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The composition of Jupiter's atmosphere is similar to that of the planet as a whole. [1] Jupiter's atmosphere is the most comprehensively understood of those of all the giant planets because it was observed directly by the Galileo atmospheric probe when it entered the Jovian atmosphere on December 7, 1995. [28]
Jupiter's atmosphere consists of 76% hydrogen and 24% helium by mass, with a denser interior. It contains trace elements and compounds like carbon, oxygen, sulfur, neon, ammonia, water vapour, phosphine, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrocarbons. Jupiter's helium abundance is 80% of the Sun's, similar to Saturn's composition. The ongoing contraction ...
The Galilean moons are named after Galileo Galilei, who observed them in either December 1609 or January 1610, and recognized them as satellites of Jupiter in March 1610; [2] they remained the only known moons of Jupiter until the discovery of the fifth largest moon of Jupiter Amalthea in 1892. [3]
[21] [22] Over the duration of the Juno mission, the spacecraft continued to study the composition and evolution of Jupiter's atmosphere, especially its Great Red Spot. [21] The Great Red Spot should not be confused with the Great Dark Spot, a feature observed near the northern pole of Jupiter in 2000 with the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft. [23]
Jupiter’s striking Great Red Spot has puzzled astronomers for years. Now, they think they know just how old it is and how the cyclone formed in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
[19] [42] The ultimate source of this energy is Jupiter's rotation, which is tapped by Io through the tides it raises on Jupiter and is transferred to Europa and Ganymede by the orbital resonance. [42] [43] Analysis of the unique cracks lining Europa yielded evidence that it likely spun around a tilted axis at some point in time.
Io (/ ˈ aɪ. oʊ /), or Jupiter I, is the innermost and second-smallest of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter.Slightly larger than Earth's moon, Io is the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System, has the highest density of any moon, the strongest surface gravity of any moon, and the lowest amount of water by atomic ratio of any known astronomical object in the Solar System.
Around Dec. 14, Jupiter will be visible in the night sky between the nearly full moon and a reddish-orange star called Aldebaran, which shines brightest in the Taurus constellation and can be seen ...