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Scientists have used sophisticated computer simulations to explore the atmosphere of Jupiter. The research has revealed some unexpected surprises.
The clouds of Jupiter. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by Kevin M. Gill, © CC BY).
New Delhi: Scientists have created the most complete model so far of the Jovian atmosphere for a new study. The analysis answers a long-standing question on the oxygen content of gas giants. The research estimates that Jupiter has about one and a half times more oxygen than the Sun. The findings help more clearly resolve the picture of how the planets in the Solar System were assembled from the material leftover from the formation of the Sun. Scientists have known for almost 360 years that Jupiter had clouds, with the Great Red Spot, a persistent storm system being documented as a large blotch when astronomers began using telescopes.
The Great Red Spot is about twice the size of the Earth and has raged for centuries. It is just one of the many storms on Jupiter, that essentially cloak the entire surface. What lies beneath the clouds are not clearly understood, with contact being lost to the Earth by the Galileo spacecraft when it dived into the Jovian atmosphere in 2003 at the end of its mission. The Juno mission is currently observing Jupiter from a safe distance, but budget constraints have put the future of the mission in jeopardy. The observations by Juno from orbit revealed the components of the Jovian atmosphere: ammonia, methane, ammonium hydrosulphide, carbon monoxide and water.
Modelling the deep atmosphere
The scientists used this chemical inventory combined with the knowledge of chemical reactions to build a model of the deep atmosphere of Jupiter. However, scientists are not sure about certain aspects, such as how much water or oxygen Jupiter has. The chemistry of the Jovian atmosphere is also incredibly complex, with molecules traveling between the extremely hot conditions in the interior to the cooler regions at higher altitudes, changing phases, rearranging into different molecules through thousands of different reactions. The new model incorporates both chemistry and hydrodynamics, that allowed scientists to pin down the oxygen content of the gas giant. A paper describing the research has been published in The Planetary Science Journal.
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