is it true that the gas giant planets have no solid surface??

Question

If the gas giants have no solid surface then why did shoemaker levy 9 make such an explosion when it slammed into jupiter?

Answer 1

All Gas Giants are just that: Gas Giants!

They are all made out of gas, usually Hydrogen and other light gases. But don’t be fooled by the description.

Most (if not all) gas giants where made at the same time their star was made. In our case, the left over gases out of reach from the center mass (that became the Sun) was able to collide and form what we know today as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

If Jupiter and Saturn would have been able to collect much more hydrogen, they would have eventually collapse and start generating nuclear explosions like the Sun, and becoming a star. We could be in a binary or even a tri-star system if any or both planets would have become a small star.

As you should know, those planets are very big compared to Earth, and we have discovered some extra solar planets that are even bigger than Jupiter.

Such size creates an enormous gravitational field. As I said before, if they would have collected more mass, they would have increased the gravity and the elements inside would have condensed so much that a fusion reaction would have started, becoming a star. Since they didn’t collect enough mass, they didn’t become a star, but that gravity is strong enough to concentrate so much the gases, that they become liquid, and then solid at the core.

It is believed that Jupiter has a “metallic Hydrogen core”. That core is spinning at hight speeds, just like our own core inside Earth, generating a strong magnetic field (a giant alternator if you want to see it that way).

If we were able to go into Jupiter (or any gas giant), we would probably eventually sink into liquid, and later on “land” in a metallic surface, which is just solid hydrogen and other elements.

But we can not do that as the gravity is so strong, and the pressure is so high, that nay ship we send would be crushed into atoms. We can only guess what is inside by measuring the light spectrum of the planet and comparing it to the spectrum of each element, and other techniques.

The reason the comet “crashed” into a gas planet is because it entered the “atmosphere” of Jupiter at a great speed. The comet (broken in many pieces by the gravity pull from Jupiter when it passed next to it the last time prior the impact) entered into Jupiter and crashed with the gas. The friction generated so much heat, that everything burned with a big explosion. It was so great (the impact) that it left “scars” over the atmosphere for a long time.

That comet never touched liquid or solid, but the speed was high enough to make a big crash just touching plain gas.

Answer 2

Despite the majority claiming that we do know, that the consensus is that they have a solid surface, I agree with James that we do NOT know. If you read Wikipedia, you will have read that the "surface" is generally considered to be the depth at which atmospheric pressure reaches 10 bar. Ten times Earth's sea level atmospheric pressure. Obviously, that is a completely arbitrary number and worse, it should be obvious after a little reflection that clearly the gasses will have done nothing "special" at around 10 atm. Three related things happen as you move downwards in a gas giants atmosphere: 1. Density and pressure increase 2. Temperature increases 3. Composition changes. At some (high) pressure, there is no real difference between a gas and a liquid. So, it is quite conceivable that there is a gradual transition from gas to liquid and from liquid to solid - think of quicksand - it is a solid or a liquid surface? It might not be meaningful to think that there is a solid surface at all. For instance the Earth has layers, and according to seismic data, there are phase changes that show that different phases are present at different depths. BUT the data also shows that the phase transition happens over the course of miles or hundreds of miles and that there is no obvious surface above which is one phase and below which is another. -=- I am puzzled! You claim that Wikipedia is unsure?? From the Jupiter article QUOTE:"It may also have a rocky core of heavier elements,[16] but like the other gas giants, Jupiter lacks a well-defined solid surface." -=-= Also from that same source:"The temperature and pressure inside Jupiter increase steadily toward the core. At the phase transition region where hydrogen—heated beyond its critical point—becomes metallic, it is believed the temperature is 10,000 K and the pressure is 200 GPa. The temperature at the core boundary is estimated to be 36,000 K and the interior pressure is roughly 3,000–4,500 GPa.[31]" Do you think the term solid is meaningful at 10 000° C ???

Answer 3

See, gas giants are just small rocky planets with a LOT of gas and dust on it. That means the core is rock, if you consider that a surface.

Now the reason of the impact was because of the massive density of the planet. Those gases are so dense they act as a solid, especially when something moving at high speed hits it.

Think of it like a belly flop into a pool. Because you are moving so fast, the water doesn't have time to part, and you get hurt. In other words, it shows resistence, like a solid would.

Answer 4

Good question.

What kind of surface would you suggest could float on top of a massive buble of Hydrogen, Helium, and Methane gas? I
suggest that there is nothing that can float on top of that, rather it would sink to the center core of the planet "IF" it were heavier than Hydrogen, Helium, and Methane, and their liquid forms.

The burst you saw photos of were most likely the effects of a giant explosion as the super hot Asteroid ignited huge masses of various gases on its way down into the central part of the planet. Those explosions blew skyward many gases that had settled down lower inside the planet for years and years. Take any large stone and drop it straight down onto the surface of a pond. You will see a plume of water shoot straight up from the impact of the stone. Siomilar things happened on the surface of Jupiter when the Asteroid struck, only on Jupiter, instead of water in a pond, you are talking about seas of various liquid gases, all quite cold.

Answer 5

First of all the atmospheres of the gas giants are very dense. Secondly, the pieces of Shoemaker-Levy were traveling at *extremely* high velocity. If you were to jump into a pool of water from a height of 10 feet the impact would be negligible. However, if you jumped into a pool of jello from a height of 1 mile the impact would be like hitting a brick wall.

Answer 6

First of all the atmospheres of the gas giants are very dense. Secondly, the pieces of Shoemaker-Levy were traveling at *extremely* high velocity. If you were to jump into a pool of water from a height of 10 feet the impact would be negligible. However, if you jumped into a pool of jello from a height of 1 mile the impact would be like hitting a brick wall.

Answer 7

Meteors sometimes explode when entering earth's atmosphere before they hit the ground, and earth's atmosphere is nowhere near as dense or deep as Jupiter's.

So no, you do not need a solid surface to have a comet or meteor explode.

And yes, Jupiter has no solid surface. Its atmosphere is a thin gas at its uppermost altitudes, and gradually gets thicker and thicker as you go deeper where it behaves like liquefied natural gas (gas under high pressure). That's why there is no distinct boundary or solid surface on Jupiter.

Answer 8

It was the comet only that made that visual. It's not like something hitting a solid object, that comet came apart when it experienced different temperatures and pressures upon entering Jupiter's atmosphere.

Answer 9

Because the immense heat and pressure and energy and speed involved when the comet hit Jupiter.

Answer 10

yes