Water may be variably distributed across Jupiter's atmosphere: NASA
Water makes up about 0.25 per cent of the molecules in Jupiter's atmosphere along its equator -- almost three times that of the Sun, according to a study based on data from NASA's Juno mission launched in 2011. According to the researchers, including those from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US, Jupiter may be extremely dry compared to the Sun -- a comparison based not on liquid water, but on the presence of its components, oxygen, and hydrogen. Juno's Microwave Radiometer observes Jupiter from above using six antennas that measure atmospheric temperature at multiple depths simultaneously, NASA noted in a statement. From its orbital perch, the radiometer was able to collect data from a far greater depth into Jupiter's atmosphere than the Galileo probe -- 150 kilometers, where the pressure reaches about 480 psi, the researchers said.
NASA spots water in Jupiter's deepest clouds above the planet's Great Red Spot
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