Jupiter is composed of 10% helium and 90% hydrogen, and also has traces of "rock", ammonia, water and methane. This is quite like the composition of the Solar Nebula, which formed the solar system. Saturn's composition is very similar to Jupiter's, but Neptune and Uranus have much less helium and hydrogen.
The facts about Jupiter that we can claim for certain about the interior of the planet (as well as the other gas planets) is only indirect knowledge, and it seems likely that it will remain thus. The data that scientists have received from the probe Galileo only extends to 150 kilometers below the tops of the clouds.
Scientists hypothesize that the core of Jupiter is made of rocky materials of a mass that equals ten to fifteen planets the size of Earth.
Above Jupiter's core is the bulk of the gas planet, which is metallic liquid hydrogen. These are the same electrons and protons found in the interior of the sun, but at a much lower temperature. On Jupiter, the hydrogen is a liquid, not a gas, and it conducts electricity. It is the source of the magnetic field of Jupiter. It also likely contains helium and some types of "ices".
Jupiter's outermost layer is made up primarily of ordinary helium and hydrogen. Other simple molecules are present in minute amounts in the atmosphere.
Scientists seeking facts about Jupiter expected to find a good deal of oxygen in Jupiter's atmosphere, but data from the probe Galileo suggests that Jupiter has much less oxygen than exists around the sun.
Jupiter and its sister gas planets have winds of high velocity that are confined in broad latitude bands. The winds in adjacent bands blow in different directions. The colored bands that dominate the planet's appearance are the result of slight temperature and chemical differences between the bands. The darker bands are called belts and the lighter bands are known as zones.
Information from the Galileo probe has indicated that the winds of Jupiter are faster than scientists expected - about 400 mph. Galileo also found that the atmosphere of Jupiter is very turbulent. This tells us that the planet's winds are driven more by internal heat, rather than like Earth's winds, which are driven by heat from the sun.
The bright colors one can see in the clouds of Jupiter are most likely the result of chemical reactions of the trace elements in the atmosphere of the planet. Facts about Jupiter indicate that this may perhaps involve sulfur, whose compounds have been known to take on many different colors.
The colors seem to be correlated with the altitudes of the clouds - reds are highest, then whites and browns, with blue the lowest. Sometimes scientists are able to see the lower layers of the atmosphere through holes in the upper layers.
The Great Red Spot of Jupiter has been seen by observers for over 300 years. It is actually an oval, about 12,000 by 25,000 km, large enough to hold two planets the size of Earth. Other, smaller spots have been seen for decades. Observations using infrared, and the type of rotation indicate that the Great Red Spot is actually a region of high pressure, with cloud tops colder and higher than the surrounding regions. There have been similar "structures" seen on Neptune and Saturn. It's not known how these high pressure regions can last for so long.
Jupiter radiates more energy than it gets from the sun. Jupiter's interior is hot - probably about 12,000 degrees kelvin. Jupiter doesn't produce energy the same way the sun does, however. The sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion, but Jupiter's interior is too cool for nuclear reactions to take place.
Jupiter has an extremely large magnetic field - a lot stronger than Earth's. The magnetosphere extends more than 650 million kilometers away - past Saturn's orbit. Facts about Jupiter confirm that its moons lie inside the scope of its magnetosphere.
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