What gases are in Jupiters atmosphere?
Jupiter’s upper atmosphere is composed of about 88-92% hydrogen and 8-12% helium by percent volume or fraction of gas molecules. Since a helium atom has about four times as much mass as a hydrogen atom, the composition changes when described in terms of the proportion of mass contributed by different atoms. Thus the atmosphere is approximately 75% hydrogen and 24% helium by mass, with the remaining one percent of the mass consisting of other elements. The interior contains denser materials such that the distribution is roughly 71% hydrogen, 24% helium and five percent other elements by mass. The atmosphere contains trace amounts of methane, water vapor, ammonia, and silicon-based compounds. There are also traces of carbon, ethane, hydrogen sulfide, neon, oxygen, phosphate, and sulfur. The outermost layer of the atmosphere contains crystals of frozen ammonia Through infrared and ultraviolet measurements, trace amounts of benzene and other hydrocarbon have also been found.
