Description
The Gas Giants Jupiter and Saturn are the largest planets in the Solar
System. Internally they are deep, heavy Hydrogen/Helium atmospheres on
top of dense rock/ice cores without solid surfaces. What we see in our
telescopes are just the tops of the clouds. This lecture describes the
basic properties of the planets: their composition, atmospheres,
weather, and internal structures. Recorded 2007 Nov 14 in 1000
McPherson Lab on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.
A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available
for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in
modern astronomy.
Published 12/06/09
Are we alone in the Universe? This lecture explores the question of how
we might go about finding life on planets around other stars. Rather
than talking about speculative ideas, like the Drake Equation or SETI, I
am instead taking the approach of posing it as a problem of what to look
for...
Published 11/30/07