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What is it like at the very centre of Jupiter?
Deep within its core.
While we know a great deal about the gas giant's atmospheric features, including its colourful
cloud bands and raging storms, much remains unknown about the planet's inner workings.
Jupiter's interior is shrouded in mystery.
In particular, the question of what exactly is at the very core of the gas giant.
A question that has puzzled scientists for decades.
But, thanks to a certain spacecraft, that mystery is beginning to be solved.
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The King of the planets, Jupiter is truly an enormous world, with a diameter of approximately
139,820 kilometres, which is 86,880 miles.
To put this in perspective, If Earth were the size of a grape, then Jupiter would be
about as big as a basketball.
More like a star than a planet, it is mostly composed of hydrogen and helium.
Its atmosphere brews hurricanes twice as wide as Earth itself, which generate super-fast
winds and lightning 100 times brighter than anything we have ever seen here.
Jupiter's strangest features, however, exist below its swirling upper atmosphere.
Because deep beneath these visible clouds, hydrogen gas becomes denser and hotter as
it gets closer to the planet's core.
Thousands of kilometres down and the pressure is so great, that hydrogen gas gradually transforms
into a strange electrically charged soup of metallic liquid.
This exotic sloshing fluid is called liquid metallic hydrogen and is believed to be the
largest ocean in the solar system, making up about 80% of Jupiter's total volume.
And not only that, the swirling motions of the metallic hydrogen generate electric currents
that are believed to create Jupiter's powerful magnetic field, which is over 20,000 times
stronger than Earth's magnetic field.
Here on Earth, liquid metallic hydrogen cannot exist naturally, but it has been created during
certain experiments.
However, it doesn't stay in its liquid form for long, and so it has only been made in
tiny quantities for very short periods of time.
Scientists are still working to understand the complex processes that occur within this
mysterious layer of Jupiter and the impact it has on the planet's overall structure and
behaviour.
But this is not the core of Jupiter, this bizarre super heated ocean is surrounding
the core.
So what lies below?
What is at the very heart of this gas giant?
Early theories suggested that Jupiter's core was a solid, rocky structure made up of heavy
elements like iron, nickel and even different types of exotic ices that cannot naturally
exist on Earth.
This theory was based on observations of Jupiter's strong gravitational field, which suggested
that the planet had a dense, massive core at its centre.
However, as more data has been collected over the years, scientists have revised their understanding
of what is happening within the mysterious gas giant.
Data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, revealed something surprising, something even unexpected,
Jupiter's core is fuzzy.
While orbiting the gas giant, Juno discovered that the planet's core is not a simple solid
structure as previously thought, but rather a mixture of hazy materials.
According to the observations, the solid material is not squashed into a compact ball in the
planet’s centre.
Instead, the solid bits are mixed with the hydrogen surrounding it.
The result is a fuzzy, or, as astronomers say, diffuse core that lacks a well-defined
boundary and that takes up half of the planet’s interior.
How such a structure can possibly form, is still not understood.
One of the more interesting theories, however, involves a massive collision at some point
in Jupiter's past.
Previously, it was thought that young Jupiter avoided crashing into other planets.
But this hazy, diluted core may be the result of a large object, possibly a protoplanet
or even another gas giant planet, colliding with Jupiter during the early stages of the
solar system's formation.
In fact, simulations have shown that a violent head-on collision with another massive planetary
object could have spread heavy elements over a large volume inside the gas giant.
The impact would have been incredibly powerful, generating a spectacular amount of heat and
pressure that could have disrupted or even destroyed its original core.
If a long time ago something did indeed crash into Jupiter, the impactor must have been
really big, possibly 10 Earth masses or so to be able to mix up the planet’s interior
and form the dilute structure that we observe today.
There is some evidence to support this theory as well.
For example, the orbits of Jupiter's moons, the position of the asteroid belt and even
the small size of Mars suggest that the giant planet experienced a period of rapid growth
and migration during the early stages of the solar system's formation.
Additionally, simulations of the solar system have shown that massive collisions between
planets were common during this early time.
To study the inside of Jupiter, Juno uses gravity measurements to probe beneath the
planet's thick clouds.
By measuring small variations in the planet's gravity field, the spacecraft can determine
the density and composition of Jupiter.
Juno's microwave radiometer can also detect the thermal radiation emitted by the planet's
deep atmosphere, providing clues about the conditions inside the planet.
Helping to work out what is happening below those magnificent swirling clouds.
But all of this data is collected from outside the planet, so can we ever send a probe into
Jupiter?
Sending a probe into the gas giant's atmosphere would be an extremely challenging and complex
endeavour.
The harsh conditions below the planet's clouds, including intense radiation, scorching temperatures,
and crushing pressures, would make it difficult for any spacecraft to survive.
However, it has been attempted.
In December 1995, NASA's Galileo spacecraft dropped a probe, known as the Galileo Atmospheric
Probe, into Jupiter's clouds.
Equipped with many scientific instruments, the probe measured the temperature, pressure,
and composition of Jupiter's atmosphere as it descended.
The result was a wealth of data, including measurements of the concentrations of various
gases and the composition of its clouds.
It also detected lightning in the atmosphere, which was the first time it had ever been
directly observed on another planet.
The Galileo Atmospheric Probe didn't last long, operating for only 58 minutes before
being destroyed by the extreme environment it was exploring.
By Studying from the outside in, NASA's Juno spacecraft has made significant progress,
however, in providing us with valuable insights into the planet's structure and behaviour.
By carefully navigating through the planet's radiation belts and using a suite of scientific
instruments, Juno has been able to study Jupiter in unprecedented detail.
Of course, much is still unknown, including the exact nature of that vast ocean of liquid
metallic hydrogen, and the reasons why it has a hazy core.
The mysteries of what lies below the clouds of this gas giant continue to fascinate and
inspire.
By continuing to study this remarkable planet, we will undoubtedly unlock many more secrets
about the solar system and the universe beyond.
There is no doubt that our solar system is full of mysteries, but beyond there are many
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