James Webb telescope captures 'incredible' images of Jupiter: See photos

The latest photos show Jupiter's signature elements, such as northern and southern lights, swirling polar haze, and regions of extreme temperature

Jupiter captured by James Webb
Jupiter captured by James Webb telescope. (Photo: NASA)
BS Web Team New Delhi
2 min read Last Updated : Aug 23 2022 | 12:11 PM IST
The world's biggest telescope has released the latest images of Jupiter showing the largest planet in the solar system as never before. While the images of Jupiter have always been of a little yellowish-orange sphere, the James Webb space telescope has captured the largest planet in a very different form, with auroras, storms, and all, a release from Nasa showed. 

The latest photos, taken in July by the Webb telescope, show Jupiter's signature elements, such as northern and southern lights, swirling polar haze, and regions of extreme temperature. The images released by Nasa also capture Jupiter with its rings, tiny satellites and galaxies. 

See the images below: 

In a statement, planetary astronomer Imke de Pater, of the University of California, Berkeley, said, "We’ve never seen Jupiter like this. It’s all quite incredible." Pater, who helped lead the observation, added, "We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest."

The two images of Jupiter were captured from the observatory’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), which has three specialised infrared filters that showcase details of the planet. 

The infrared images were artificially colored in blue, white, green, yellow, and orange to make the features stand out. 

Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a famous storm so big it could swallow Earth, are white in the images, like other clouds, as they are reflecting a lot of sunlight, Nasa in its release said.

In a wide-field view, Jupiter has been captured with its faint rings, which are a million times fainter than the planet, and two tiny moons called Amalthea and Adrastea. The fuzzy spots in the lower background of Jupiter are likely galaxies “photobombing” this Jovian view, Nasa said.

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Topics :JupiterJupiter's Great Red SpotNASAJupiter red spotSolar systemSpaceXspace

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