Figuring for Yourself
How many times more pressure exists in the interior of Jupiter compared to that of Earth?
Calculate the wind speed at the edge of Neptune’s Great Dark Spot, which was 10,000 km in diameter and rotated in 17 d.
Calculate how many Earths would fit into the volumes of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
As the Voyager spacecraft penetrated into the outer solar system, the illumination from the Sun declined. Relative to the situation at Earth, how bright is the sunlight at each of the jovian planets?
The ions in the inner parts of Jupiter’s magnetosphere rotate with the same period as Jupiter. Calculate how fast they are moving at the orbit of Jupiter’s moon Io (see Appendix G). Will these ions strike Io from behind or in front as it moves about Jupiter?