NASA has just released new photographs of Jupiter that give us a rare glimpse beneath the swirling clouds during its storms that have been disturbing the planet’s colorful bands. The radio wave images above made it possible for scientists to look deep into the atmospheric conditions below Jupiter’s colorful ammonia clouds after an “energetic eruption” took place 31-miles underneath the surface, similar to Earth’s thunderstorms, complete with lightning. Read more for a video and additional information.
Jupiter’s atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium, with a bit of methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and water. Astronomers used six ground-based telescopes as well as NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to capture these amazing views of Jupiter in visible light and radio waves. The top cloud layer is ammonia ice, followed by a layer of solid ammonium hydrosulfide particles, while the belts of white and brown are due to variations in composition, and beneath this upper cloud deck is a layer of liquid water clouds.
