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Published December 7, 1995 | public
Journal Article

Probing times for Jupiter

Abstract

On 7 December 1995, if all goes to plan, the Galileo spacecraft will swing into orbit around Jupiter, turning its back on the first-ever probe dropped into the planet's atmosphere. The probe, descending by parachute, should be able to take atmospheric data from above the tops of the clouds, where the pressure is several hundred millibar, down to a pressure of 25-30 bar, which is well below cloud base. Water is the key compound, both for the clues it contains about Solar System formation, and for its role in meteorology. On the Earth, moist convection is probably the single most important and least understood process in the climate system. Galileo will at last give us the chance to study moist convection on another planet.

Additional Information

© 1995 Nature Publishing Group.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023