Intro Astronomy 2014. Class 7: Near Earth Asteroids, Jupiter System

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Lecture 7 of Dr. Bruce Betts' 2014 online Introductory Planetary Science and Astronomy course covers the near Earth asteroid threat to Earth (including statistics, past impacts, and information on the Chelyabinsk fireball), introduces the Jupiter system, and includes an interview with Tim Spahr, Director of the Minor Planet Center. Recorded at California State University Dominguez Hills.

Comments:

Rob Bellotti: 07/25/2014 12:09 CDT

Hi. How far are the ring(s) of Jupiter from the planet? Thanks

Bruce Betts: 07/28/2014 02:40 CDT

The Jupiter rings range from about a distance to Jupiter's center of 92,000 to 225,000 kilometers. The Main ring is centered about 125,000 kilometers. Since Jupiter has a radius of about 70,000 km, that means the rings are about 22,000 to 155,000 km about Jupiter's cloud tops, with the Main ring about 55,000 km above.