The Hubble Space Telescope has turned its ultraviolet gaze on Jupiter. It’s not the first time. But the result is always surprising and great.
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[EN VIDÉO] Jupiter’s clouds in 3D Thanks to data collected by the JunoCam aboard the Juno mission, the…
To fully understand a situation, it often makes sense to analyze it from different perspectives. AstronomersAstronomers know this well. And for several decades they have been using the capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope to collect different and unique data about the planets in our solar system. For example in the ultraviolet range.
Jupiter turns blue in the ultraviolet
To mark the passage of Jupiter in opposition – this is how astronomers describe the position of a planet that is opposite the Sun as seen from our Earth – and therefore closest to our planet, researchers at NASA have therefore released a destabilizing image of Jupiter that appears in this specific area. False colors have been added because our eyes are unable to distinguish ultraviolet light. And so the famous “Great Red Spot” of Jupiter appears here in “dark blue”. This is because haze particles that are located at high altitudes in the atmosphere of the largest planet in our solar system absorb light of these wavelengths. »
Jupiter: spectacular new images of its cloud bands
On the polar side of the gas giant planet, the nebulae of different sizes, compositions and heights absorb ultraviolet rays less. This results in reddish colors in the image.
Revealing the secrets of Jupiter’s atmosphere
This image released by NASA researchers is one of those used to study Jupiter’s superstorm system. The astronomers’ ultimate goal is to map the cloud structures in the giant planet’s atmosphere in three dimensions using ultraviolet light.