The Webb telescope photographed Jupiter: auroras, storms and haze
Under conditions of extreme temperature and pressure, many weather phenomena occur on Jupiter. Now that the Webb Telescope has taken detailed pictures, scientists can take a better look at them. Such observations of the planet provide a chance to learn more about how Jupiter is arranged.
“We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest. It’s really remarkable that we can see details on Jupiter together with its rings, tiny satellites, and even galaxies in one image,” says one of the researchers.
Photos are taken using a camera that works with the infrared range of light. Since this type of light is invisible to the human eye, it was shown in the visible spectrum. Thus, the longest waves appear red, and the shortest – blue.
One of the images shows the auroras stretching far above Jupiter’s poles. Another photo shows haze near the poles. The Great Red Spot – a storm that could engulf the entire Earth – looks white like other clouds because it reflects a lot of sunlight.
“The brightness here indicates high altitude – so the Great Red Spot has high-altitude hazes, as does the equatorial region,” says the scientist who works with the Webb Telescope.
The white patches and streaks are likely high-altitude cloud tops, she said. Instead, dark areas indicate low cloud cover.
In one of the images, where the planet was taken from a distance, you can see the faintly glowing rings of Jupiter, as well as several of its moons. The blurry spots in the background are probably galaxies. Researchers have already begun to analyze photos of Jupiter to obtain more scientific data about life on the planet.