Does the planet Jupiter have a liquid surface?

Question

Is the surface of Jupiter liquid, this is of particular interest because Jupiter has a gaseous atmosphere and liquid hydrogen?

Welcome to SpaceExploration Stack Exchange! This might be better as a comment below the original post — AnarchoEngineer, Aug 22 '23 at 23:32
Related, but not exactly a duplicate: What will be the effect if we stand on Jupiter? — DarkDust, Aug 23 '23 at 06:21

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 23 '23 at 19:55

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Not exactly. Actually, the transition between the gaseous atmosphere and the liquid hydrogen layer is so gradual that, if observed (which it has not), it would not be clear where to draw the line between the two.

The idea of a "surface" depends on the phase diagram for the elements involved. Here's an example on of a phase transition diagram for Hydrogen, the main (but not only) constituent of the Jovian atmosphere.

_{(Image Source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1007947107)}

At he Critical Point, it is no longer possible to distinguish between a gas and a liquid.

edited Aug 23 '23 at 19:55

not2qubit

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answered Aug 22 '23 at 18:23

Jonathan Dahlin

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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Aug 22 '23 at 20:32
The answer was already edited with additional info and citations. – not2qubit Aug 24 '23 at 10:09

Does the planet Jupiter have a liquid surface?

1 Answers1