Jupiter

Water Fact File for Jupiter

The Bottom Line:

Jupiter's moons have plenty of water...

Findings from Dr Kotwicki's 1991 Paper:

Jupiter, the biggest planet, whose mass is greater than that of all of the other planets put together, hides its interior under a dense layer of ammonia ice crystals, revealing in breaks deeper layers of clouds, including both those of water and water ice. Although the planet is about 70% hydrogen, it also contains huge quantities of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, silicon, aluminium, and other heavy elements. The amount of water is, however, hard to estimate. Two processes are worth mentioning apart from water acquisition from a primordial nebula: firstly, because of its strong gravitational pull, Jupiter's allocation of comets must be greater than for any other planet and secondly, if Jupiter has a rocky core (estimated to be some 14 times heavier than the Earth), such a core should have perspired its water at one time or another. More details will be known in the early 1990s, when the Galileo spacecraft will spend 20 months in orbit around Jupiter and will release a probe into its turbulent atmosphere.

Latest Findings about Water on Jupiter:

- Pictured Below: Inside of Jupiter

Above: Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System.