Which planet is the hottest: Jupiter or Mars?

Well, the sub-solar, visible surface temperature of Jupiter is about 120 K while for Mars it's about 250 K, so Mars would win as the hottest surface of the two, BUT, although Mars has a definite surface, Jupiter just gets denser and denser as you enter its atmosphere, with no rocky surface. Also, the deeper you go within Jupiter, the hotter it gets, with a core temperature of about 56,000K. So, this isn't really a fair comparison because although Mars has a definite surface upon which to measure a temperature, Jupiter does not. You can always find some level within the Jovian atmosphere that is hotter than Mars, but you could never stand on this spot!


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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