Questions tagged [gas-giant]
Questions about planets in the solar system comprised primarily of gases, such as Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.
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Why do Saturn's rings have the most ice in them?
From what I've read, Saturn's rings are the most visible because they have an icy structure that makes it so the light is more reflective. Why is that the case, and why do other rings of the gas ...
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How deep could a gas giant communications network penetrate?
I have been wondering what type of communication network could you build to communicate as deep as possible into a gas giant such as Jupiter? Which technologies would you use at what depths?
One could ...
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How does gravity vary in a gas giant's interior?
The Earth's gravitational pull in its interior looks like this:
The pull remains about the same and increases even a bit till the outer core from where on it starts getting weaker till 0g in the core'...
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What would happen if Jupiter became solid like Earth and condensed to the size of Earth? [closed]
I just want to know, hypothetically, what if Jupiter was solid and condensed to the size of Earth. What would it look like? Would it's characteristics (gravity, orbit, rotation, etc) stay the same, or ...
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What would happen if we ignited one of the gas giants? [closed]
Since we have the technology to launch an enormous explosive into the atmospheres of the gas giants, would it be possible to light one on fire since their atmospheres are pretty much all just hydrogen ...
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Probing gas giant planets by descending through a cyclones's "eye"?
On Earth cyclones have regions of calm weather commonly known as eyes. They appear to create tunnels spreading from the top of the atmosphere down to the sea level. Wikipedia article mentions their ...
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How do we determine the internal composition of gas giants?
What kind of scientific experiment can a satellite conduct to determine the internal stucture of a gas giant? I know that geophones and seismic waves can be used for a planetary lander on a rocky ...
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How does a space probe maintain its trajectory while passing through the extreme gravitational field of the gas giants of our solar system?
Space probes like Voyager 1, 2, New Horizons, etc, traveled beyond those gas giants, how did they cope up with their extreme gravity?
How was the trajectory of these probes unhindered by the immense ...
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Could the moons of Jupiter or Saturn be heated to human-friendly temperatures?
I always loved the part in 2001 where Jupiter becomes as star.
Has anyone ever suggested placing power generating stations high in the atmosphere of gas giants, and beaming the energy to colonies on ...
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Why is Jupiter called a "Gas Giant"?
Jupiter's enormous gravity would turn its atmosphere first into a liquid from a certain depth, and then into a solid further towards its centre.
So Jupiter has a solid core, above which is a liquid ...
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Could a rogue planet's moons harbor life?
Because stars kill stuff with radiation, flares, etc, then die taking planets with them, might it not be easier for living things to live on a rogue planet's moon? Say you had a rogue Jupiter-like ...
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Where do ice giants contain ice?
There is a class of planets called ice giants. Let's talk about Neptune. The top layer is atmosphere, consisting of hydrogen and helium. The amount of these gases is about 10% but they produce high ...
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Is there any plan to send balloon like probes to gas giants to explore interior of gas giants?
As we know, gas giants do not have a solid surface, but on Earth we can float a balloon in air. Are there any plans to send balloon-like probes to gas giants so that they can float in its atmosphere ...
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Did we know the gas planets were truly gaseous before Pioneer 10?
I'm asking for historical scientific knowledge of our understanding of the outer planets, which seems hard to come by.
Pioneer 10 was the first probe to an outer planet (Jupiter). Before then, did we ...
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Planetary migration due to tidal forces
The fine U. Washington article Some potentially habitable planets began as gaseous, Neptune-like worlds mentions twice that tidal forces can induce inward planet migration.
Two phenomena known to ...
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If a gas giant is far enough away from a sun will it freeze solid?
I am reading a book where a gas giant is coming into our solar system. It was a rogue planet, traveling between stars.
Given the knowledge we have now, would we expect a gas giant to freeze solid if ...
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What will be the effect if we stand on Jupiter?
As we all know Jupiter is a gaseous gas giant and it has a large mass, almost twice the sum of all other planets in the Solar system. So, if it happens that we go to Jupiter, and, as we know it does ...
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Can humans live in something like the ISS around gas giants?
Beside solar winds and cosmic rays, would they need some form of shielding from whatever deadly comes from these planets ?
And about this potentially deadly stuff coming from the planets, what would ...
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What is the barometric formula for a gas giant?
The barometric formula describes the atmospheric pressure depending on height and a host of other things. This formula assumes a constant gravitational acceleration over the whole height of the gas ...
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Can a planet or other large body be a superconductor?
From Wikipedia on superconductivity of metallic hydrogen:
In 1968, Neil Ashcroft put forward that metallic hydrogen may be a
superconductor, up to room temperature (~290 K), far higher than any
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How dense are Saturn's rings?
How high is the density of asteroids in the rings of Saturn?
Would it be possible for a spacecraft to fly through the thicker rings without colliding with asteroids? Would it be necessary to avoid a ...
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Why are the Rings of Saturn so much brighter than the other planets?
It seems to be a given that gas giants have rings. However,Saturn has rings that are far larger than any others in the Solar System, and far more visible as well. What is unique to Saturn that it has ...
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Do gas planets have surfaces suitable for landing on it? [closed]
We already know, we are even taught at school that planets of the Solar System beyond Mars (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) are "gas-giants". But what does it mean exactly? Also, can any kind of ...
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Do we have instruments that can measure the depth of storms like the Great Red Spot on Jupiter and the Great Dark Spot on Neptune?
I understand if technology isn't quite there yet. If it isn't, is there any research being developed along these lines?
I'm trying to wrap my head around the composition of these planets, and the ...
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Are there any experiments in progress designed to explore the interiors of gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn?
I know that the high atmospheric pressure on these planets make a unique challenge to learn about the planets interiors. Are there any active projects designed to learn more about the interior of the ...
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