James Webb Space Telescope images of Jupiter display a stunning wealth of detail. 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. Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Jupiter Early Release Science team. Image processing: Judy Schmidt
There are stunning images of Jupiter from theJWST.
The images were captured on July 27 and show fine filigree along the edges of the colored bands and around the Great Red Spot.
There is a unique lineup of the planet, its faint rings and two of Jupiter's smaller satellites.
This is the first time we've seen Jupiter this way. Imke de Pater is an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley and she led the scientific observations of the planet. We didn't think it would be this good. It's amazing that we can see Jupiter with its rings, satellites, and even a galaxies in a single image.
The images were released as part of the telescope's early release science program.
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam instrument on July 27, 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 (~250 x 150 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. Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Jupiter Early Release Science team. Image processing: Ricardo Hueso [UPV/EHU] and Judy Schmidt
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with the NIRCam instrument on board the James Webb Space Telescope on July 27, 2022. The wide-field color scheme differs from the color composite because this imaging mode used different exposure times and only two filters, mapped in orange and cyan colors. The image shows Jupiter's rings and some of its small satellites together with background galaxies. Amalthea (~250 x 150 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. Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Jupiter Early Release Science team. Image processing: Ricardo Hueso [UPV/EHU] and Judy Schmidt
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam instrument on July 27, 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 (~250 x 150 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. Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Jupiter Early Release Science team. Image processing: Ricardo Hueso [UPV/EHU] and Judy Schmidt
This false color composite image of Jupiter was obtained with the NIRCam instrument on board the James Webb Space Telescope on July 27, 2022. The wide-field color scheme differs from the color composite because this imaging mode used different exposure times and only two filters, mapped in orange and cyan colors. The image shows Jupiter's rings and some of its small satellites together with background galaxies. Amalthea (~250 x 150 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. Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Jupiter Early Release Science team. Image processing: Ricardo Hueso [UPV/EHU] and Judy Schmidt
In addition to the enormous storm referred to as the Great Red Spot, numerous storm systems are also visible. The chaotic vortex patterns at higher latitudes can be clearly seen.
"Although we have seen many of these features on Jupiter before, we have a new perspective thanks to the JWST's wavelength," said de Pater. The interplay of dynamics, chemistry and temperature structure in and above the Great Red Spot and the Auroral regions will be studied thanks to the combination of images and spectrum at near- and mid-infrared wavelength.
Adrastea and amalthea.
Jupiter's rings and two of its moons were captured by the Near IR camera.
The image shows the sensitivity and dynamic range of the NIR cam instrument. The dark ring system, which is 1 million times fainter than the planet, as well as the moons Amalthea and Adrastea, can be seen from this picture. The Jupiter system program studies the dynamics and chemistry of Jupiter, its rings and its satellites.
The JWST images were processed by a citizen scientist who has worked with Hubble Space Telescope and other telescopes for the past 10 years, as well as a Spanish astronomer who studies planetary atmospheres. One of the co-investigators on the ERS program is Hueso.
Her love of astronomy images has led her to process images of some of the most amazing objects in the universe.
I can't stop thinking about it. She said she could spend a lot of time every day. Try to get it to look natural even if it isn't close to what your eye sees.
Explanations of Jupiter's Great Red Spot were taken on July 27 and August 14-15 in the near-IR and mid-IR regions. The Great Red Spot observations are a joint project between the ERS team and de Pater and Fouchet as co-principal investigators.
UC Berkeley members of the ERS team include research astronomer Mike Wong.
