Related papers: The vertical structure of Jupiter's equatorial zon…
Towering storms, swirling clouds, and vortices are the cloud tops manifestation of complex weather systems shaping the atmosphere of Jupiter. We use observations from Juno's MicroWave Radiometer (MWR), the Very Large Array (VLA) and the…
The new data delivered by NASA's Juno spacecraft significantly increase our understanding of Jupiter's internal dynamics. The gravity data constrain the depth of the zonal flows observed at cloud level and suggest that they slow down…
The population of known extrasolar planets includes giant and terrestrial planets that closely orbit their host star. Such planets experience significant tidal distortions that can force the planet into synchronous rotation. The combined…
The eddy fluxes of angular momentum in Jupiter's upper troposphere are known to converge in prograde jets and diverge in retrograde jets. Away from the equator, this implies convergence of the Eulerian mean meridional flow in zones…
The nature of the flow below the cloud level on Jupiter and Saturn is still unknown. Relating the flow on these planets to perturbations in their density field is key to the analysis of the gravity measurements expected from both the Juno…
A mechanism by which the surface zonal flows of giant planets can be gradually attenuated with depth is explored. The zonal flow is driven by an imposed forcing in a thin layer near the surface. A meridional circulation is set up, analogous…
Post equinox imaging of Uranus by HST, Keck, and Gemini telescopes has enabled new measurements of winds over previously sampled latitudes as well as measurements at high northern latitudes that have recently come into better view. These…
The nature and structure of the observed east-west flows on Jupiter and Saturn has been one of the longest-lasting mysteries in planetary science. This mystery has been recently unraveled due to the accurate gravity measurements provided by…
During recent decades, data from space missions have provided strong evidence of deep liquid oceans underneath a thin outer icy crust on several moons of Jupiter, particularly Europa. But these observations have also raised many unanswered…
Spacecraft data reveal a very Earth-like Jovian magnetic field. This is surprising since numerical simulations have shown that the vastly different interiors of terrestrial and gas planets can strongly affect the internal dynamo process.…
General circulation models of the atmosphere of hot Jupiters have shown the existence of a supersonic eastward equatorial jet. In this paper, we investigate the effects of compressibility on the atmospheric dynamics by solving the standard…
Jupiter's atmosphere features a variety of clouds that are formed from the interplay of chemistry and atmospheric dynamics, from the deep red color of the Great Red Spot to the high altitude white ammonia clouds present in the zones (bright…
Seismology represents a unique method to probe the interiors of giant planets. Recently, Saturn's f-modes have been indirectly observed in its rings, and there is strong evidence for the detection of Jupiter global modes by means of…
In anticipation of new observational results for Jupiter's axial moment of inertia and gravitational zonal harmonic coefficients from the forthcoming Juno orbiter, we present a number of preliminary Jupiter interior models. We combine…
The outer areas of Jupiter and Saturn have multiple zonal winds, reaching the high latitudes, that penetrate deep into the planets' interiors, as suggested by gravity measurements. These characteristics are replicable in numerical…
The atmospheric circulation in the upper atmosphere of hot Jupiter planets is strongly influenced by the incoming stellar radiation. In this work we explore the results from a 3D atmospheric model and revisit the main processes driving the…
Jupiter's dynamics shapes its cloud patterns but remains largely unknown below this natural observational barrier. Unraveling the underlying three-dimensional flows is thus a primary goal for NASA's ongoing Juno mission that was launched in…
During 2016-17 the Juno and Cassini spacecraft will both perform close eccentric orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, obtaining high-precision gravity measurements for these planets. This data will be used to estimate the depth of…
Although mass and energy in Jupiter's magnetosphere mostly come from the innermost Galilean moon Io's volcanic activities, solar wind perturbations can play crucial roles in releasing the magnetospheric energy and powering aurorae in…
This PhD thesis consists on a study of the atmospheric dynamics of the planet Venus with data from two space missions separated in time: the Galileo mission and Venus Express. Concretely, images obtained with different wavelengths have been…