Seeing in different lights paints a more detailed picture of Jupiter

Newly released images show the planet in infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light

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Jupiter, in infrared, visible, and ultraviolet glory

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/NASA/ESA, M.H. Wong and I. de Pater (UC Berkeley) et al. 

Astronomers have just released three newly processed images of Jupiter at three different wavelengths, a combination of photos from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini North telescope in Hawai’i that were taken in January 2017. By observing the planet at infrared, visible, and ultraviolet wavelengths of light and comparing the images to radio signal detections by the Juno spacecraft, scientists can better understand Jupiter's atmospheric phenomena such as wind patterns and cyclones. The radio signals detected by Juno correspond to blasts of lightning in Jupiter’s atmosphere. The location of these signals can be mapped to the images to see which types of clouds are present and how they move over time. More information about the science behind these images was published last year in The Astrophysical Journal.

Image diversity is important because each wavelength “sees” through different layers of the atmosphere. For example, the Great Red Spot is clearly visible in both the ultraviolet and visible images, but appears as a bright crescent in the infrared image. This glowing semicircle represents a gap in the clouds, a feature distinguishable with longer wavelength infrared light that can penetrate the upper atmospheric layers of thin haze. However, the gap is hard to detect with visible light since that haze is almost the same color as the thicker storm clouds surrounding it. In the ultraviolet image, the Great Red Spot appears larger and more uniform since the shorter wavelength ultraviolet light mostly captures the haze, obscuring features of the spot in lower layers that can be seen with visible light. In this way, each image is a separate piece of the puzzle, together giving more insight into what’s actually happening on the planet.

Ultimately, the trifecta of the Hubble, Gemini, and Juno will enable scientists to track changes in Jupiter’s atmosphere and perhaps even provide insight into one of the planet’s biggest mysteries: Why is the Great Red Spot shrinking?