Jupiter

The most striking feature in Jupiter's atmosphere is the Great Red Spot, a huge storm several times larger than Earth's diameter, which has been observed for more than 150 years (or perhaps much longer—because the observations were not continuous, it is unclear if spots observed before then were of the present-day spot). Jupiter's atmosphere has many storm systems, but the Red Spot is the most prominent. Early theories suggested that it was due to clouds colliding with a feature on the surface of the planet, but since there are no such features (and no solid surface, except perhaps at great depths in the core of the planet), this has since been abandoned. The Spot is also not static, but varies over both short and long timescales. Winds on both the north and south sides of the spot prevent it from varying in latitude, but variations in longitude are seen.

Jupiter's storm activity is quite violent. Although data from Galileo showed lightning activity is only about 10% as frequent per given area as on Earth, the intensity is 10 times as high. It is the strong winds that dominate the atmosphere of Jupiter, however. These winds are found in bands, with the speed and direction varying greatly with latitude. Both the northern and southern hemisphere have at least 10 bands of alternating wind direction. The strongest of these winds is more than about 400 miles/hour (600 km/hr). The winds are very stable, although the fine details they cause, such as small white spots, can come and go in just days. Other features, such as the Red Spot, and three nearby white spots which have been visible since 1938, can last months or years. The long-lived spots are seen to vary with longitude, but not latitude. Astronomers make computer models of the atmosphere in order to understand the processes occurring there, but they are not yet able to explain the persistence of these features.

The other primary feature visible in the atmosphere are the clouds. Three main cloud layers are seen, composed of ices of water, ammonium hydrosulfide, and ammonia. Since the different cloud layers are at different Jupiter, as seen by Voyager 1. The planet is the most massive object in the solar system after the Sun; its mass is greater than that of all the other planets combined. The latitudinal bands in the Jovian atmosphere may be partially the result of the rapid rotation of the planet which, despite its enormous size, rotates once every 9 hours 55 minutes. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). heights in the atmosphere, each represents a different temperature region. The variation in the colors of the clouds are also thought to be due to different chemistry. Theories suggest that the colors are due to sulfur or phosphorus in the atmosphere, but this has not been verified.