[Previous] | [Session 77] | [Next]
T. Guillot (OCA)
The Galileo space mission has improved our understanding of the internal structure of Jupiter. In 2004, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will arrive at the saturnian system and is expected to provide an even greater wealth of information on the interior of Saturn. In the mean time, it is likely that some of the characteristics of extrasolar planets will have been determined, in particular the radii of ``hot Jupiters''. With accurate high-pressure equations of state, interior models of these objects can be used to constrain the total mass of heavy elements they possess, a critical parameter for theories of planetary formation.