2023-10-23 05:02:07
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has just discovered a new feature in Jupiter’s atmosphere. An incredible high-speed jet stream stretches more than 4,800 kilometers above the main cloud decks located north of the gas giant’s equator.
An unprecedented discovery made possible by the most powerful scientific space observatory in the world. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has discovered something new in Jupiter’s atmosphere. The latter detected a high-speed jet stream more than 4,800 kilometers long above the planet’s main cloud bridges and located above its equator.
“It was something that totally surprised us. What we have always seen as fuzzy mists in Jupiter’s atmosphere now appear as sharp features that we can follow along with the rapid rotation of the planet,” responded Ricardo Hueso, the lead author of thearticle detailing the observations and operating at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao (Spain).
A discovery that could lead to others
This discovery on the interaction of the layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere could lead to others, according to the scientific community.
“Jupiter has a complex but repeatable pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, well above the winds in clouds and mists measured at these wavelengths. If the strength of this new jet is linked to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we could expect the jet to vary significantly over the next 2 to 4 years,” assured Leigh Fletcher, a member of the University team. from Leicester in the United Kingdom.
“It’s amazing to me that after years of tracking Jupiter’s clouds and winds from many observatories, we still have a lot to learn about Jupiter, and features like this jet may remain hidden until these new NIRCam images will be taken in 2022,” added Leigh Fletcher.
As a reminder, the James Webb Space Telescope is an international program led by NASA with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
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