{"id":321745,"date":"2026-02-05T14:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/321745\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:22:12","slug":"jupiter-smaller-than-science-dictated-nasa-weizmann-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/321745\/","title":{"rendered":"Jupiter smaller than science dictated, NASA, Weizmann find"},"content":{"rendered":"

The planet Jupiter is smaller and flatter than astrophysicists have believed for over 50 years, the Weizmann Institute<\/a> of Science and NASA discovered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy on February 2, 2026, found that Jupiter is about 8km less wide at the equator, and 24km flatter at the poles.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t sound like much difference for a planet that is approximately 143,000km wide and 134,000km pole-to-pole, but \u201cthese few kilometers matter,\u201d explained Dr. Eli Galanti, a senior staff scientist on the research team.<\/p>\n

\u201cShifting the radius by just a little lets our models of Jupiter\u2019s interior fit both the gravity data and atmospheric measurements much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are these measurements different from previous ones?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lead researcher Prof. Yohai Kaspi explained that earlier measurements didn\u2019t account for Jupiter\u2019s powerful winds. As previous calculations included the extreme winds in their measurements of Jupiter<\/a>, there were long-standing discrepancies in the measurements.<\/p>\n

\"ElbitElbit Systems’ JUPITER space camera launches aboard the NAOS Satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (credit: ELBIT SYSTEMS)<\/p>\n

The new research carried out by the Weizmann team utilized radio signals to map Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere. As the radio waves pass through its atmosphere, they bend, allowing the team to create detailed maps of Jupiter\u2019s temperature and density.<\/p>\n

The team used Juno, a NASA<\/a> spacecraft that was launched in 2011 and has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. In 2021, NASA extended Juno\u2019s mission, expanding its path and allowing it to pass along the far side of Jupiter from Earth.<\/p>\n

This creates new opportunities to measure Jupiter as radio signals from Juno now have to pass directly through Jupiter to reach Earth.<\/p>\n

Juno\u2019s Principal Investigator Dr Scott Bolton, explained that \u201cwhen the spacecraft passes behind the planet, its radio communication signal is blocked and bent by Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere. This enables an accurate measurement of Jupiter\u2019s size.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Juno team at the Weizmann seized the opportunity to create the clearest picture yet of the giant gas planet\u2019s size and shape.<\/p>\n

This research is an exciting scientific collaboration between the US and Israel<\/a> to advance our understanding of our solar system.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the significance of this discovery?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jupiter stands as the largest planet in the solar system, with a surface gravity of approximately 25m\/s\u00b2. Its gravitational pull helps protect Earth from comets and asteroids that could otherwise collide with our planet.<\/p>\n

Its gravitational field is also considered to have halted the inward migration of other planetary bodies, allowing Earth to form at its current location.<\/p>\n

Prof. Kaspi said, \u201cThis research helps us understand how planets form and evolve – Jupiter was likely the first planet to form in the solar system, and by studying what\u2019s happening inside it, we get closer to understanding how the solar system, and planets like ours, came to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The techniques developed in these studies will serve the team in future analyses. The European Space Agency launched Juice, an unmanned mission to explore Jupiter\u2019s icy moons, in 2023, and the techniques developed for this research will be used in combination with the Israeli technology onboard Juice to gain a deeper view into the planet\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The planet Jupiter is smaller and flatter than astrophysicists have believed for over 50 years, the Weizmann Institute…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[270],"tags":[18,19,17,18925,2663,1024,133,451,3622,36346],"class_list":["post-321745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-juice","tag-jupiter","tag-nasa","tag-science","tag-space","tag-spotlight","tag-weizmann-institute-of-science"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116018475469616317","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}