Jupiter may look like a swirling ball of colorful clouds, but beneath that dramatic surface lies a world scientists have struggled to understand for decades.
The planet’s thick atmosphere is so dense and turbulent that no spacecraft has ever been able to directly measure what is happening deep below the clouds.
Now, a new study has offered one of the clearest pictures yet of Jupiter’s hidden interior—and it suggests the giant planet holds far more oxygen than previously thought.
The research was led by scientists from the University of Chicago and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Using advanced computer simulations, the team built the most complete model to date of Jupiter’s atmosphere, combining chemistry, cloud physics, and fluid motion into a single system.
Their findings were published on January 8 in The Planetary Science Journal.
One of the study’s most important results tackles a long-running debate: how much oxygen Jupiter contains.
The new model suggests the planet has about one and a half times more oxygen than the Sun. This is a big shift from some earlier estimates, which suggested Jupiter might have far less oxygen than our star.
Why does this matter? Oxygen on Jupiter is mostly locked up in water. Knowing how much water the planet contains helps scientists understand where and how Jupiter formed billions of years ago.
Planets are built from the same basic materials as the Sun, but in different proportions. Those differences act like clues, revealing the conditions that shaped the early solar system.
Jupiter’s clouds are famous for their beauty and violence. The Great Red Spot, a storm twice the size of Earth, has been raging for centuries.
Yet these clouds also act as a barrier to exploration. When NASA’s Galileo spacecraft plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere in 2003, it was eventually crushed by extreme pressure and heat. Today, NASA’s Juno mission studies the planet safely from orbit, measuring chemicals in the upper atmosphere such as ammonia, methane, and water vapor.
The challenge has been connecting those surface measurements to what lies far below. Jupiter’s atmosphere is a chaotic place where gases move between scorching depths and cooler upper layers, constantly changing form and reacting with one another. On top of that, clouds and water droplets form, dissolve, and fall, further complicating the picture.
To handle this complexity, the research team created a model that treats chemistry and atmospheric motion together. According to lead author Jeehyun Yang, this approach is essential. Chemistry alone cannot capture cloud behavior, while motion alone oversimplifies the reactions taking place.
The model also revealed that Jupiter’s atmosphere likely mixes much more slowly than scientists once believed. Instead of gases moving through atmospheric layers in hours, the process may take weeks. This slower circulation helps explain how water and oxygen can remain hidden deep inside the planet.
Beyond Jupiter, the findings have broader implications. Understanding how giant planets form and evolve helps scientists interpret observations of planets around other stars. Even in our own cosmic backyard, Jupiter reminds us how much there is still to learn.
Source: University of Chicago.
