Earth<\/a>, Jupiter is not a perfect sphere but rather flattened at its poles. The new data indicates it is even more oblate than previously known, with its equator being about 7 per cent larger than its polar diameter. <\/p>\nFor context, Earth\u2019s equator is only 0.33 per cent larger than its diameter at the poles. Previous measurements of Jupiter relied on data collected by NASA\u2019s Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft in the late 1970s. Juno, launched in 2011, has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, continuously transmitting raw data back to Earth. <\/p>\n
![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Asteroid-Belt.jpeg\")
Illustration of the main asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter (NASA)<\/p>\n
The mission was extended in 2021, enabling scientists to conduct the specific observations required to fine-tune these measurements, including tracking Juno as it passed behind Jupiter from Earth\u2019s vantage point.<\/p>\n
“When Juno passed behind Jupiter from Earth’s perspective, its radio signal traveled through the planet’s atmosphere before reaching Earth,” explained planetary scientist Eli Galanti of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Nature Astronomy. <\/p>\n
“Measuring how the signal changed due to Jupiter’s atmospheric composition, density and temperature allowed us to probe the atmosphere and determine the planet’s size and shape with high precision. Interestingly, this geometrical configuration did not occur during Juno’s prime mission, so these experiments were not originally planned.”<\/p>\n
Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, is so immense that it could contain all the other planets in the solar system, including more than 1,300 Earths. Composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with traces of other gases, its vibrant, striped appearance is dominated by powerful winds and vast storms. Beyond its size and shape, Juno has been gathering crucial data on Jupiter’s atmosphere, internal structure, magnetic field, and magnetosphere.<\/p>\n
These precise new measurements are invaluable to scientists because Jupiter\u2019s radius \u2013 half its diameter \u2013 serves as a fundamental reference point in models of the planet\u2019s interior and atmospheric structure. <\/p>\n
“Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and contains most of its planetary mass, so understanding its composition and internal structure is central to understanding how the solar system formed and evolved,” Galanti stated. “Jupiter likely formed early, and strongly influenced the distribution of material, the growth of other planets and the delivery of volatiles to the inner solar system, including Earth.”<\/p>\n
Volatiles, such as water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, evaporate easily. Their delivery to the inner solar system, home to the four rocky planets, was crucial, as Galanti noted, they “supplied Earth with water and key ingredients for its atmosphere and for life.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-450494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}