Reveal what was previously invisible.
From boredom to exhaustion
The James Webb Space Telescope has been used to image the farthest reaches of the universe. But in a change of pace, astronomers are harnessing its immense capabilities on a target closer to home: 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, let alone with the James Webb telescope’s incredible resolution.
As detailed in A Stady Published in the magazine Natural astronomy, Scientists have observed a region of atmosphere hovering over Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot, a massive storm big enough to swallow 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, perhaps naively, that this area would be really boring,” said Henrik Melin, lead author of the study from the University of Leicester. statement about job. “They are actually as interesting as the northern lights, if not more exciting,” he added. “The buyer never ceases to surprise.”
Glow up
Those lights that Mellin pointed out illuminate Jupiter’s north and south poles and can be easily seen. But there is a more subtle glow hiding within the upper atmosphere that has proven difficult for ground-based telescopes to spot. He may not be as flashy, but his elusiveness is his own appeal.
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 anomalies lurking in observations taken in July 2022, including those spotted by the European Space Agency. described like Complex structuresDark arcs, bright spots.
Sandwich area
Since Jupiter’s upper atmosphere forms the boundary between Jupiter’s lower atmosphere and its strong magnetic field, it hosts amazing energy interactions. The northern and southern lights are believed to be caused by the ejection of volcanic material on its moon Io.
But researchers suspect that something else entirely is causing the glow above the Great Red Spot: strong gravitational interactions that are 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.”
Astronomers hope that, through continuous monitoring, they can reveal 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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