Jupiter & Saturn

JUPITER

As we all know, Jupiter is the largest planet and comes fifth in our solar system. It derives its name from the Roman God Jupiter also known as Jove, who was the God of sky and thunder and the King of Gods in Roman mythology. Though not clearly visible, Jupiter has a system of rings known as the rings of Jupiter or the Jovian ring system, which was the third ring system to be discovered in the Solar System, after those of Saturn and Uranus. Various aspects of Jupiter and Saturn were covered in the presentation, for example, its composition, atmosphere, internal structure, moons etc. The most iconic and characteristic feature of jupiter is its giant red spot which is large enough to accommodate 2-3 Earths within its boundaries . It is the only planet whose barycenter i.e. the center of mass between sun and Jupiter, lies outside the sun.

SATURN

The planet that comes immediately after Jupiter is Saturn, which is the second largest planet after Jupiter. It is named after the Roman god of agriculture and time. According to roman mythology Saturn is the father of Jupiter. It is also a gas giant like Jupiter with an average radius approximately nine times that of Earth. Since Saturn is a massive ball made mostly of hydrogen and helium, it only has one-eighth the average density of Earth. The most iconic feature of Saturn is its rings and a hexagonal pattern at its north pole . Saturn has a total of 8 rings (3 main and 5 dusty rings). One of the hypotheses regarding the formation of the rings is that they were formed when a Titan-sized moon (Titan currently is a moon of Saturn) with a rocky core and an icy mantle spiralled into Saturn early in solar system history.

Though the exact formation of Jupiter and Saturn are not known, several models and hypotheses were discussed during the talk to explain their existence.