An illustration reveals NASAs Juno spacecraft as it got in orbit of Jupiter on July 4, 2016, after taking a trip for nearly 5 years and more than 1.7 billion miles. Credit: NASA/JPL/SwRI
Radio Science and Jupiters Interior
One method the Juno mission learns more about the worlds interior is through radio science. Utilizing NASAs Deep Space Network antennas, scientists track the spacecrafts radio signal as Juno flies previous Jupiter at speeds near 130,000 mph (209,000 kph), determining tiny changes in its velocity– as little as 0.01 millimeter per second. Those modifications are triggered by variations in the worlds gravity field, and by measuring them, the objective can basically see into Jupiters atmosphere.
Such measurements have led to numerous discoveries, including the presence of a water down core deep within Jupiter and the depth of the worlds zones and belts, which extend from the cloud tops down around 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers).
Advanced Mathematical Techniques
To determine the place and round nature of the winds, the research studys authors used a mathematical technique that designs gravitational variations and surface area elevations of rocky planets like Earth. At Jupiter, the method can be used to accurately map winds at depth. Using the high-precision Juno information, the authors had the ability to generate a four-fold boost in the resolution over previous designs created with information from NASAs guiding Jovian explorers Voyager and Galileo.
This illustration illustrates findings that Jupiters atmospheric winds permeate the planet in a round way and parallel to its spin axis. The most dominant jet recorded by NASAs Juno is displayed in the cutout: The jet is at 21 degrees north latitude at cloud level, but 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) below that, its at 13 degrees north latitude. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/ SWRI/MSSS/ASI/ INAF/JIRAM/Bj örn Jónsson CC BY 3.0
” We applied a constraining technique developed for sporadic information sets on terrestrial worlds to process the Juno data,” stated Ryan Park, a Juno researcher and lead of the missions gravity science investigation from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This is the very first time such a technique has actually been applied to an outer world.”
The measurements of the gravity field matched a two-decade-old design that figured out Jupiters powerful east-west zonal streams extend from the cloud-level white and red zones and belts inward. The measurements likewise revealed that rather than extending in every direction like a radiating sphere, the zonal circulations go inward, cylindrically, and are oriented along the instructions of Jupiters rotation axis. How Jupiters deep atmospheric winds are structured has actually been in discussed since the 1970s, and the Juno mission has now settled the argument.
” All 40 gravity coefficients measured by Juno matched our previous computations of what we expect the gravity field to be if the winds penetrate inward on cylinders,” said Yohai Kaspi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, the studys lead author and a Juno co-investigator. “When we realized all 40 numbers precisely match our calculations, it felt like winning the lottery.”
Implications and Future Missions
Together with improving the existing understanding of Jupiters internal structure and origin, the new gravity design application could be used to get more insight into other planetary environments.
Juno is presently in an extended mission. Together with flybys of Jupiter, the solar-powered spacecraft has finished a series of flybys of the planets icy moons Ganymede and Europa and remains in the midst of numerous 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.
” As Junos journey progresses, were attaining clinical results that truly define a new Jupiter which likely are relevant for all giant planets, both within our solar system and beyond,” said Scott Bolton, the principal private investigator of the Juno mission at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “The resolution of the newly identified gravity field is extremely similar to the accuracy we approximated 20 years earlier. It is fantastic to see such contract in between our forecast and our outcomes.”
Reference: “Observational proof for cylindrically oriented zonal streams on Jupiter” by Y. Kaspi, E. Galanti, R. S. Park, K. Duer, N. Gavriel, D. Durante, L. Iess, M. Parisi, D. R. Buccino, T. Guillot, D. J. Stevenson and S. J. Bolton, 26 October 2023, Nature Astronomy.DOI: 10.1038/ s41550-023-02077-8.
NASAs Juno Mission.
NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, handles the Juno mission for the principal private investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno belongs to NASAs New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the firms Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver developed and operates the spacecraft.
NASAs Juno captured this view of Jupiter during the objectives 54th close flyby of the huge planet on September 7, 2023. The image was made with raw information from the JunoCam instrument that was processed to enhance information in cloud features and colors. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS, Image processing by Tanya Oleksuik CC BY NC SA 3.0
The finding provides much deeper insights into the long-debated internal structure of the gas giant.
Gravity data collected by NASAs Juno mission suggests Jupiters climatic winds penetrate the planet in a round way, parallel to its spin axis. A paper on the findings was recently released in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Understanding Jupiters Atmosphere
The violent nature of Jupiters roiling environment has actually long provided fascination for astronomers and planetary researchers, and Juno has had a ringside seat to the goings-on since it entered orbit in 2016. During each of the spacecrafts 55 close flybys to date, a suite of science instruments has peered listed below Jupiters unstable cloud deck to reveal how the gas giant works from the within out.
NASAs Juno captured this view of Jupiter during the missions 54th close flyby of the huge world on September 7, 2023. Using NASAs Deep Space Network antennas, scientists track the spacecrafts radio signal as Juno flies previous Jupiter at speeds near 130,000 mph (209,000 kph), determining tiny modifications in its speed– as little as 0.01 millimeter per second. How Jupiters deep climatic winds are structured has actually been in discussed since the 1970s, and the Juno mission has actually now settled the dispute.
” As Junos journey advances, were achieving scientific outcomes that truly define a new Jupiter and that likely are pertinent for all huge worlds, both within our solar system and beyond,” said Scott Bolton, the primary detective of the Juno mission at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASAs New Frontiers Program, which is handled at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the companys Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
