Images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has led astronomers to discover more about the planet Jupiter. However, the astronomers from the University of California, Berkeley didn't expect the photos to be this good, as reported by PhysOrg.
(Photo : by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JANUARY 08: NASA James Webb Space Telescope Project Manager Bill Ochs, left, NASA James Webb Space Telescope Commissioning Manager John Durning, right and others from the operations team celebrate after confirming that the observatory' s final primary mirror wing successfully extended and locked into place at the Space Telescope Science Institute on January 8, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland.
The images of Jupiter are very clear and detailed that they can see things like its its rings, tiny satellites, and others at a clarity never before seen. Small pallid ovals, which came from the Great Red Spot, are also visible. There are also tiny bright plumes of cloud particles. Astronomers also see the transition between organized zonal flows and the chaotic vortex patterns at higher latitudes.
The Great Red Spot
Indeed, many of these Jupiter's features have been seen in the past, but James Webb Space Telescope's infrared wavelengths give astronomers a new perspective. The combination of images and spectra at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths will let astronomers study the interplay of dynamics, chemistry, and temperature structure in and above the Great Red Spot and auroral regions.
The Great Red Spot is a big storm that is well-known because it is so big, can swallow the Earth. On the images, they appear white, with a lot of brightness, that indicates high altitude. So, the Great Red Spot has high-altitude hazes. While the bright white spots and streaks are very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed, convective storms.
Also read: NASA James Webb Space Telescope: Soon to Bring a Better View of the Universe, Information for All
The Moons of Jupiter
The telescope also captured a wide-field view of Jupiter, which revealed its rings and two of its moons. According to the astronomers, the image shows the sensitivity and dynamic range of the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument.
Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, which is why the light has been mapped onto the visible spectrum. In general, the longest wavelengths appear redder, while the shortest ones are more blue.
As a result, it reveals bright waves, swirls, and vortices in Jupiter's atmosphere and also captures the dark ring system, and the moons Amalthea and Adrastea. That one image alone alredy sums up the science of the Jupiter system program.
The images from the telescope were processed with the help of citizen scientist Judy Schmidt of Modesto, California, who has also worked with the Hubble Space Telescope and other telescope images for the past years.
There are spectroscopic observations of the planet's auroras already scheduled later this year. The observations of the Great Red Spot are a join project between the Early Release Science (ERS) team and a program of Solar System observations.
Related article: James Webb Space Telescope Shows Never-Before-Seen Images of the Cosmos
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Written by: April Fowell
