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connorp connorp
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10 years ago
Since Jupiter is a gas giant, there couldn't have been marks on a solid surface. So what were the "scars" left over from the comet's impact?
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#1
10 years ago
The impact of an asteroid brings gases to the top of the atmosphere that were deeper down. It's like making an impact crater with an resulting ejecta blanket and central peak, like happens in solid rocks, but it happens in layers of gases instead of layers of rocks. The scars (craters) eventually dissipate.

There has to be a solid surface underneath all those layers of gas, and a liquid iron/nickel/sulfur core to create the magnetic fields of all the gas giants.
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#2
10 years ago
Imagine you drop a brick into a large pool... it makes a ripple. The ripple eventually goes away; this is what is happening on jupiter, except the brick is a comet and the pool is a gigantic gas planet!
connorp Author
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#3
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10 years ago
Okay. So when a comet hits a gas giant, being mostly ice and dust, it mostly evaporates, and the small amount of dust leftover either gravitates towards the core or stays in the atmosphere, correct?

And when an asteroid or meteor impacts, what doesn't disintegrate gravitates towards the core as well, correct?
wrote...
#4
Educator
10 years ago
Quote from: connorp (10 years ago)
it mostly evaporates

The comet won't evaporate. The planet, although a gas giant, is comprised of a solid core. When the comet hits, the atmosphere unsettles and stays that way for a period of time until it dissipates.
connorp Author
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#5
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10 years ago
Maybe evaporate is the wrong word. But wouldn't most of the ice melt upon entering the atmosphere? And do any solids if considerable mass that strike eventually gravitate towards the solid core?
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#6
Educator
10 years ago
Quote from: connorp (10 years ago)
Maybe evaporate is the wrong word.

Don't worry, I understood you. Given that the climate is super cold, it wouldn't melt but more likely react with the chemicals found in the atmosphere. Also given that the gravity is 2.5 times that of earth, it would pass through land and gravitate towards the core.
connorp Author
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#7
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10 years ago
Ah, alright. And given the extremely dense atmosphere, no way of it completely passing through?
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#8
10 years ago
Sorry for the late response, I think it will pass through, but slow down considerably depending on the density of the gases. What are the gases in its atmosphere?
connorp Author
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#9
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10 years ago
Mainly hydrogen and helium.

But concerning any gas giant, as something entered the atmosphere, it would slowly be pulled towards the core due to gravity, and with the density of gases and liquids increasing closer to the core, I would think anything would be slowed down too much to meet the escape velocity requirement, and therefore not make it out the other side. Does that make any sense?
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#10
10 years ago
Quote from: connorp (10 years ago)
and therefore not make it out the other side.

Thanks.

That makes total sense to me. It wouldn't go in and out. It would event hit the planets core. However, wouldn't this also be dependent on the speed of the object Neutral Face
connorp Author
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#11
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10 years ago
But as the object passes through the planet and slowly moves toward the center, the atmosphere gets denser, hotter, and pressure increases. Therefore, I would expect the object to start to break apart, and the smaller objects would be subject to a stronger gravitational force, any magnetic force, and the thicker atmosphere, and I would think all that combined would slow the entry velocity down considerably.
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