Reveal what was previously invisible.
Bored to the floors
The incredible James Webb Space Telescope has been used to image the farthest reaches of the universe. But in a change of pace, astronomers have used its incredible power on a target much closer to Earth: the mighty planet Jupiter — and in doing so, they’ve discovered mysterious features and structures on the gas giant that have never been seen before. Not to mention the incredible fidelity of the James Webb.
As detailed in 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.
Despite its enormous dimensions, this part of the atmosphere has been ignored by astronomers, who previously described it as uninteresting. Now, they are happy to admit that they were completely wrong.
“We thought this area, perhaps naively, would be really boring,” Henrik Melin, lead author of the study from the University of Leicester, said in an article. 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 points to illuminate Jupiter’s north and south poles and are easily visible. But there’s a subtler glow lurking in the upper atmosphere that has proven difficult for ground-based telescopes to spot. It may not be 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 clear space around the Sun, and is equipped with advanced infrared sensors, such as the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSPEC), that can detect secrets emitted by even the weakest 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 structuresDark arcs, bright spots.
Sandwich area
As the boundary between Jupiter’s lower atmosphere and its powerful magnetic field, the gas giant’s upper atmosphere hosts amazing energetic interactions. The northern and southern lights are thought to be caused by the ejection of volcanic material onto its moon Io.
But researchers suspect that something else entirely is causing this glow above the Great Red Spot: strong gravitational interactions that we rarely see 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 reveal how these waves travel through Jupiter’s atmosphere.
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