Jupiter’s Mysterious Winds Revealed by NASA’s Juno Mission
NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which arrived in the Jupiter system in 2016, has been sending back data that has baffled and amazed scientists. The latest discovery from the mission is the revelation of Jupiter’s atmospheric winds, which have been found to move in cylindrical shapes parallel to the planet’s rotation axis.
The spacecraft has flown by Jupiter about 55 times, using a set of scientific instruments to penetrate the surface clouds to observe the inner workings of the largest planet in our solar system. Juno’s observations have led to the discovery of violent tumbling events in Jupiter’s atmosphere and the existence of a thin core deep in the planet, which may have been formed after a huge collision with a round celestial body a long time ago.
One of the most remarkable findings from the Juno mission is the revelation of Jupiter’s deep atmospheric winds. The debate about the structure of these winds, which has been ongoing since the 1970s, has finally come to an end with the new measurements obtained by Juno.
The data modeling shows that Jupiter’s zonal flow moves downward from cloud areas and belts through the atmosphere in a cylindrical shape parallel to Jupiter’s rotation axis. This new model, which is four times more accurate, not only allows a better understanding of Jupiter’s internal structure and origin but also provides insights that can be applied to gain a deeper understanding of the atmospheres of other planets.
The findings from NASA’s Juno mission are published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The mission continues to provide new scientific and technological knowledge, updated from time to time, offering a clearer picture of the mysteries of our solar system and beyond.