Researchers find out more about Jupiter's origin

A team of astronomers have uncovered some interesting facts about Jupiter that have led researchers to learn more about the origin of the largest planet in our solar system.

The team has penned a study that was published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal on June 8 that details observations made of Jupiter's gaseous envelope. The researchers found that Jupiter's gas isn't composed of one substance and that the inner part of the planet is made up of more metals than the outer part. Notably, the team found that Jupiter's inner metal parts consist of between 11 and 30 Earth masses, which is approximately 3-9% of the total mass of the planet.

Using data from NASA's Juno mission that arrived at our solar system's largest planet in 2016, the team studied the distribution of metals in Jupiter's atmosphere, which has provided some insight into how the planet originally formed over the course of millions of years. The team was led by Yamila Miguel, who said that previously researchers believed that Jupiter's envelope was similar to boiling water, where elements were completely mixed, but the new findings has found there is some gradient structure to its element distribution.