Webb Telescope detects never-before-seen feature in Jupiter’s atmosphere

Jupiter was one of the first targets observed by the James Webb Space Telescope when it initially turned its infrared gaze on the Universe in July 2022.

After capturing stunning images that exceeded astronomers’ expectations, the space observatory has now revealed a never-before-seen feature in the gas giant’s atmosphere.

The researchers used Webb’s Near Infrared Camera, or NIRCam, to take a series of images of Jupiter 10 hours apart, applying four different filters to detect changes in the planet’s atmosphere.

Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, and the Webb telescope’s unprecedented capabilities were used last year to detect many newly observed celestial features, such as megaclusters of young stars and unexpected pairs of planet-like objects.

Astronomers observed a high-speed jet stream in Jupiter’s lower stratosphere an atmospheric layer about 40 kilometers above the clouds.

The jet stream, which sits over the planet’s equator, spans more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) wide and moves at 315 miles per hour, or twice the rate seen with sustained winds from a Category 5 hurricane on Earth.

The study’s findings, made possible by Webb’s sensitive capabilities, shed light on the dynamic interactions in Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere .

While other missions have penetrated deeper into Jupiter’s swirling clouds by using different wavelengths of light to look beneath them, Webb is in a unique position to study the higher-altitude layers, about 25 to 50 kilometers above the cloud tops. and peer into previously indistinct details.

“While several ground-based telescopes, spacecraft such as NASA’s Juno and Cassini, and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have observed the Jovian system’s changing weather patterns, Webb has already provided new discoveries about Jupiter’s rings, satellites and its atmosphere,” he said. study co-author Imke de Pater, professor emeritus of astronomy, Earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, in a statement.

Jet Stream Revelations

The researchers compared winds detected by Webb at high altitudes with those in lower layers captured by Hubble and tracked changes in wind speed.

Both space observatories were needed to detect the jet stream, as Webb spotted small cloud formations and Hubble provided a view of the equatorial atmosphere, including non-jet-related storms.

The two telescopes provided a broader view of Jupiter’s complex atmosphere and the processes occurring within the layers.

“We knew that the different wavelengths of Webb and Hubble would reveal the three-dimensional structure of storm clouds, but we were also able to use the timing of the data to see how quickly storms develop,” said co-author of the study Michael Wong, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley who led the associated Hubble observations, in a statement.

Future observations of Jupiter using the Webb telescope could reveal more information about the jet stream, such as whether its speed and altitude change over time, as well as other surprises.

“It’s amazing to me that after years of tracking Jupiter’s clouds and winds at various observatories, we still have more to learn about Jupiter, and features like this jet could remain hidden until these new NIRCam images are taken in 2022,” he said. study co-author Leigh Fletcher, professor of planetary sciences at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, in a statement.

“Jupiter has a complicated but repeating pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, well above the cloud winds and hazes measured at these wavelengths. If the strength of this new jet is linked to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we can expect the jet to vary considerably over the next 2 to 4 years — it will be really exciting to test this theory in the coming years.”