New Study Reveals How Jupiter’s Storms Hide Ammonia 1s6s8 Technology News

Discover how Jupiter's fierce storms create giant ammonia mushballs and solve the mystery behind the planet’s missing ammonia. 4w4a48

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 1 May 2025 21:51 IST

New Study Reveals How Jupiter’s Storms Hide Ammonia

Photo Credit: NASA 6t6r3f

Juno found mushball-forming storms on Jupiter, helping study exoplanet weather

Highlights

Jupiter's storms create ammonia-water mushballs the size of softballs
Mushballs cause ammonia loss deep in Jupiter’s atmosphere
Similar mushball activity may happen on other gas giants in the universe

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atmosphere so deeply that they may explain a long-standing mystery among the scientists: the missing ammonia in the planet's upper layers. For years, scientists were puzzled over why deep pockets of ammonia seemed absent across Jupiter's atmosphere.

Mushballs Shake Up Old Assumptions 5f5ig

As per a report by LiveScience, Scientists believed Jupiter's atmosphere was well mixed, much like a pot of boiling water. However, after analysing a massive 2017 storm captured by Juno, researchers found that even local storms can punch ammonia deep into the planet, shattering the old assumption. “The top of the atmosphere is actually a pretty poor representation of what the whole planet looks like,” explained study lead author Chris Moeckel from the University of California, Berkeley, told the publication. On April 15, 2025, as per EarthSky, his team's findings suggest that the atmosphere becomes well-mixed only much deeper down than previously thought.

Ammonia as a Tracer Beneath the Clouds 1n6y5q

Jupiter's thick cloud cover blocks direct observation, and ammonia acts as a critical tracer to understand the hidden activity beneath the clouds. Scientists theorised in 2020 that Jupiter's powerful storms lift ammonia-rich ice particles to high altitudes, where they combine with water ice to create a mushy, slushy hailstone. These mushballs then grow larger and heavier, cycling up and down in the atmosphere before plunging deep, carrying ammonia and water with them. This process leaves the upper atmosphere depleted, matching observations from Juno.

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Confirmation came during Juno's February 2017 flyby. While ing over a storm zone, the spacecraft detected an unexpected deep signal rich in ammonia and water beneath the storm clouds. Moeckel recalled spotting the discovery while casually running data on his laptop at a dentist's office, describing the moment he realised the mushball theory must be true.

A Universal Phenomenon Beyond Jupiter x66t

Researchers now believe that Jupiter might not be unique. Gas giants across the universe and even newly forming planets could experience similar mushball processes. “I won't be surprised if this is happening throughout the universe,” Moeckel told to LiveScience, suggesting that Jupiter's stormy secrets may echo far beyond our solar system.

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