Science Findings

< BACK TO FINDINGS

08.20.20

Jupiter's Atmospheric Jet Streams

Scientists discovered that the depth of Jupiter’s atmospheric jet streams span far deeper than they imagined. New evidence from Juno shows Jupiter’s zones and belts penetrate 3000 km down into the planet answering a fundamental question of whether Jupiter’s powerful atmospheric jet-streams are shallow or deep.

Jupiter's belts and zones represent east-west jet-streams that show a clear north- south asymmetry.

Jupiter's gravity field shows a similar north-south asymmetry penetrating 3000 km into Jupiter.

This implies that the dynamical atmosphere of Jupiter is equivalent to about 3 Earth masses.

The gravity results were a surprise and indicate the origin of Jupiter's asymmetric nature may lie deep inside of Jupiter.