Jupiter always shines, even when viewed sideways in raw data.
Astronomers are busy sifting through new data from the James Webb Space Telescope (called Webb or JWST) in an ongoing rush to spot ever-more-distant galaxies. But the observatory continues to study many objects closer to home.
Among the targets of these observations is Jupiter. NASA released the first handful of JWST images of the massive planet on July 14, but the telescope has continued to visit the planet thanks to a program aimed at demonstrating JWST’s potential to study our own solar system as well as the universe distant
Gallery: First photos from the James Webb Space Telescope
And that potential is shown in a raw image captured by the telescope’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument on July 27, 2022, which highlights Jupiter’s massive storm, the famous Great Red Spot, as well as the bands of the planet’s atmosphere.
And the image, along with Webb’s other observations, are designed to help scientists (opens new tab) understand that atmosphere, tackling tasks like characterizing its thermal structure and layers, as well as studying phenomena like winds and the dawns
To create the new image, NIRCam looked at Jupiter for nearly 11 minutes using what scientists call the F212N filter, which looks at light that has a wavelength of 2.12 microns, about the length of a common bacterium ( opens in a new tab). The filter earned its place at the observatory because scientists can use its data to study molecular hydrogen (opens in a new tab).
According to a preliminary schedule (opens a new tab) released by the Maryland Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates JWST, the observatory’s targets for next week include Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, the large asteroid Hygeia and the remnants of supernova Cassiopeia A.
However, viewing times are always subject to change. Also, not all JWST data is made public immediately; for much of their observations, the scientists who requested the data have special access for a year to facilitate their analysis.
Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @spacedotcom yen Facebook.