Local planets, e.g., those to which we can actually send probes, or extrasolar planets?caz said:modern review article on high pressure equations of state and planetary interiors.
When I phrased the question, I was thinking about local planets and the improvements in experimental and computational EOS data that have occurred since the nineties.Astronuc said:Local planets, e.g., those to which we can actually send probes, or extrasolar planets?
EOS for Mercury, Venus and Mars will all be different, as are those for Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and Pluto. We need more data though.caz said:When I phrased the question, I was thinking about local planets and the improvements in experimental and computational EOS data that have occurred since the nineties.
Juno arrived into orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016, and is a bit more than half-way through its prime mission. Juno is revolutionizing our knowledge of the nature, origin, formation and evolution of Jupiter; through study of the solar system's largest planet, our understanding of general planetary formation processes is changing as well. This special issue includes results on Jupiter's interior structure, magnetic field and radiation environment, atmospheric dynamics and composition, the morphology and physics of Jupiter's polar magnetosphere, and UV and IR aurorae.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/28/22749095/nasa-juno-jupiter-great-red-spot-depthThe findings also indicate these storms are far taller than expected, with some extending 60 miles (100 kilometers) below the cloud tops and others, including the Great Red Spot, extending over 200 miles (350 kilometers). This surprise discovery demonstrates that the vortices cover regions beyond those where water condenses and clouds form, below the depth where sunlight warms the atmosphere.
The height and size of the Great Red Spot means the concentration of atmospheric mass within the storm potentially could be detectable by instruments studying Jupiter’s gravity field. Two close Juno flybys over Jupiter’s most famous spot provided the opportunity to search for the storm’s gravity signature and complement the MWR results on its depth.
With Juno traveling low over Jupiter’s cloud deck at about 130,000 mph (209,000 kph) Juno scientists were able to measure velocity changes as small 0.01 millimeter per second using a NASA’s Deep Space Network tracking antenna, from a distance of more than 400 million miles (650 million kilometers). This enabled the team to constrain the depth of the Great Red Spot to about 300 miles (500 kilometers) below the cloud tops.
“The precision required to get the Great Red Spot’s gravity during the July 2019 flyby is staggering,” said Marzia Parisi, a Juno scientist from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and lead author of a paper in the Journal Science on gravity overflights of the Great Red Spot. “Being able to complement MWR’s finding on the depth gives us great confidence that future gravity experiments at Jupiter will yield equally intriguing results.”
Studying planetary interiors allows us to gain a better understanding of the formation, evolution, and current state of planets. This information can also provide insights into the potential habitability of a planet and its potential for supporting life.
Scientists use a variety of methods to study planetary interiors, including seismic data, gravity measurements, and remote sensing techniques. These methods can provide information about the composition, density, and structure of a planet's interior.
Through the study of planetary interiors, we have learned that the composition and structure of a planet's interior can vary greatly, even among planets within our own solar system. We have also discovered that many planets have complex and dynamic interiors, with processes such as plate tectonics and convection shaping their surfaces.
Some current areas of research in planetary interiors include studying the interiors of exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system), investigating the role of water in planetary formation and evolution, and using computer simulations to model the behavior of different planetary interiors.
Studying planetary interiors not only allows us to better understand our own solar system, but also provides insights into the formation and evolution of other planets and systems in the universe. This information can help us piece together a more complete picture of the universe and our place within it.