James Webb observes mysterious structures above Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Reveal what was previously invisible.

From boredom to exhaustion

The remarkable James Webb Space Telescope has been used to image the farthest reaches of the universe. But in a change of pace, astronomers have tapped into its enormous capabilities on a target closer to home: the mighty planet Jupiter – and in doing so, they have discovered mysterious features and structures on the gas giant planet that have never been seen before, not to mention the amazing resolution of the James Webb Telescope.

As detailed in Stady Published in the magazine Natural astronomy, Scientists have observed a region of the atmosphere hovering above Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot, a massive storm large 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 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 about job. “They are actually as interesting as the northern lights, if not more exciting,” he added. “Jupiter never ceases to surprise.”

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 kinds of anomalies lurking in observations taken in July 2022, including those observed by the European Space Agency. described like Complex structuresAnd “dark arcs” and “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, which are like waves crashing on a beach, creating ripples in the sand,” Henrik said. “These waves are generated deep in the turbulent lower atmosphere, all around the Great Red Spot, and can travel up, 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.

More about space: There appears to be something strange feeding the “immortal” stars at the center of our galaxy