News in Brief Planetary Science

First peek under clouds reveals Jupiter’s surprising depths

Colorful bands stretch hundreds of kilometers inward, Juno spacecraft data show

Jupiter

DEEP DIVE  Cloud bands seen on Jupiter extend hundreds of kilometers down into the atmosphere, as seen in this depiction of data obtained by the Juno spacecraft.

JPL-Caltech/NASA, SWRI, GSFC/NASA

By Christopher Crockett

- More than 2 years ago

PASADENA, Calif. — Jupiter’s clouds have deep roots. The multicolored bands that wrap around the planet reach hundreds of kilometers down into the atmosphere, NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveals, providing an unprecedented peek into the giant planet’s interior.