"We didn't expect it" - New images of Jupiter astound Nasa experts
Created: 08/23/2022, 08:40
By: Martina Lippl
Northern Lights on Jupiter!
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of the planet.
©NASA
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has now captured a new view of Jupiter - with remarkable detail.
WASHINGTON -- There's a lot going on on Jupiter, new views show.
The James Webb Space Telescope of the US space agency Nasa has been transmitting spectacular images since the beginning of July 2022.
Thanks to infrared technology, it can penetrate cosmic dust clouds and catch light from the very first stars.
At the heart of the Webb telescope is a concave mirror six and a half meters in diameter.
Jupiter: Nasa releases new images from the James Webb Space Telescope
Now NASA is releasing new images of Jupiter.
"To be honest, we didn't really expect it to be that good," said planetary astronomer Imke de Pater, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, according to a NASA statement.
"It's really remarkable that we can see details on Jupiter along with its rings, tiny satellites and even galaxies in one image," said the NASA expert.
Details of the planet are visible with a near-infrared camera (NIRCam), which has three specialized infrared filters:
F360M - red
F212N - yellow green
F150W2 - cyan
Seeing the Aurora Borealis on Jupiter
In views of Jupiter, auroras can be seen at high altitudes above Jupiter's north and south poles.
According to NASA, the northern lights shine in a filter assigned to “redder colors”.
Veils surrounding the north and south pole vortices show a filter associated with yellow and green.
The third blue filter shows light reflected from a deeper main cloud.
Two moons, rings and distant galaxies are visible in new images of Jupiter, according to Nasa.
©NASA
The so-called Great Red Spot — a famous mega-storm so big it could engulf the Earth — would appear rather white in these views.
As well as other clouds because they reflected a lot of sunlight.
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Galaxies "photobomb" Jupiter
Another view shows Jupiter with its faint rings and two tiny moons named Amalthea and Adrastea.
"The blurry patches in the lower background are likely galaxies 'photobombing' this view of Jupiter, according to Nasa.
By the way: Jupiter has 79 moons.
The four largest are called Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
"This single image encapsulates the science of our Jupiter systems program, which studies the dynamics and chemistry of Jupiter itself, its rings and satellite system," says Thierry Fouchet of the Paris Observatory.
Fouchet leads the observations of Jupiter together with planetary astronomer De Pater.
The research team believes the new images from the James Webb Space Telescope will provide even more clues about Jupiter's inner workings.
(ml)