What Would You See If You Fell Into Jupiter?

Jupiter, the largest and oldest of the eight planets, is by far one of the most mysterious worlds in the solar system. It is so big that 1,300 planet Earths could fit inside of it, and its huge gravitational pull is also believed to have played an important role in protecting Earth from potentially deadly comets. The planet is mainly made up of hydrogen and helium gas, just like the sun, plus other chemical compounds such as methane, ammonia and water that help to form its distinctive atmosphere. Since Galileo first turned his telescope on the colossal gas planet and witnessed its magnificent swirling bands of clouds, scientists have wondered what might be hiding inside of Jupiter. In modern times, science has developed better ways of exploring the gas planet than just a telescope, such as the Galileo spacecraft and more recently, Juno. Incredible spacecraft such as these have collected data that has allowed scientists to study many aspects of this colossal world, including answering the question of what lurks inside. So let's put on our science fiction spacesuits and dive directly into this strange world to see what lurks deep below Jupiter's enigmatic clouds. Because this mission is in the name of science, let's assume that you have been equipped with special science fiction spacesuits. Suits that will protect you from the devastating environment that Jupiter has to offer, such as its frigid and scorching temperatures, deadly radiation, lack of oxygen and its colossal pressures for example. You would first fall through the high white ammonia clouds at about 0.5 atmospheres. Because the gravity of Jupiter is so strong, you would be descending roughly 2.5 times faster than if you were falling towards Earth. The sun's light would still be visible, but it wouldn't warm you as it's incredibly cold at this altitude, dropping to below minus 150 degrees Celsius. You would eventually reach the bottom of the ammonia clouds, feeling a pressure of 1 atmosphere. At this point, the sun can still be seen, but its light is being filtered by the clouds above, resembling an overcast day back on Earth. But below, you would see the next stage of your journey, rolling brown ammonium hydrosulfide and ammonium sulfide clouds, which start at about 2 atmospheres, and become more and more brown the further you travel through them. As you enter these clouds, the light from the sun would slowly diminish and the temperature would start to heat up due to the ever increasing pressures around you. The further you descend, the darker it will become, until it is completely black. But then, huge flashes of lightning illuminate the now dark environment you find yourself in, revealing towering white water ice clouds that are causing rumbling thunderstorms to occur. As you pass through this cloud stage, the pressure would increase to a crushing 10 atmospheres, and the temperature would have risen Using your high-tech sci-fi helmet, you can now see what's around you, but you would quickly realise that the cloud layers were the easy part of your adventure. As you emerge from the bottom of the water ice clouds, the pressure would become intense, and the temperature would drastically increase to above 200 degrees Celsius. After a very, very long time of sinking, you would start to notice the atmosphere becoming thicker, and eventually you would stop as your density equals out with the environment around you. But because your suit is extremely high-tech, it allows you to sink further into the abyss, just to see what lies beneath. After an extremely long wait, you would have now sunk 13,000 miles into Jupiter and into the metallic region at 2 million atmospheres. At this stage, the hydrogen has become so dense that it has become a type of liquid metal, and this is what causes Jupiter's strong magnetic field. The temperature would continue to increase, becoming hotter than the surface of the sun as the hydrogen metal around you glows white hot and illuminates this strange environment. After a seriously long time of sinking through this abyss, you would eventually hit rock bottom, literally. This would be the final stage of your journey. You would be standing on a surface perhaps 10 times the mass of Earth and made of rock and exotic ices, at a pressure of above 25 million atmospheres. I really hope you enjoyed this video, and if you did, then why not hit that like button and subscribe if you haven't already. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you next time.