In 2020, a group of scientists came up with an explanation for strange inconsistencies in Jupiters upper atmosphere.
They suggested that ice-encrusted mushballs rain down during intense thunderstorms on the gas giant.
But Jupiters mushballs could not be denied.
A view of Jupiter’s atmosphereCredit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstadt/Sean Doran © CC NC SA
They admit they initially thought the theory was too elaborate to be true.
So many things have to come together to actually explain this, it seems so exotic.
I basically spent three years trying to prove this wrong.
A cross-section of Jupiter’s upper atmosphere (the troposphere) reveals storm depths along a north-south slice across the equator. Blue areas show higher-than-normal ammonia levels, while red indicates lower concentrations. Image: Chris Moeckel, UC Berkeley
And I couldnt prove it wrong.
The planets atmosphere is primarily made of hydrogen and helium gas with trace amounts of ammonia and water.
Violent storms within Jupiters tumultuous atmosphere are generating the mushballs and shallow lightning, according to the new research.
Graphic showing how violent storms on Jupiter—and likely on other gas giants—can produce mushballs and shallow lightning. © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/CNRS
These mushballs are created by thunderstorm clouds located around 40 miles (64 kilometers) beneath Jupiters cloud tops.
This results in the chemical composition of the cloud tops not necessarily reflecting the composition deeper in Jupiters atmosphere.
In fact, the slushy hailstorms could exist on other giant planets like Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Every time you look at Jupiter, its mostly just surface level, Moeckel said.
Its shallow, but a few thingsvortices and these big stormscan punch through.
The turbulent cloud tops would lead you to believe that the atmosphere is well mixed, he added.
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