Astronomers have debunked the long-held assumption that Jupiter's famous swirling clouds are made of frozen ammonia, a significant discovery on a planet that was thought to be well studied.. New data on the content of ammonia in the atmosphere of Jupiter contradicts existing models of the composition of the atmosphere of the gas giant. The study was published in a journal in the journal Earth and Space Science, writes Space.

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Jupiter's atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, with small amounts of ammonia, methane, water vapor and other gases. The latter components condense at different levels and form swirling clouds that reflect sunlight and create an impressive view of Jupiter.

Because of the presence of ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere, which condenses and forms clouds at the lowest pressure of any known gas, scientists have hypothesized that the planet's uppermost clouds are composed of ammonia ice.

Scientists used a method to estimate the concentration of methane and ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere by estimating the amount of light absorbed by these gases at the wavelengths of light that are characteristic of them. As a result, they were able to create a new map of the distribution of ammonia in the clouds of Jupiter with great accuracy.

The study authors found that the reflected light came from layers of clouds where pressure and temperature would be too high for ammonia to condense.. Therefore, scientists have concluded that ammonia ice cannot be the main component of Jupiter's clouds.

Simulations have shown that Jupiter's outer clouds are likely composed of ammonium hydrosulfide and possibly smog, which is formed by photochemical reactions in the atmosphere, since the color of the clouds does not correspond to pure ice.

The results of the study show that many complex photochemical processes occur in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Pure ammonia ice clouds are rare and limited to small areas of the atmosphere, scientists say.

According to astronomers, the presence and absence of ammonia in certain places in Jupiter's atmosphere is a good indicator of weather processes on the planet, which makes it important for understanding the entire nature of the gas giant.

Although scientists have made a very important discovery on a seemingly well-studied planet, there are still some points that still need to be clarified. Most likely, the level of ammonia in Jupiter's clouds varies with altitude, but this remains to be verified..

As Focus already wrote, stunning images of Mercury were taken by the BepiColombo probe during its final flyby of the planet. Although the main phase of the spacecraft's mission will begin at the end of 2026, all the close flybys of Mercury have given scientists new information about the little-studied planet.

Focus also wrote that physicists have discovered a new type of particles that behave differently from representatives of the two most important groups of elementary particles.