if Jupiter is a gas planet why does it have gravity?

Question

plus what type of gas is Jupiter made of

Answer 1

Fifth planet from the Sun, the largest nonstellar object in the solar system. It has 318 times the mass and more than 1,400 times the volume of Earth. Its enormous mass gives it nearly 2.5 times the gravity of Earth (measured at the top of Jupiter's atmosphere), and it exerts strong effects on other members of the solar system. It is responsible for the Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt and changes in the orbits of comets; it may act as a “sweeper,” pulling in bodies that might otherwise collide with other planets. Jupiter has more than 60 moons (see Galilean satellite) and a diffuse ring system discovered in 1979 by the Voyager spacecraft. The planet is a gas giant, composed mainly of hydrogen and helium in proportions near those of the Sun, which it orbits every 11.9 years at an average distance of 483 million mi (778 million km). Its rapid rotation (9 hr 55.5 min) acts on electric currents to give it the largest magnetic field of any of the planets and causes intense storms, including one that has lasted hundreds of years (the Great Red Spot). Little is known of its interior, but it is presumed to have a deep layer of metallic hydrogen and a dense core. Its central temperature is estimated to be 45,000 °F (25,000 °C); it radiates twice as much heat as it receives from the Sun, probably largely heat left over from its formation.

Answer 2

It has gravity because it has mass. Gravity doesn't care whether the mass is gas, or rock - it cares about mass, period. (This being said, it is suspected that at the core of Jupiter there may be a small rocky core, surrounted by Hydrogen so heavily compressed that it is in metallic form).

Jupiter is 318 times more massive than the Earth. So this explains why it can have so much gravity.

What is it made of? Mostly hydrogen. If it had been about 12 times more massive, Jupiter would have been big enough to become a star.

Answer 3

I will answer the first part because the second part has already been answered and can easily be googled/wikied.

Jupiter has gravity because it has mass. Newton's law of universal gravitation says that all mass has gravity. It doesn't matter WHAT the mass consists of, as long it is a massive body, it is going to attract other massive bodies. Since gases have mass, they attract.

So yes, that means that regarding gravity between the earth and the moon, it is not just that the earth attracts the moon but the other way is true as well. The earth pulls and moon AND the moon pulls the earth. It is just that the earth is much more massive (therefore more gravity) that the moon's pull is not that obvious but it is still there and that is why the moon doesn't go around the earth. Both the earth and the moon go around a common center of gravity except it is much closer to earth than to the moon.

So yes, two people also literally attract each other. If you were just there in the universe with nothing else, you would float towards each other.

Answer 4

Anything with mass produces gravity, even a gas. Also, it is believed the center of Jupiter is liquid metallic hydrogen, not a gas. Jupiter has 318 times more mass than Earth.

Jupiter's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen:

Hydrogen ~86%
Helium ~14%
Methane0.1%
Water vapor 0.1%

Answer 5

Even the relatively thin atmosphere of Earth has substantial mass. I cubic metre of air at sea level weighs a healthy 1.3 KG (nearly 3lb). The mass of Earth's atmosphere is a wopping 5000 trillion tonnes.

Jupiter is over 1000 times larger than Earth, and because of its massive size its gravity can condense gases down so that they are as heavy as water, so in fact, Jupiter, though made of gases, is as dense as water.

Answer 6

Because Jupiter's interior is so hot and compact, we cannot visit it. Thus, all interior has to be inferred from the knowledge about its density, rotation rate, composition of the atmosphere, its heat ratio and its influence on the orbits of both natural and artificial satellites. With this information, Jupiter's interior is thought to be as follows:

A strong concentration of mass is located in the center, or core; it is thought to be made up of rock and ice. It may contain compounds of metals, oxygen, silicon, and heavy volatile elements. The mass of the core is 10-15 times the Earth's mass, or about 4% of Jupiter's mass. Temperatures in the center reach 25,000 K, and pressures, 100 million atmospheres (atm).The rocky core extends up to 6700 km and is surrounded by the icy core, which extends up to 13,440 km, slightly larger than Earth's diameter. At this point, the temperature has decreased to 19,000 K.

Above the core, a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen extends up to 59,000 km. The pressures in this region are so great, that the electrons are freed from the hydrogen nuclei and are able to flow and conduct electricity like a metal. This state of hydrogen has never been achieved on Earth. The pressures are around 3 million atm, and the temperatures about 11,000 K. The rotation of Jupiter, along with its metallic hydrogen interior are thought to be the cause of its strong magnetic field.

Above the metallic H, liquid molecular hydrogen is present, up to 71,400 km, where the pressure is thought to be 10 atm.

The last layers belong to the atmosphere because the temperatures and pressures are such as to allow everything present to be in the gaseous state.
The solar sytem started 4.6 billion years ago, jupiter is so bit it hasn't cooled down yet.



Molecular Hydrogen 86.4 % by volume

Helium 13.3 % by volume
Water vapor 0.2? % by volume
Methane 0.1 % by volume
Ammonia 0.02 % by volume
Ethane 40,000 parts per million (ppm)
Acetylene 800 ppm
Phosphine 700 ppm
Carbon monoxide 3 ppm

Answer 7

Jupiter is made up of all sorts of gases, it has gravity because everything has gravity. Jupiter is such a huge planet until it has a huge amount of gravity, just as our sun does.

Answer 8

Think its made of hydrogen, nitrogen and ammonia mostly.

Gravitation is the attraction between objects that have mass.

The force due to the gravity surrounding an object is in proportion to its mass and the mass of the object attracted to it.

The force is inversely propotional to the square of the distance between the two.

So gravitational forces drop off very rapidly as you distance yourself from the center of mass of the object.

Gases have mass. Air weighs 1.2 kg per cubic meter at sea level on earth.
Jupiter is huge. It has enormous mass and therefore enormous gravity.

Answer 9

All matter exerts gravity, including gas.

And Jupiter is predomiantly hydrogen, with a little helium thrown in to the mix.

Answer 10

The same reason the Sun has gravity.

g=G*M/r^2

G=Gravitational constant
M=Mass
r=Radius

Gas:
Hydrogen ~86%
Helium ~14%
Methane 0.1%
Water vapor 0.1%
Ammonia 0.02%
Ethane 0.0002%
Phosphine 0.0001%
Hydrogen sulfide <0.00010%