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Scientists Confirm 'Mushball' Hailstorms on Jupiter, Redefining Gas Giant Weather

Recent findings reveal ammonia-water hailstones formed during deep-penetrating storms, reshaping our understanding of Jupiter's atmosphere and implications for other planets.

A cross section of the upper atmosphere, or troposphere, of Jupiter, showing the depth of storms in a north-south swath that crosses the planet's equator, or equatorial zone (EZ). Blue and red represent, respectively, higher and lower than normal abundances of ammonia gas. By tracking the ammonia, two new UC Berkeley studies show that the rapidly changing weather systems on Jupiter are mostly very shallow (left), though two types of storms — rapidly rising plumes of ammonia (center) and tornado-like vortices — punch more deeply and are responsible for unmixing atmospheric gases. Large scale storms produce mushballs that rain downward even deeper than the plumes and vortices.
Storms on Jupiter and mushball formation
redit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstadt/Sean Doran © CC NC SA

Overview

  • UC Berkeley researchers have confirmed the existence of 'mushballs,' ammonia-water slush hailstones, during Jupiter's intense lightning storms.
  • These mushballs form when ammonia acts as an antifreeze, enabling water ice to mix and grow into dense hailstones that fall deep into the atmosphere.
  • The phenomenon explains the depletion of ammonia in Jupiter's upper atmosphere, with levels reduced down to depths of 150 kilometers.
  • Advanced 3D imaging shows most of Jupiter's weather systems are shallow, but powerful storms penetrate deeper, unmixing atmospheric gases and redistributing ammonia and water.
  • This discovery suggests similar atmospheric processes could occur on other gas giants and exoplanets, impacting how scientists interpret planetary atmospheres.