The gas planet Jupiter , which is twice as heavy as all the other planets in the solar system, is one of the best studied celestial bodies, but it still puzzles astronomy . The latest measurements by the US space agency NASA have shown chemical signatures of water in the atmosphere of the gas giant - and in large quantities. This raises the question of whether there might be extraterrestrial life on the unreal planet.
Gordon L. Bjøraker and colleagues at the Goddard Space Flight Center NASA have by using infrared-sensitive telescopes examined on the Maunakea in Hawaii the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. Inside the huge giant storm, the astronomers analyzed three layers of clouds. In the bottom layer they finally found what computer simulations had already predicted: Significant amounts of frozen H2O. But after evaluating the measurement data, astronomers are certain that there must also be liquid water.
Large amounts of water and oxygen in the Jupiter atmosphere
The measurement data also suggest that significantly more water must exist in the atmosphere of the gas giant than has previously been proven."Because of the high weight of the water in blend with the location of the oxygen-containing gas carbon monoxide, clearly Jupiter has two to multiple times the measure of oxygen than the sun", as the space experts report in the diary Astronomical Journal .
The measurement of these values confirms previous computer simulations, according to which Jupiter has large amounts of water, but also oxygen and hydrogen. First estimates by astrophysicists assume that Jupiter has even more water in its atmosphere than it does on Earth.
What role does water play in Jupiter weather?
Astronomers suspect that water plays an important role in the surreal and stormy weather on Jupiter. “The new findings will expand understanding of what makes Jupiter's atmosphere so extremely turbulent,” explain the astronomers."Furthermore, life on Jupiter can never again be precluded, anyway far-fetched it might appear.
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