5

Jupiter rotates in less than 10 hours. Its rotation is differential, with the upper layers of the atmosphere spinning a bit faster at the equator than at higher latitudes. Do the inner layers of Jupiter rotate at the same (angular) speed as the outmost layers of the atmosphere?

usernumber
  • 17,492
  • 3
  • 54
  • 133

1 Answers1

8

No. The deep interior of the planet rotates as (nearly) a rigid body (Guillot et al. 2018), while the outer part of the planet undergoes differential rotation. Therefore the interior and exterior rotation cannot match at all latitudes simultaneously.

  • Quite a cool paper! I think this was about the time that single, well characterized value for the rotational period of Jupiter could be ascertained? – uhoh Nov 11 '20 at 00:03