We separated the probe from the Galileo mother ship. We were flying in toward Jupiter, basically a ballistic bullet. 

 

The Galileo probe went in at an unbelievable speed because Jupiter's gravity just accelerated it on the way in. 

 

Now you've seen pictures of meteor fireballs in the Earth atmosphere. Well，

 

this is hundreds of times worse in terms of the heat and shock，that was more like sitting in front of a nuclear blast. 

 

The violence lasted only minutes. On December 7th, 1995, the probe dropped through alien skies at about 60 miles an hour and with all instruments blazing. 

In terms of what it might look like, it is not dissimilar to the upper atmosphere of the Earth. If you were descending along with the Galileo probe, looking out of the window, you would see some sensuous clouds go by, then you might see some other clouds that might be somewhat strange. 

 

But it would be like dropping into an alien chemical factory. These clouds not only look strange, they really stink. 

You have more than one substance forming clouds on Jupiter, ammonia which is clean and fluid, then H2S, which is the rotten egg gas, and then below that, is water. 

 

Like giant thunderheads, these deep water clouds are the source for Jupiter's ferocious lightning. Things are getting hotter now, and the pressure is heavier. Then, the clouds end. 

 

If you imagine going through the cloud depth of Jupiter, and emerging from underneath the base of the water clouds,

 

it would be like breaking out into/clear skies and descent on an airliner on the Earth.