How complex is Jupiter?
NASA's
Juno mission to Jupiter is finding the Jovian giant to be
more complicated than expected.
Jupiter's magnetic field has been
discovered to be much different from our
Earth's simple dipole field, showing
several poles embedded in a complicated network
more convoluted in the north than the south.
Further, Juno's radio measurements show that
Jupiter's atmosphere shows structure well
below the upper cloud deck --
even hundreds of kilometers deep.
Jupiter's
newfound complexity is evident also in southern clouds,
as shown in the texture and color enhanced
featured image taken last month.
There, planet-circling
zones and belts that dominate near the equator decay into a
complex miasma of continent-sized storm swirls.
Juno continues in its looping elliptical orbit,
swooping near the huge planet
every month and exploring a slightly different sector each time around.