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[25.04] Visualizations of the Properties of a Growing Giant Planet

M. S. Rice (NASA - Ames Research Center), O. Hubickyj (UCSC, NASA - Ames Research Center)

We present new visualizations that show the growth rate and properties of Jupiter. Starting with a Mars-sized core and modeling through the planet's final contraction and cooling phase, we demonstrate how pressure, opacity, temperature, and entropy change with time at varying altitudes. Our movie visualizations show the migration of the convective and radiative zones in the atmosphere throughout the planet's formation. We also show the time evolution of the overall luminosity, mass, radius, and gas and planetesimal accretion rates. Using our most recent numerical simulations based on the core accretion-gas capture model, we show how Jupiter could have formed within the generally quoted core mass and time constraints (< 11 M_\oplus and < 10 Myr, respectively). Moreover, the implications of our models extend beyond Jupiter to the evolution of Saturn and of giant extrasolar planets. MSR was supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.