Scientists Crack Mystery Behind Jupiter and Saturn’s Wild Polar Weather

What’s Really Going On Inside Jupiter? New Models Offer Clues

Jupiter’s atmosphere and clouds have mesmerized stargazers for centuries, as their multi-colored, swirling layers can easily be viewed from powerful telescopes on Earth. However, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has upped the ante regarding our understanding of Jupiter’s atmospheric features, having revealed them in breathtaking detail. This includes images of massive lightning storms, clouds swallowing clouds, polar vortices, and powerful jet streams. Ye…

Scientists Crack Mystery Behind Jupiter and Saturn’s Wild Polar Weather

Jupiter and Saturn host strikingly different polar storms, despite being similar giant planets, and scientists have long wondered why. New simulations suggest the answer may lie deep below the clouds. Spacecraft flybys have given scientists a front row seat to some of the strangest weather in the solar system, especially over the poles of Jupiter [...]

Jupiter and Saturn Are Almost Twins ...So Why Do Their Poles Look So Different? The Truth Just Emerged

Jupiter and Saturn may be similar in size and made of the same gases, but the weather at their poles tells a different story. While Saturn’s north pole is home to a single, massive hexagonal vortex, Jupiter’s is a chaotic gathering of multiple cyclones. Scientists at MIT believe they have finally figured out why. Using fluid simulations, researchers found that the answer is not in the clouds but buried deep below them. The structure of these pla…