JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- An international team of researchers has measured Jupiter with unprecedented precision and found that the solar system's largest planet is smaller and more flattened than previously thought, Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science said on Monday.
For decades, estimates of Jupiter's size and shape were based on six measurements taken nearly 50 years ago by NASA's Voyager and Pioneer missions. Those spacecraft transmitted radio signals that scientists used to calculate the planet's dimensions, but the data left room for uncertainty.
The new study, published in Nature Astronomy, relied on data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. Following a mission extension in 2021, Juno was directed along a new trajectory that allowed it to pass behind Jupiter from Earth's perspective.
As the spacecraft moved behind the planet, its radio signals were bent by Jupiter's dense atmosphere. By tracking this bending, researchers were able to measure Jupiter's size with far greater accuracy.
The study found that Jupiter is roughly 8 kilometers narrower at the equator and 24 kilometers flatter at the poles than previous estimates suggested.
The findings help scientists refine models of Jupiter's interior and provide new insights into its powerful winds, deep structure, and the formation and evolution of giant planets. ■
