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17 Jun 2002
Measurements returned by NASA's Galileo probe into Jupiter have provided dramatic new evidence about circulation processes within the planet's atmosphere and prompted scientists to propose radical new theories about Jupiter's original formation. The probe's successful parachute-borne descent into Jupiter last December made possible the first quantitative measurements of the Jovian atmosphere below its outer clouds, where heat from the Sun cannot penetrate.
The probe sampled the upper part of what is believed to be Jupiter's well-mixed, relatively uniform interior atmosphere. According to mission scientists, Galileo probe data strongly suggest that circulation patterns in Jupiter's cloud tops and its interior (which runs 10,000 miles deep) are part of one continuous process. The probe detected no reduction in Jovian wind velocities, which can rage up to 400 mph. wind speed, even at measurements taken approximately 100 miles below Jupiter's clouds. Galileo scientists regard this finding as confirmation that the main driving force of Jupiter's winds is internal heat radiating upward from the planet's deep interior.
Scientists continue to be perplexed by the extreme lack of water detected in the Jovian atmosphere. Pre-probe mission scientific estimates based on planetary formation theories, data from the earlier NASA Voyager spacecraft flybys of Jupiter and observations from the impacts of the fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter forecast Jovian water levels at or well above those recorded by the probe.
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