Facts About Jupiter's Atmosphere

Jupiter's upper atmosphere undergoes differential rotation. It rotates at different speeds due to changes in the atmosphere and its unusual shape. Jupiter is composed of 10% helium and 90% hydrogen, and also has traces "rock", ammonia, water and methane. This is quite like the composition of the solar nebula that formed the solar system. Saturn composition is very similar to Jupiter, but Uranus and Neptune have much less hydrogen and helium.

The facts on Jupiter, we can say with certainty about the interior of the planet (and the other gas planets) is only indirect knowledge, and it seems likely to remain so. Scientists assume that the Jupiter core is made of rock material with a mass that is equal to ten to fifteen planets size of the earth.

Above Jupiter is the core of gas on the planet, which is the liquid metallic hydrogen. In Jupiter, hydrogen is a liquid, not a gas and conduct electricity. He is the source of the magnetic field of Jupiter. Outermost layer of Jupiter is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium of the ordinary. Scientists seek facts on Jupiter should find a good amount of oxygen in the atmosphere of Jupiter, but the Galileo probe's data indicates that Jupiter has much less oxygen than exists around the sun.

Jupiter and its sister gas planets have high velocity winds which are confined in wide bands of latitude. The winds in adjacent bands blow in different directions. The colored bands that dominate the appearance of the planet are the result of small differences in temperature and chemical between bands. The dark bands are called belts and lighter bands are called zones.

Galileo probe information indicated that Jupiter's winds are faster than scientists expected - about 400 mph. Galileo also discovered that Jupiter's atmosphere is very turbulent. Bright colors can be seen in the clouds of Jupiter are probably the result of chemical reactions of the trace elements in the atmosphere of the planet. The colors seem to be correlated with altitude clouds - red is the highest, and white and brown, with the lowest blue. Sometimes, scientists can see the lower layers of the atmosphere through holes in the upper layers.

Jupiter Great Red Spot was seen by observers for more than 300 years. Infrared observations and rotation type indicates that the Great Red Spot is actually a high-pressure area, with cloud cover and higher cooler than surrounding areas. Jupiter radiates more energy than it receives from the sun.

The interior of Jupiter is hot - probably about 12,000 degrees Kelvin. However, if Jupiter does not produce energy in the same way that the sun. The sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion, but the interior of Jupiter is too cool for nuclear reactions take place.

Jupiter has a huge magnetic field - much stronger than Earth. The magnetosphere extends more than 650 million kilometers - beyond the orbit of Saturn. Facts confirm that Jupiter's moons are within its magnetosphere.