Subj : Using Webb, scientists measure high-speed jet stream in Jupiters atmos To : All From : NasaSpaceFlight Date : Sun Oct 29 2023 21:00:13 Using Webb, scientists measure high-speed jet stream in Jupiters atmosphere Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2023 20:55:03 +0000 Description: Scientists recently discovered a high-speed jet stream at Jupiters equator using the joint NASA/European Space The post Using Webb, scientists measure high-speed jet stream in Jupiters atmosphere appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com . FULL STORY ====================================================================== Scientists recently discovered a high-speed jet stream at Jupiters equator using the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope. Webbs images helped the team of scientists track fine details through the planets atmosphere, allowing them to measure these winds for the first time. The newly discovered jet stream will provide scientists with insight into how the layers of Jupiters turbulent atmosphere interact. Webb observed the jet stream on July 27, 2022, when it peered into Jupiters lower stratosphere, the atmospheric layer above the planets cloud tops. The images allowed scientists to measure winds of up to 515 kilometers per hour, or about twice the sustained winds of a category five hurricane on Earth. The Jovian jet stream is located 40 kilometers above the clouds and, at approximately 4,800 kilometers wide, quite narrow relative to the immense size of Jupiter. This is something that totally surprised us, said lead author Ricardo Hueso of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain. What we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiters atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planets fast rotation. Jupiters fly like a jet stream high above the whole scene Webb has discovered a 3000-mi (4800-km) wide jet stream over Jupiters equator, above the main cloud decks. More on Webb's unique ability to track interactions in Jupiter's layered atmosphere: https://t.co/028rfjUkiN pic.twitter.com/2Xd5mKJI2c NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) October 19, 2023 Before Webb reached L2 and began performing scientific observations, scientists had been able to characterize the winds in the Jovian troposphere, the layer just below the stratosphere. Using ground-based telescopes and NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, researchers were able to take infrared temperature measurements and resolve details in the clouds. Tracking how these clouds moved through the planets atmosphere allowed scientists to measure the winds at cloud level. However, these previous observations did not reveal much detail in the haze above Jupiters clouds . These hazes showed up on images as featureless, low-contrast areas. But now, with Webbs incredible suite of infrared instruments, scientists were finally able to receive detailed images of the entire planet across a broad spectrum of light, allowing them to discern and track faint details in the planets equatorial hazes for the first time. Jupiter is a bright target for Webb, which meant the researchers had to limit the frequencies of light they observed. They did so by using filters on the telescopes Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). These filters not only dimmed the planet enough for Webb to observe it but also allowed the researchers to target specific altitudes for their observations. This diagram displays how Webb uses filters to observe various altitude ranges in the Jovian atmosphere. (Credit: 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)) Its amazing to me that, after years of tracking Jupiters 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, said co-author Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Hueso et al. repeated their observations after the planet had completed one rotation, ten hours later. By doing this, the researchers could observe the same area twice and see how the atmosphere changed over time. See Also JWST Mission Updates Space Science coverage L2 Future Spacecraft Click here to Join L2 In order to wholly understand the dynamics of Jupiters atmosphere and the newly discovered jet stream, the scientists compared the images from Webb with observations Hubble had taken the day after. With Hubbles images, they observed how the jet stream interacted with the cloud layer below it and measured how fast the winds changed with altitude and caused wind shears. We 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, said co-author Michael Wong of the University of California, Berkeley, who led the associated Hubble observations. Interestingly, scientists have long pondered the existence of this jet stream. Ultraviolet (UV) images from NASAs Cassini spacecraft gave scientists early hints of the now-confirmed jet stream. Cassini observed Jupiter in 2000 when it flew by on its way to its destination Saturn and showed an increase in wind speed a few kilometers above the clouds at Jupiters equator. Ultimately, Cassinis measurements did not lead to firm conclusions, as the low contrast in the UV images caused large uncertainties in the measurements. These highlights from Webbs NIRCam images show how the details in Jupiters equatorial jet stream changed between one rotation of the planet (ten hours). (Credit: 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)) Later in its mission, Cassini revealed equatorial jet streams on Saturn which are very similar to the newly discovered jets on Jupiter. By studying the differences and similarities between both planets, the researchers hope to unravel the mechanisms that shape the weather patterns around the equators of fast-rotating giant planets. Jupiter 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, Fletcher explained. If the strength of this new jet is connected to this oscillating stratospheric pattern, we might expect the jet to vary considerably over the next two to four years itll be really exciting to test this theory in the years to come. The data used in this study was collected for Webbs Early Release Science program. This program was set up to demonstrate the telescopes full potential and explore its capabilities. This also allowed scientists to explore Webb data and plan follow-up observations. Even though various ground-based telescopes, spacecraft like NASAs Juno and Cassini, and NASAs Hubble Space Telescope have observed the Jovian systems changing weather patterns, Webb has already provided new findings on Jupiters rings, satellites, and its atmosphere, said Imke de Pater from the University of California. De Pater jointly led the Early Release Science program with Thierry Fouchet from the Observatory of Paris. Hueso et al.s results were published in Nature Astronomy on Oct. 19, 2023. Lead image: False color image of Jupiter taken with Webbs NIRCam. Credit: 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) The post Using Webb, scientists measure high-speed jet stream in Jupiters atmosphere appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com . ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/10/jovian-jetstream/ --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100) .