Jupiter is nothing like scientists expected

Key findings from the four studies published in Nature today:

• The planet's gravitational field varies in the northern and southern hemispheres. That's surprising because the fast-rotating gas planet was expected to generate a uniform gravitational effect.
• The strange field arises because the winds at the surface extend deep — about 3,000 kilometers — into the planet, another team reported. Jupiter's bands therefore run deep. The source of the winds is unknown.
• Jupiter's gaseous core — mostly made of helium and hydrogen — seems to rotate as a solid body.
• Unlike Saturn's single storms, there are patterned clusters of cyclones at Jupiter's poles. How they form and remain stable is a puzzle.

What's next: Two-thirds of Juno's mission remains. One outstanding question is how much oxygen there is in Jupiter in the form of water. "Understanding the distribution of oxygen in the early solar system, will help us understand the origin of oceans and therefore life itself," says Bolton.