Citizen Science Shakes Up Jupiter's Clouds

Amateur astronomer Dr. Steven Hill stunned the scientific world on January 8, 2025, by discovering Jupiter's clouds are composed of ammonium hydrosulfide and smog—not the long-believed ammonia ice. Using just a commercial telescope and some clever filters, Hill's breakthrough was validated by Oxford's Prof. Patrick Irwin with Chile’s Very Large Telescope. Published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, this finding highlights how hobbyists can make heavyweight contributions to planetary science.