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Unexpected details leap out in sharp new James Webb Space Telescope images of Jupiter
JWST images display a stunning wealth of detail in new Jupiter images. A filter sensitive to auroral emission from ionized hydrogen (mapped into the red channel) reveals auroral ovals on the disk of the planet that extend to high altitudes above both the northern and southern poles. A different filter sensitive to high-altitude hazes (mapped into the green channel) highlights the polar hazes that swirl around the northern and southern poles, while a third filter highlights light reflected from the deeper main cloud (mapped in the blue channel). The Great Red Spot, the equatorial region, and compact (including tiny) cloud regions appear white (or reddish-white) in this false-color image. Regions with little cloud cover appear as dark ribbons north of the equatorial region. Other dark regions here, both next to the Great Red Spot and in cyclonic features in the south hemisphere, are also dark colored when observed in visible light. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt)
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with the NIRCam instrument on board the JWST on 27 July 2022. The wide-field color scheme differs from the color composite because this imaging mode used different exposure times and only 2 filters, mapped in orange and cyan colors. The image shows Jupiter's rings and some of its small satellites together with background galaxies. Amalthea (~250x150 km across) and tiny Adrastea (~20 km across) are visible in this image. The diffraction pattern created by the bright auroras as well as the moon Io (just off to the left, not visible in the image) form a complex background of scattered light around Jupiter. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Ricardo Hueso [UPV/EHU] and Judy Schmidt)
Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) is one of several Co-Is on the JWST-ERS program; he is leading the NRCam Jupiter observations. Judy Schmidt of Modesto California, a longtime image processor in the citizen science community, processed these new views of Jupiter.
FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT THE IMAGES:
Jupiter Color Composite:
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with JWST's NIRCam instrument on 27 July 2022. Several exposures in three different filters were assembled to create this mosaic, after being corrected for the rotation of the planet. The combination of filters yields an image whose colors denote the height of the clouds and the intensity of auroral emissions. The F360M filter (mapped to the red-orange colors) is sensitive to light reflected from the lower clouds and upper hazes. The red features in the polar regions are auroral emissions, caused by ions excited through collisions with charged particles at altitudes up to 1000 km above the cloud level. Auroral emission in red is evident in the northern and southern polar regions, and reaches high above the limb of the planet. In the F212N filter (mapped to yellow-green colors), the gaseous methane in Jupiter's atmosphere absorbs light; the greenish areas around the polar regions come from stratospheric hazes 100-200 km above the cloud level. The stratospheric haze that appears green in this composite is also concentrated in the polar regions, but extends down to equatorial latitudes, and can also be seen along the limbs (edges) of the planet. The cyan channel holds the F150W2 filter, which is primarily sensitive to reflected light from the Jupiter's deeper main cloud level at about 1 bar. The Great Red Spot, the hazy equatorial region, and myriad small storm systems appear white (or reddish-white) in this false-color image. Regions with little cloud cover appear as dark ribbons north of the equatorial region. Some dark regions, for example next to the Great Red Spot and in cyclonic features in the southern hemisphere, are also dark colored when observed in visible wavelengths.
Jupiter System:
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with JWST's NIRCam instrument on 27 July 2022. A combination of short and long exposures in F212N (mapped to an orange color) and F335M (mapped to cyan) show Jupiter's rings and some of its small satellites together with background galaxies. Amalthea (~250x150 km across) and tiny Adrastea (~20 km across) are visible in this image. The diffraction pattern created by the bright auroras as well as the moon Io (just off to the left, not visible in the image) form a complex background of scattered light around Jupiter.
>>High resolution images can be downloaded here<<
>>See UC Berkeley's Press Release 2022/08/19<<
>>NASA's Blog can be found here<<
