In the latest release, NASA is giving people an up-close view of the largest planet in the solar system — Jupiter — The Associated Press reported.
The planet’s Great Red Spot, a storm that could encompass Earth, is clearly seen along with smaller storms. It is depicted in white on the images because the clouds are reflecting sunlight.
“The brightness here indicates high altitude — so the Great Red Spot has high-altitude hazes, as does the equatorial region,” Heidi Hammel, Webb interdisciplinary scientist for solar system observations and vice president for science at AURA, said in a NASA news release. “The numerous bright white ‘spots’ and ‘streaks’ are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms.”
1. Make way for the king of the solar system! 👑
New Webb images of Jupiter highlight the planet's features, including its turbulent Great Red Spot (shown in white here), in amazing detail. These images were processed by citizen scientist Judy Schmidt: https://t.co/gwxZOitCE3pic.twitter.com/saz0u61kJG
The dark ribbons seen north of Jupiter’s equator have little cloud cover, NASA said.
One of the composite images shows faint rings that circle Jupiter and two small moons, NASA said.
“We’ve never seen Jupiter like this. It’s all quite incredible,” Imke de Pater, a planetary astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement. “We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest.”
De Pater helped lead the observation, the AP reported.
Colors such as blue, white, green, yellow and orange were added to the images to help make features more obvious. The photos were taken by the Near-Infrared Camera that has three specialized infrared filters, NASA said.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope. It is a $10 billion partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, that is zooming through space 1 million miles from Earth, the AP reported.
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Carina Nebula This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.
Southern Ring Nebula This side-by-side comparison shows observations of the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light, at left, and mid-infrared light, at right, from NASA’s Webb Telescope. (Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach/NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and The E)
Stephan's Quintet Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies, is best known for being prominently featured in the holiday classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
SMACS 0723 NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail. (Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach/NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO )
WASP-96 b NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence for clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding a hot, puffy gas giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star.
Stephan's Quintet This image provided by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, shows Stephan's Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies captured by the Webb Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach/AP)
Carina Nebula This image released by NASA on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, combined the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope's two cameras to create a never-before-seen view of a star-forming region in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), this combined image reveals previously invisible areas of star birth. (Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach/AP)
James Webb Space Telescope FILE - In this image provided by NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope is released into space from an Ariane rocket on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (AP)
James Webb Space Telescope FILE - This 2015 artist's rendering provided by Northrop Grumman via NASA shows the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (AP)
James Webb Space Telescope FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021 photo released by the European Space Agency, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is secured on top of the Ariane 5 rocket that will launch it to space from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (Stephane Corvaja/AP)
James Webb Space Telescope FILE - In this April 13, 2017 photo provided by NASA, technicians lift the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The telescope is designed to peer back so far that scientists will get a glimpse of the dawn of the universe about 13.7 billion years ago and zoom in on closer cosmic objects, even our own solar system, with sharper focus. (Laura Betz/AP)
