In addition, in Jupiter’s North Equatorial Belt, the maps illustrate an new wave that had previously been seen only by Voyager 2 many years ago. these “baroclinic waves” are associated with the formation cyclones. Footage from the telescope released Tuesday reveal new findings regarding Jupiter, including a 300-year-old storm called the “Great Red Spot”, according to NASA and the European Space Agency. Its longest axis is now 150 miles shorter than it was in 2014.
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Using these images from the Hubble Space Telescope, those scientists have created new maps of Jupiter. Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 produced two complete maps of the solar system’s largest planet. “This time is no exception”.
It’s also not as red as it used to be, astronomers say, with less intense colors at its center and newly-observed wispy filaments twisting and turning through it in 330 miles per hour winds. Images also capture unique atmospheric waves, similar to ones sometimes seen on Earth. The rare wave structure seen on the planet is believed to have originated in a clear layer beneath the clouds, and is likely only visible when it propagates up into the cloud deck.
“Until now, we thought the wave seen by Voyager 2 might have been a fluke”, Glenn Orton of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement. Saturn will be added to the series later.
The Hubble has been going strong for a solid twenty-five years, but a newer and far more advanced piece of technology, the James Webb Space Telescope, looms in the horizon with a potential launch date set for 2018.
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“The long-term value of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program is really exciting”, said co-author Michael H. Wong of the University of California, Berkeley. While you’re most likely familiar with the gas giant’s distinct looks, these new high-res images show just how much it has changed since the last time it was captured on cam.
