‘We were surprised’: What the James Webb Telescope revealed about Jupiter’s atmosphere

the Jupiter It was one of the first targets he noticed James Webb Space Telescope When it first turned its infrared gaze toward the universe in July 2022. After capturing stunning images that exceeded astronomers’ expectations, the space observatory has now revealed a new object. An unprecedented feature In the atmosphere of a gas giant.

Researchers used NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) Webb to take a series of images of Jupiter 10 hours apart, app Four different filters To detect changes in the planet’s atmosphere.

Astronomers have discovered one High speed air jet In Jupiter’s lower stratosphere, an atmosphere with an area of ​​approx 40 kilometers above the clouds. There is a jet stream located above the planet’s equator Width greater than 4800 km And it moves with tSpeed ​​is 515 kilometers per hourTwice the force of the winds of a Category 5 hurricane on land.

The study results highlight the dynamic interactions within Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere. “It’s something that took us completely by surprise.”said physicist Ricardo Hueso, lead author of the study published October 19 in the journal Nature astronomy.

“What we’ve always seen Misty fog In Jupiter’s atmosphere it now appears as… Sharp features “We can track it along with the planet’s rapid rotation,” he said.

Wild weather for Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is made up of gases, so it couldn’t be any different from Earth. But like our planet, Jupiter has one Multi-layered atmosphere. These turbulent layers have been observed by previous missions and telescopes trying to better understand how different parts of the atmosphere interact with each other. Layers also contain weather effects, including… Storms Which extends over a century, such as Big red spot Jupiter, and Drawing from frozen ammonia.

While other missions have penetrated deeper into Jupiter’s swirling clouds using different wavelengths of light to look beneath them, Webb is in a unique position to study the highest layers, about 25 to 50 kilometers above the cloud topsrecording details that were previously indistinguishable.

Secrets of atmospheric flooding

The researchers compared the winds that Webb detected at high altitudes with those in the lower layers that he recorded Hubble Space Telescope And monitor changes in wind speed. Both space observatories were essential for detecting the jet stream, with Webb detecting small cloud features and Hubble allowing a look at the tropical atmosphere, including storms not associated with the jet stream. The two telescopes provided a broader view of Jupiter’s complex atmosphere and the processes taking place within the layers.

“We knew that the different wavelengths of Webb and Hubble would reveal this Three-dimensional structure of storm cloudsBut we were also able to use the timing of the data to see how quickly the storms developed, said planetary scientist and study co-author Michael Wong, who led the Hubble observations.

Future observations of Jupiter using the Webb telescope may reveal more information about the plume, such as whether… Its speed and height change over timein addition to other surprises.

With information from: Webb telescope locations never before seen in Jupiter’s atmosphere By Ashley Strickland, CNN