Earthed

Would the terrestrial or jovian planets be least likely to hold on to atmospheric gases?

A planets atmosphere consists of gases which are gravitationally bound to a planet. The nature of the atmosphere depends on the escape velocity of a planet. Would the terrestrial or the jovian planets be least likely to hold on to atmospheric gases? Explain.



I think that the jovian planets would be able to hold onto the atmospheric gases because the escape velocity is greater then the terrestrial planets. Also, don't the jovian planets have denser atmospheres then the terrestrial ones?

Public Comments

1. Considering the fact that Jupiter (a Jovian planet by definition) is a gas planet (it is all atmosphere), I would say that your analysis is correct.
2. Terrestrial planets would be less likely, because they are closer to the sun and have less mass. Yes, Jovian atmospheres are denser, they are liquid.
3. You are correct. Planets like mars are too small to hold onto an atmosphere. The gravity is just not enough.
4. It's the surface gravity that keeps you held down to a planet, otherwise you would free float. Surface gravity is what keeps the atmosphere and the water held to a planet too.
   
   
   
   On Earth, the surface gravity is 0.5 to 2.0 Gauss. Which means the molten dynamo in the center of earth (again, think of it as a long bar magnet in a sphere) is at least 5,000 Gauss (1/2 Tesla) to 20,000 Gauss (2 Tesla). So if you landed on Mars or Ganymede, you would have to drill a shaft 1/2 way down and insert a stacked NeBFe Bar Magnet or Superconducting Magnet to increase the surface gravity. Then measure the surface gravity with a Gaussmeter and if it equals 0.5 to 2.0 Gauss, you could start pumping oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen into this man made bubble. You wouldn't have to worry about floating away, or not having oxygen to breathe (of course you will need grass seeds and some soil).
   
   
   
   In our Milky Way Galaxy there are 235 planetary bodies, of which 169 moons are in our Solar System. These 169 moons are the well documented satellite moons of the 9 planets. Jupiter alone has 63 moons. The challenge lies in how we can build atmospheres on them to support human life and all other living things. Also, we have to weed out the ones that are inhospitable.
   
   
   
   Venus=0, Earth=1, Mars=2, Jupiter=63, Saturn=60, Uranus=27, Neptune=13, Pluto=3
   
   
   
   The trick is to categorize them into planets/moons that either spin on their axis, or don't. Then, increase the surface gravity by inserting a Superconducting Magnet into the core. The magnet would range from 2 Tesla to 15 Tesla, depending on the amount of iron/nickel that is present in the core.
   
   
   
   Finally, you would have to introduce atmospheric gases (nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide) into the man made electromagnetic bubble. Armed with this knowledge, we can build restaurants throughout our Milky Way Galaxy.
   
   Source(s):
   
   
   
   This website gives the exact location of each of the moons of Jupiter: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~sheppard/satellites
   
   
   
   and this site tells us how to make an ATMOSPHERE on all the moons: http://www.atmospheres.5u.com/index.html
   
   
   
   while this site tells you how to build a Fischer Tropsch reactor to make fuel and water:
   
   http://www.xybex.50megs.com/custom2.html
5. You actually answered your own question wither you realized it or not the terrestrial planets are less likely to hold on to gases cause there smaller Jupiter has a core under all the gas's that is much larger than earths that's why gas cannot escape its gravity (not even helium) For example if you take a helium balloon to Jupiter it will sink here it floats up. if you take and Oxygen filled balloon here and drop it it sinks. On mercury it would float up the same as a helium balloon on earth.
6. this question is kinda tricky. i agree with you that jovian planets have more gravity so they hold on to their air with stronger hands, but they don't have magnetic fields. and it's the magnetic field of earth that's responsible for us keeping our atmosphere, not our gravity. even if earth was twice the size, having twice the force of gravity, without our magnetic field, our sun's storms would have stripped us of our atmosphere a long time ago. but not all terrestrial planets have magnetic fields. mars doesn't and that's why it has no atmosphere, not because mars' gravity was too weak.