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Jupiter: A Few Mysteries Still Surround the Giant Planet

© Pattie Stechschulte

On May 25, the Galileo spacecraft will descend within 76 miles of Jupiter's second largest moon Callisto's surface on is latest flyby. The moon's gravity will give the spacecraft enough velocity for another flyby of the moon Io in August.

As the Galileo's mission nears completion, what have NASA scientists really learned about the giant planet Jupiter and it's unusual moons?

A Little Background

Even back in ancient times, astronomers recognized Jupiter's immense size and power by naming it after Jupiter - king of the gods. It is the fourth brightest object in Earth's sky, and is by far the largest planet in the solar system. It rotates every 9 1/2 hours and it takes almost 12 Earth years to circle the sun.

Beneath the planet's complex atmosphere, scientists believe there is no solid mass at the center, rather a core of slush or liquid. The magnetosphere makes up the deadliest radiation environment on any planet, making exploration beyond the atmosphere impossible for current electronic equipment.

The planet's atmosphere is made up of 90 percent hydrogen and 10 percent helium with very small traces of methane, water and ammonia. Near the core, the pressure is very intense causing hydrogen to becomes metallic. There are three distinct layers of clouds: ammonia ice, ammonium hydrosulfide and a mixture of ice and water. A probe launched from Galileo was able to collect data from the upper atmosphere, which showed the planet contains less oxygen than the Sun. Jupiter also has three rings surrounding the planet, invisible from Earth, consisting of dust particles.

Jupiter's surface has colorful latitudinal bands that indicate winds, clouds and storms. Winds blow in opposite directions in adjacent bands, and chemical and temperature differences are responsible for the varying colors. The light colors are called zones and the dark ones are belts. There are also high velocity winds, which the Galileo probe was also able to measure winds in the upper atmosphere at a speed of 400 mph.

Interesting Features and Moons

The most distinct and recognizable feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. It is a giant storm that continually moves in a counter-clockwise motion with winds blowing approximately 250 miles per hour, and its actual size is larger than the planet Earth. Scientists are not sure how long the storm has lasted, but the famed astronomer Galileo Galilei reported a similar feature on the surface over 380 years ago.

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