Gas Giant Jupiter

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  Jupiter Resumes Direct Motion This March as the Gas Giant Hits Peak Visibility for 2026 Skywatchers

  Jupiter’s retrograde motion ends around March 10, 2026, when the giant planet appears to reverse direction in the sky. The effect is caused by Earth overtaking Jupiter in its orbit. The bright planet will shine in Gemini near Castor and Pollux throughout March.

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  NASA Juno Mission Uncovers Subtle Geometric Shifts That Challenge Existing Models of the Jovian Interior

  Scientists have refined Jupiter’s size and shape using modern radio signal observations, finding the giant planet slightly smaller and more flattened than earlier estimates. Though the difference is only a few kilometres, researchers say it greatly improves models of Jupiter’s interior, gravity, and atmospheric structure, offering deeper insigh...

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  Jupiter Is Smaller and Flatter Than Previously Thought, NASA's Juno Reveals

  New data from NASA's Juno spacecraft shows that Jupiter is smaller and flatter than previously believed.

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  Scientists Reveal Why Jupiter and Saturn’s Polar Weather Looks So Different

  Although Jupiter and Saturn are similar gas giants, their polar weather patterns are strikingly different. Saturn hosts a single, massive hexagonal storm at its north pole, while Jupiter features a central cyclone surrounded by smaller vortices. New simulations suggest the contrast may arise from differences deep inside the planets. A denser, “ha...

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  NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Detects Callisto’s Aurora, Completing Jupiter’s Galilean Moons Set

  NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured Callisto’s elusive auroral footprint, completing the “family portrait” of Jupiter’s Galilean moons. Each moon carves its own aurora into the gas giant’s poles, revealing how they interact with Jupiter’s powerful magnetosphere. Callisto’s faint arc appeared during a 2019 flyby, finally confirming i...

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  Doomed Exoplanet TOI-2109b Spirals Toward Its Star with Three Possible Fates

  The gas giant TOI-2109b, over five times Jupiter’s mass, is spiraling closer to its star in a rare planetary death spiral. With a 16-hour orbit and blistering heat, the exoplanet could either plunge into its host star, be torn apart by tidal forces, or evolve into a rocky super-Earth through photoevaporation. NASA’s TESS and ESA’s Cheops data...

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  Discovery Of Small Star Giving Birth To Huge Planet Leaves Scientists Puzzled

  TOI-6894 is roughly 240 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo and is the smallest-known star to host a large planet.

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  New Study Reveals How Jupiter’s Storms Hide Ammonia

  A new study reveals Jupiter’s monster storms create mushballs—giant hailstones made of ammonia and water. This discovery explains the puzzling absence of ammonia in the planet’s upper atmosphere and suggests similar processes might be happening on gas giants across the universe.

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  Exoplanet WASP-121 b’s Atmosphere Features Iron Rains, Jet Streams, and More

  Astronomers have uncovered extreme weather patterns on WASP-121 b, a gas giant 900 light-years from Earth. The planet experiences iron rain, with metals vaporizing on its scorching dayside and condensing into liquid at night. Supersonic winds carry elements across its atmosphere, forming powerful jet streams. Using the Very Large Telescope, researc...

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  Amateur Astronomer Discovers Unexpected Composition of Jupiter’s Clouds

  Recent observations by an amateur astronomer reveal that Jupiter’s clouds may not consist of ammonia ice as previously assumed. Using a technique called band-depth analysis, Steve Hill mapped ammonia concentrations in the planet’s atmosphere, finding reflective layers deeper than expected. These findings suggest the clouds may be composed of am...