NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new, never-before-seen feature in Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere. The high-speed jet stream, which spans more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) wide, sits over Jupiter\u2019s equator above the main cloud decks. The discovery of this jet is giving insights into how the layers of Jupiter\u2019s famously turbulent atmosphere interact with each other, and how Webb is uniquely capable of tracking those features.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Image: Webb\u2019s View of Jupiter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"Jupiter](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/webb-stsci-01hcx1bznyyekx2wf7kagqvmg2.jpg?w=1985\")
<\/figure>\nThis image of Jupiter from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In this image, brightness indicates high altitude. The numerous bright white \u2018spots\u2019 and \u2018streaks\u2019 are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms. Auroras, appearing in red in this image, extend to higher altitudes above both the northern and southern poles of the planet. By contrast, dark ribbons north of the equatorial region have little cloud cover.<\/div>\nImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cThis is something that totally surprised us,\u201d said Ricardo Hueso of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, lead author on the paper describing the findings. \u201cWhat we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet\u2019s fast rotation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The research team analyzed data from Webb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured in July 2022<\/a>. The Early Release Science program<\/a> \u2013 jointly led by Imke de Pater from the University of California, Berkeley and Thierry Fouchet from the Observatory of Paris \u2013 was designed to take images of Jupiter 10 hours apart, or one Jupiter day, in four different filters, each uniquely able to detect changes in small features at different altitudes of Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n\u201cEven though various ground-based telescopes, spacecraft like NASA\u2019s Juno and Cassini, and NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope have observed the Jovian system\u2019s changing weather patterns, Webb has already provided new findings on Jupiter\u2019s rings, satellites, and its atmosphere,\u201d de Pater noted.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
While Jupiter is different from Earth in many ways \u2013 Jupiter is a gas giant, Earth is a rocky, temperate world \u2013 both planets have layered atmospheres. Infrared, visible, radio, and ultraviolet light wavelengths observed by these other missions detect the lower, deeper layers of the planet\u2019s atmosphere \u2013 where gigantic storms<\/a> and ammonia ice clouds reside.<\/p>\nImage: Jupiter\u2019s Equatorial Jet Stream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/webb-stsci-01hcx1x7q1k50c25cvjrcv4tpk.png?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nThis image of Jupiter from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In this image, brightness indicates high altitude. The numerous bright white \u2018spots\u2019 and \u2018streaks\u2019 are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms. Auroras, appearing in red in this image, extend to higher altitudes above both the northern and southern poles of the planet. By contrast, dark ribbons north of the equatorial region have little cloud cover. In Webb\u2019s images of Jupiter from July 2022, researchers recently discovered a narrow jet stream traveling 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour) sitting over Jupiter\u2019s equator above the main cloud decks.<\/div>\nImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOn the other hand, Webb\u2019s look farther into the near-infrared than before is sensitive to the higher-altitude layers of the atmosphere, around 15-30 miles (25-50 kilometers) above Jupiter\u2019s cloud tops. In near-infrared imaging, high-altitude hazes typically appear blurry, with enhanced brightness over the equatorial region. With Webb, finer details are resolved within the bright hazy band.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The newly discovered jet stream travels at about 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour), twice the sustained winds of a Category 5 hurricane here on Earth. It is located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) above the clouds, in Jupiter\u2019s lower stratosphere<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nBy comparing the winds observed by Webb at high altitudes, to the winds observed at deeper layers from Hubble, the team could measure how fast the winds change with altitude and generate wind shears.<\/p>\n
Image: Jupiter\u2019s Winds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/webb-stsci-01hcx1xmkxd5crb6d49h0mhvq8.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nResearchers using NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) have discovered a high-speed jet stream sitting over Jupiter\u2019s equator, above the main cloud decks. At a wavelength of 2.12 microns, which observes between altitudes of about 12-21 miles (20-35 kilometers) above Jupiter\u2019s cloud tops, researchers spotted several wind shears, or areas where wind speeds change with height or with distance, which enabled them to track the jet. This image highlights several of the features around Jupiter\u2019s equatorial zone that, between one rotation of the planet (10 hours), are very clearly disturbed by the motion of the jet stream.<\/div>\n: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), A. James (STScI)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile Webb\u2019s exquisite resolution and wavelength coverage allowed for the detection of small cloud features used to track the jet<\/a>, the complementary observations from Hubble taken one day after the Webb observations were also crucial to determine the base state of Jupiter\u2019s equatorial atmosphere and observe the development of convective storms in Jupiter\u2019s equator not connected to the jet. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cWe knew the different wavelengths of Webb and Hubble would reveal the three-dimensional structure of storm clouds, but we were also able to use the timing of the data to see how rapidly storms develop,\u201d added team member Michael Wong of the University of California, Berkeley, who led the associated Hubble observations<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe researchers are looking forward to additional observations of Jupiter with Webb to determine if the jet\u2019s speed and altitude change over time.<\/p>\n
Image: Zoom in on Webb\u2019s View of Jupiter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\nA zoomed in view of Webb\u2019s Jupiter image. <\/div>\nImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (University of the Basque Country), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cJupiter has a complicated but repeatable pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, high above the winds in the clouds and hazes measured at these wavelengths,\u201d explained team member Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. \u201cIf the strength of this new jet is connected to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we might expect the jet to vary considerably over the next 2 to 4 years \u2013 it\u2019ll be really exciting to test this theory in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me that, after years of tracking Jupiter\u2019s clouds and winds from numerous observatories, we still have more to learn about Jupiter, and features like this jet can remain hidden from view until these new NIRCam images were taken in 2022,\u201d continued Fletcher.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The researchers\u2019 results were recently published in Nature Astronomy.<\/p>\n
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world\u2019s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\nMedia Contacts<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Laura\u00a0Betz<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 laura.e.betz@nasa.gov<\/a>
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nHannah Braun <\/strong>\u2013 hbraun@stsci.edu<\/a> , Christine Pulliam<\/em><\/strong><\/em> \u2013 cpulliam@stsci.edi<\/a>
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nDownloads<\/h2>\n
Download full resolution images for this article<\/a><\/strong> from the Space Telescope Science Institute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nRelated Information<\/h2>\n
NASA\u2019s Jupiter Website<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/jupiter\/<\/p>\nNASA\u2019s Solar System Website <\/a><\/strong>\u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/<\/p>\nMore Webb News<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/latestnews\/<\/p>\nMore Webb Images<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/multimedia\/images\/<\/p>\nWebb Mission Page<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nKeep Exploring<\/div>\nRelated Topics<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n
<\/figure>\u201cThis is something that totally surprised us,\u201d said Ricardo Hueso of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, lead author on the paper describing the findings. \u201cWhat we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet\u2019s fast rotation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The research team analyzed data from Webb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured in July 2022<\/a>. The Early Release Science program<\/a> \u2013 jointly led by Imke de Pater from the University of California, Berkeley and Thierry Fouchet from the Observatory of Paris \u2013 was designed to take images of Jupiter 10 hours apart, or one Jupiter day, in four different filters, each uniquely able to detect changes in small features at different altitudes of Jupiter\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though various ground-based telescopes, spacecraft like NASA\u2019s Juno and Cassini, and NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope have observed the Jovian system\u2019s changing weather patterns, Webb has already provided new findings on Jupiter\u2019s rings, satellites, and its atmosphere,\u201d de Pater noted.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n While Jupiter is different from Earth in many ways \u2013 Jupiter is a gas giant, Earth is a rocky, temperate world \u2013 both planets have layered atmospheres. Infrared, visible, radio, and ultraviolet light wavelengths observed by these other missions detect the lower, deeper layers of the planet\u2019s atmosphere \u2013 where gigantic storms<\/a> and ammonia ice clouds reside.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Webb\u2019s look farther into the near-infrared than before is sensitive to the higher-altitude layers of the atmosphere, around 15-30 miles (25-50 kilometers) above Jupiter\u2019s cloud tops. In near-infrared imaging, high-altitude hazes typically appear blurry, with enhanced brightness over the equatorial region. With Webb, finer details are resolved within the bright hazy band.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The newly discovered jet stream travels at about 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour), twice the sustained winds of a Category 5 hurricane here on Earth. It is located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) above the clouds, in Jupiter\u2019s lower stratosphere<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n By comparing the winds observed by Webb at high altitudes, to the winds observed at deeper layers from Hubble, the team could measure how fast the winds change with altitude and generate wind shears.<\/p>\n While Webb\u2019s exquisite resolution and wavelength coverage allowed for the detection of small cloud features used to track the jet<\/a>, the complementary observations from Hubble taken one day after the Webb observations were also crucial to determine the base state of Jupiter\u2019s equatorial atmosphere and observe the development of convective storms in Jupiter\u2019s equator not connected to the jet. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew the different wavelengths of Webb and Hubble would reveal the three-dimensional structure of storm clouds, but we were also able to use the timing of the data to see how rapidly storms develop,\u201d added team member Michael Wong of the University of California, Berkeley, who led the associated Hubble observations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The researchers are looking forward to additional observations of Jupiter with Webb to determine if the jet\u2019s speed and altitude change over time.<\/p>\n \u201cJupiter has a complicated but repeatable pattern of winds and temperatures in its equatorial stratosphere, high above the winds in the clouds and hazes measured at these wavelengths,\u201d explained team member Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. \u201cIf the strength of this new jet is connected to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we might expect the jet to vary considerably over the next 2 to 4 years \u2013 it\u2019ll be really exciting to test this theory in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me that, after years of tracking Jupiter\u2019s clouds and winds from numerous observatories, we still have more to learn about Jupiter, and features like this jet can remain hidden from view until these new NIRCam images were taken in 2022,\u201d continued Fletcher.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The researchers\u2019 results were recently published in Nature Astronomy.<\/p>\n The James Webb Space Telescope is the world\u2019s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Laura\u00a0Betz<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 laura.e.betz@nasa.gov<\/a> Hannah Braun <\/strong>\u2013 hbraun@stsci.edu<\/a> , Christine Pulliam<\/em><\/strong><\/em> \u2013 cpulliam@stsci.edi<\/a> Download full resolution images for this article<\/a><\/strong> from the Space Telescope Science Institute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Jupiter Website<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/jupiter\/<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Solar System Website <\/a><\/strong>\u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/<\/p>\n More Webb News<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/latestnews\/<\/p>\n More Webb Images<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/multimedia\/images\/<\/p>\n Webb Mission Page<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/<\/p>\nImage: Jupiter\u2019s Equatorial Jet Stream<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>Image: Jupiter\u2019s Winds<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>Image: Zoom in on Webb\u2019s View of Jupiter<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>Media Contacts<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nDownloads<\/h2>\n
Related Information<\/h2>\n
Related Topics<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n