You’ve never seen Jupiter like this before.
NASA released two new photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope on Monday—this time, showcasing an infrared look at the solar system’s biggest planet.
The first photo revealed a wide field view of Jupiter, highlighting the bright shine of the planet’s auroras along with its faint rings. Two Jovian moons can also be spotted to the left of the gas giant. The agency pointed out in a press release that you can even spy two galaxies in the lower background “photobombing” the picture.
The JWST's NIRCam composite image captures Jupiter's rings, auroras, moons, and even two galaxies photobombing it at the bottom.
NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) and Judy Schmidt“We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest,” Imke de Pater, a planetary astronomer at NASA who helped lead the Webb's Jupiter observations, said in the press release. “It’s really remarkable that we can see details on Jupiter together with its rings, tiny satellites, and even galaxies in one image.”
The other photo gave a closer look at the planet itself, revealing vibrant auoras that shine red due to the filters used, accompanied by swirls of yellow and green haze on its northern and southern poles. Both images utilized the JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera, which uses special infrared filters to reveal the details of the planet humans can’t see with their naked eye.
Jupiter's northern and southern poles reveal its auroras (red) and a planetary haze (green and yellow).
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmid
