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A deeper look at Jupiter

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has made precise measurements of the gravitational field of Jupiter. The data reveal details of the structure and dynamics of the planet’s interior.
  1. Jonathan Fortney

    1. Jonathan Fortney is in the Other Worlds Laboratory, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA.

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The surface of a planet typically reveals little about the processes at work in the planet’s interior. Jupiter’s surface consists of alternating bright and dark bands of gas that harbour powerful winds. These winds flow in opposite directions and can reach speeds of more than 100 metres per second. But what happens in the depths below that cannot be seen? In particular, is the planet’s interior as dynamic as its surface? In three papers1–3 in Nature, scientists have used small signatures in the gravitational field of Jupiter to address these questions and to potentially revolutionize our understanding of the internal dynamics of such gas-giant planets.

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Nature 555, 168-169 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-02612-y

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