A Jupiter Vista from Juno
Explanation:
Why do colorful cloud bands encircle Jupiter?
Jupiter's
top atmospheric layer is
divided into light zones and dark belts that go
all
the way around the giant planet.
It is high horizontal winds -- in excess of 300 kilometers per hour --
that cause the zones to spread out planet-wide.
What causes these strong winds remains a
topic of research.
Replenished by upwelling gas, zonal bands are thought to include relatively opaque
clouds of
ammonia and water that
block light from lower and darker atmospheric levels.
One light-colored zone is shown in great detail in the
featured vista taken by the robotic
Juno spacecraft in 2017.
Jupiter's atmosphere is mostly clear and colorless
hydrogen and helium,
gases that are not thought to contribute to the gold and brown colors.
What compounds create these colors is another active topic of research --
but is hypothesized to involve small amounts of sunlight-altered
sulfur and
carbon.
Many discoveries have been made from Juno's data, including that
water composes an unexpectedly high 0.25 percent of upper-level cloud molecules
near Jupiter's equator, a finding important not only for understanding
Jovian currents but for the history of water in the entire
Solar System.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
