• 22 layers
  • Checked October 2026

Atmospheric Layers of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

One column of atmosphere for each giant planet: three layers, with the cloud decks inside the lowest.

Atmospheric Layers of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

Name Date

Tap any layer to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
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Write the name of each numbered layer.Answer key

  1. Troposphere
  2. Stratosphere
  3. Thermosphere
  4. Ammonia clouds
  5. Ammonium hydrosulfide clouds
  6. Water clouds
  7. Troposphere
  8. Stratosphere
  9. Thermosphere
  10. Ammonia clouds
  11. Ammonium hydrosulfide clouds
  12. Water clouds
  13. Troposphere
  14. Stratosphere
  15. Thermosphere
  16. Methane clouds
  17. Hydrogen sulfide clouds
  18. Troposphere
  19. Stratosphere
  20. Thermosphere
  21. Methane clouds
  22. Hydrogen sulfide clouds

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a layer is answered.

Next step Next: the whole solar system

All 22 layers on the diagram

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Jupiter 6

  1. Troposphere The lowest layer. Every cloud deck forms in it.
  2. Stratosphere The middle layer. It lies above the cloud decks.
  3. Thermosphere The highest layer on this chart, above the stratosphere.
  4. Ammonia clouds The top cloud deck, thought to be made of ammonia ice.
  5. Ammonium hydrosulfide clouds The middle cloud deck, under the ammonia clouds.
  6. Water clouds The deepest cloud deck, thought to be made of water.

Saturn 6

  1. Troposphere The lowest layer. Every cloud deck forms in it.
  2. Stratosphere The middle layer. It lies above the cloud decks.
  3. Thermosphere The highest layer on this chart, above the stratosphere.
  4. Ammonia clouds The top cloud deck, thought to be made of ammonia ice. Saturn's decks lie deeper than Jupiter's.
  5. Ammonium hydrosulfide clouds The middle cloud deck, under the ammonia clouds.
  6. Water clouds The deepest cloud deck, thought to be made of water.

Uranus 5

  1. Troposphere The lowest layer. Every cloud deck forms in it.
  2. Stratosphere The middle layer. It lies above the cloud decks.
  3. Thermosphere The highest layer on this chart, above the stratosphere.
  4. Methane clouds The highest cloud deck. It is made of methane ice.
  5. Hydrogen sulfide clouds The main cloud deck. It is probably hydrogen sulfide ice.

Neptune 5

  1. Troposphere The lowest layer. Every cloud deck forms in it.
  2. Stratosphere The middle layer. It lies above the cloud decks.
  3. Thermosphere The highest layer on this chart, above the stratosphere.
  4. Methane clouds The highest cloud deck. It is made of methane ice.
  5. Hydrogen sulfide clouds The main cloud deck. It is probably hydrogen sulfide ice.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-03 in two independent sources. (1) NASA Science, Jupiter Facts, https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/ : three cloud layers, the top one probably ammonia ice, the middle one likely ammonium hydrosulfide crystals, the innermost perhaps water ice and vapor. (2) NASA Science, Why Uranus and Neptune Are Different Colors, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/neptune/why-uranus-and-neptune-are-different-colors/ : clouds of methane and hydrogen sulfide ices on both planets. (3) University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Giant Planets: Atmospheres, https://lasp.colorado.edu/outerplanets/giantplanets_atmospheres.php : ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide and water clouds on Jupiter and Saturn, lying deeper on Saturn because it is colder; methane clouds in the upper troposphere of Uranus and Neptune; the troposphere of Jupiter and of Saturn. (4) NASA Technical Reports Server, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/ , abstracts of reports 20050000219 and 20040075670 (Jupiter's troposphere and stratosphere), 20050203851 (Jupiter's thermosphere), 20090034842 and 20140000879 (the tropospheric cloud decks of Jupiter and Saturn), 20180003273 (Saturn's troposphere and stratosphere), 19850051832 (Saturn's thermosphere), 20170004628, 20240001674 and 19920036080 (the troposphere, stratosphere and thermosphere of Uranus), 19900065496 (Neptune's troposphere and stratosphere), and the text of report 19970007031 (the thermosphere of Neptune). (5) P. Irwin, Giant Planets of Our Solar System (2009), read by full-text search on archive.org, https://archive.org/details/giantplanetsofou0000irwi : on Uranus and Neptune a main cloud deck, most probably hydrogen sulfide, with a much thinner deck of methane ice above it; the lower stratospheres of Uranus and Neptune. (6) Wikipedia: Atmosphere of Jupiter, Saturn, Atmosphere of Uranus, Neptune, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Jupiter : the layers of the atmospheres of Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, and the cloud decks of all four planets. (7) Saturn from Cassini-Huygens (2009), read by full-text search on archive.org, https://archive.org/details/saturnfromcassin0000unse : Saturn's upper troposphere, its stratosphere and the base of its thermosphere. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Own original chart; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

The atmospheric layers of Jupiter come first: a troposphere, a stratosphere and a thermosphere, with three cloud decks in the lowest layer. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune each have a chart of their own.

Read the full guide

Jupiter and Saturn

The troposphere is the bottom layer, the stratosphere the middle and the thermosphere above it. Three cloud decks form in the troposphere: ammonia clouds highest, ammonium hydrosulfide clouds under them and water clouds deepest. Saturn is colder, so its decks lie deeper.

Uranus and Neptune

The two ice giants have the same three layers. Their clouds differ: methane clouds lie above a main deck that is probably hydrogen sulfide.

  • The charts are not to scale, and no height or temperature is drawn.

Questions and answers

Where can I properly label the various atmospheric layers for Jupiter?

Here. The chart is this site's own, with the three layers and three cloud decks of Jupiter. Read the names, press Quiz me and tap each band or row of clouds as its name comes up.

What are Jupiter's clouds made of?

NASA describes three cloud layers. The top one is probably ammonia ice, the middle one is likely ammonium hydrosulfide crystals, and the innermost may be water ice and vapor.

Can I label the various atmospheric layers for Saturn too?

Yes. The Saturn view has the same three layers and the same three cloud decks as Jupiter. Saturn is colder than Jupiter, so its decks are drawn deeper in the troposphere.

How do I label the various atmospheric layers for Uranus?

Open the Uranus view. It has a troposphere, a stratosphere and a thermosphere, with methane clouds above hydrogen sulfide clouds. Neptune's chart is drawn the same way.

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