{"id":771546,"date":"2023-11-09T13:18:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T17:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=771546"},"modified":"2023-11-09T13:18:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T17:18:15","slug":"nasas-juno-finds-jupiters-winds-penetrate-in-cylindrical-layers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=771546","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Juno Finds Jupiter\u2019s Winds Penetrate in Cylindrical Layers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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5 min read<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Juno Finds Jupiter\u2019s Winds Penetrate in Cylindrical Layers<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"NASA’s<\/figure>
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NASA\u2019s Juno captured this view of Jupiter during the mission\u2019s 54th close flyby of the giant planet on Sept. 7. The image was made with raw data from the JunoCam instrument that was processed to enhance details in cloud features and colors. <\/div>\n
Image data: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/SwRI\/MSSS Image processing by Tanya Oleksuik CC BY NC SA 3.0<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The finding offers deeper insights into the long-debated internal structure of the gas giant.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gravity data collected by NASA\u2019s Juno mission indicates Jupiter\u2019s atmospheric winds penetrate the planet in a cylindrical manner, parallel to its spin axis. A paper on the findings was recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The violent nature of Jupiter\u2019s roiling atmosphere has long been a source of fascination for astronomers and planetary scientists, and Juno has had a ringside seat to the goings-on since it entered orbit in 2016<\/a>. During each of the spacecraft\u2019s 55\u00a0 to date, a suite of science instruments has peered below Jupiter\u2019s turbulent cloud deck to uncover how the gas giant works from the inside out.<\/p>\n

One way the Juno mission learns about the planet\u2019s interior is via radio science. Using NASA\u2019s Deep Space Network<\/a> antennas, scientists track the spacecraft\u2019s radio signal as Juno flies past Jupiter at speeds near 130,000 mph (209,000 kph), measuring tiny changes in its velocity \u2013 as small as 0.01 millimeter per second. Those changes are caused by variations in the planet\u2019s gravity field, and by measuring them, the mission can essentially see into Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Such measurements have led to numerous discoveries, including the existence of a dilute core deep within Jupiter and the depth of the planet\u2019s zones and belts<\/a>, which extend from the cloud tops down approximately 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers).<\/p>\n

Doing the Math<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To determine the location and cylindrical nature of the winds, the study\u2019s authors applied a mathematical technique that models gravitational variations and surface elevations of rocky planets like Earth. At Jupiter, the technique can be used to accurately map winds at depth. Using the high-precision Juno data, the authors were able to generate a four-fold increase in the resolution over previous models created with data from NASA\u2019s trailblazing Jovian explorers Voyager and Galileo.<\/p>\n

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\"This<\/figure>
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This illustration depicts findings that Jupiter\u2019s atmospheric winds penetrate the planet in a cylindrical manner and parallel to its spin axis. The most dominant jet recorded by NASA\u2019s Juno is shown in the cutout: The jet is at 21 degrees north latitude at cloud level, but 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) below that, it\u2019s at 13 degrees north latitude.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/SSI\/SWRI\/MSSS\/ASI\/ INAF\/JIRAM\/Bj\u00f6rn J\u00f3nsson CC BY 3.0<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe applied a constraining technique developed for sparse data sets on terrestrial planets to process the Juno data,\u201d said Ryan Park, a Juno scientist and lead of the mission\u2019s gravity science investigation from NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cThis is the first time such a technique has been applied to an outer planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The measurements of the gravity field matched a two-decade-old model that determined Jupiter\u2019s powerful east-west zonal flows extend from the cloud-level white and red zones and belts inward. But the measurements also revealed that rather than extending in every direction like a radiating sphere, the zonal flows go inward, cylindrically, and are oriented along the direction of Jupiter\u2019s rotation axis. How Jupiter\u2019s deep atmospheric winds are structured has been in debated since the 1970s, and the Juno mission has now settled the debate.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tFollow the Juno spacecraft with Eyes on the Solar System<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAll 40 gravity coefficients measured by Juno matched our previous calculations of what we expect the gravity field to be if the winds penetrate inward on cylinders,\u201d said Yohai Kaspi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, the study\u2019s lead author and a Juno co-investigator. \u201cWhen we realized all 40 numbers exactly match our calculations, it felt like winning the lottery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with bettering the current understanding of Jupiter\u2019s internal structure and origin, the new gravity model application could be used to gain more insight into other planetary atmospheres.<\/p>\n

Juno is currently in an extended mission. Along with flybys of Jupiter, the solar-powered spacecraft has completed a series of flybys of the planet\u2019s icy moons Ganymede and Europa and is in the midst of several close flybys of Io. The Dec. 30 flyby of Io will be the closest to date, coming within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of its volcano-festooned surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Juno\u2019s journey progresses, we\u2019re achieving scientific outcomes that truly define a new Jupiter and that likely are relevant for all giant planets, both within our solar system and beyond,\u201d said Scott Bolton, the principal investigator of the Juno mission at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. \u201cThe resolution of the newly determined gravity field is remarkably similar to the accuracy we estimated 20 years ago. It is great to see such agreement between our prediction and our results.\u201d<\/p>\n

More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n

NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA\u2019s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

More information about Juno is available at:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/juno<\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contacts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

Karen Fox \/ Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 \/ 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

Dana Bernstein
Weizmann Institute of Science
972-8-934-3856
dana.bernstein@weizmann.ac.il<\/a><\/p>\n

2023-163<\/p>\n

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