Reveal what was previously invisible.
From boredom to exhaustion
The remarkable James Webb Space Telescope has been used to image the farthest reaches of the universe. But in a change of pace, astronomers have tapped into its enormous capabilities on a target closer to home: the mighty planet Jupiter — and in doing so, they have discovered mysterious features and structures on the gas giant planet that have never been seen before, not to mention the astonishing resolution of the James Webb Telescope.
As detailed in A Stady Published in the magazine natural astronomy, Scientists have observed a region of the atmosphere hovering above the famous Great Red Spot on Jupiter, a storm massive enough to swallow the Earth, and the largest in the solar system.
But despite its astonishing dimensions, this part of the atmosphere has been neglected by astronomers, who previously considered it uninteresting. Now, they are happy to admit that they were completely wrong.
“We thought, perhaps naively, that this region would be really boring,” Henrik Melin, lead author of the study from the University of Leicester, said in a statement. statement “It’s actually as interesting as the northern lights, if not more interesting. Jupiter never ceases to amaze us,” he added.
glow up
The lights Mellen hints at adorn Jupiter’s north and south poles and are easily visible. But there’s a more subtle glow lurking in the upper atmosphere that has proven difficult for ground-based telescopes to observe. It may not be nearly as bright, but its elusiveness is its own charm.
Fortunately, the James Webb Telescope has a unique ability to deal with this problem. It orbits in the clear space around the sun, and is equipped with advanced infrared sensors, such as the Near Infrared Spectroradiometer (NIRSPEC), which can detect the secrets emanating from even the faintest light sources.
For example, researchers found all sorts of oddities lurking in observations made in July 2022, including one published by the European Space Agency. Described like Complex structures“Dark arcs” and “bright spots”.
Sandwich area
Because Jupiter’s upper atmosphere forms the boundary between Jupiter’s lower atmosphere and its powerful magnetic field, it hosts amazing energy interactions. The northern and southern lights are thought to be caused by volcanic material ejected onto its moon Io.
But researchers suspect that something else entirely is causing the glow above the Great Red Spot: strong gravitational interactions rarely seen on Earth.
“One way you can change this structure is with gravity waves, similar to waves crashing on a beach, creating ripples in the sand,” Henriques said. “These waves are generated deep in the turbulent lower atmosphere, around the Great Red Spot, and can travel upward, changing the structure and emissions of the upper atmosphere.”
With follow-up observations, astronomers hope to uncover how these waves travel through Jupiter’s atmosphere.
More about space: Something strange seems to be powering the ‘immortal’ stars at the center of our galaxy.
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