vanishing entirely.

Jupiter is in great view tonight. It looks like a brilliant star close to the Moon. They stay close as they arc high across the sky during the night. But Jupiter’s rings are too faint to see.
 

Script by Damond Benningfield

Support McDonald Observatory

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

StarDateBy Billy Henry

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

247 ratings


More shows like StarDate

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,097 Listeners

Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

935 Listeners

BirdNote Daily by BirdNote

BirdNote Daily

1,190 Listeners

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science by The Planetary Society

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

1,343 Listeners

Science Magazine Podcast by Science Magazine

Science Magazine Podcast

809 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,940 Listeners

Astronomy Cast by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay

Astronomy Cast

2,864 Listeners

The 365 Days of Astronomy by 365DaysOfAstronomy.org

The 365 Days of Astronomy

337 Listeners

StarTalk Radio by Neil deGrasse Tyson

StarTalk Radio

14,102 Listeners

Universe Today Podcast by Fraser Cain

Universe Today Podcast

540 Listeners

Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries by Professor Fred Watson and Andrew Dunkley

Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries

222 Listeners

SpaceTime: Your Guide to Space & Astronomy by Stuart Gary

SpaceTime: Your Guide to Space & Astronomy

318 Listeners

Garrison Keillor's Podcast by Prairie Home Productions

Garrison Keillor's Podcast

1,129 Listeners

This Week in Space (Audio) by TWiT

This Week in Space (Audio)

135 Listeners

The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu by theliuniverse

The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu

49 Listeners