‘Glowing Jupiter’ image beamed back by James Webb Telescope

Team Udayavani, Aug 2, 2022, 2:53 PM IST

Image credit: NASA

Washington D.C.: A bright and glowing image of the ‘gas giant planet’ Jupiter was captured by the world’s most powerful telescope, the James Webb Telescope.

In the image beamed back by the telescope, one can see the iconic ‘Great Red Spot’ of the planet glowing in the darkness, appearing bright white.

The image was captured by the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) of the telescope on Jul 27.

The telescope observed the planet for 11 minutes using the F212N filter, which observes light that has a wavelength of 2.12 microns, which is about the length of a common bacterium.

As per the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, which runs the telescope, this week it will be looking at lo, Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Hygeia, the large asteroid, and the supernova remnants Cassiopeia A.

As the telescope is deployed in understanding the thermal structure, aurora, winds, and other distinct phenomena that take place on the planet, the astronomers are also hopeful of finding signs of life.

The astronomers are also curious to get answers on whether we can see plumes of material spewing out of moons like Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus, using the Webb telescope.

Jupiter as seen by the Hubble Telescope (Image credit: Nasa)

It can be learned that NASA had released these images of Jupiter in its full glory captured by the Hubble Telescope’s powerful lenses.

(With inputs from India Today)