Jupiter (Nov. 2022 and Jan. 2023)

Jupiter (Nov. 2022 and Jan. 2023)

[left]—The forecast for Jupiter is stormy weather at low northern latitudes. A prominent string of alternating storms is visible, forming a "vortex street" as some planetary astronomers call it. This is a wave pattern of nested anticyclones and cyclones, locked together like in a machine with alternating gears moving clockwise and counterclockwise. If the storms get close enough to each other, in the very unlikely event of a merger, they could build an even larger storm, potentially rivaling the current size of the Great Red Spot. The staggered pattern of anticyclones and cyclones prevents individual storms from merging. Activity is also seen interior to these storms; in the 1990s Hubble didn't see any cyclones or anticyclones with built-in thunderstorms, but these storms have sprung up the last decade. Strong color differences indicate that Hubble is seeing different cloud heights and depths as well.

The orange moon Io photobombs this view of Jupiter's multicolored cloud tops, casting a shadow toward the planet's western limb. Hubble's resolution is so sharp that it can see Io's mottled-orange appearance, related to its numerous active volcanoes. These volcanoes were first discovered when the Voyager 1 spacecraft flew by in 1979. The moon's molten interior is overlaid by a thin crust through which the volcanoes eject material. Sulfur takes on various hues at different temperatures, which is why Io's surface is so colorful. This image was taken on November 12, 2022.

[right]—Jupiter's legendary Great Red Spot takes center stage in this view. Though this vortex is big enough to swallow Earth, it has actually shrunken to the smallest size it has ever been over observation records dating back 150 years. Jupiter's icy moon Ganymede can be seen transiting the giant planet at lower right. Slightly larger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. It is a cratered world with a mainly water-ice surface with apparent glacial flows driven by internal heat. (This image is smaller in size because Jupiter was 81,000 miles farther from Earth when the photo was taken.) This image was taken on January 6, 2023.

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Credits

Science

NASA, ESA, STScI, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), Michael H. Wong (UC Berkeley)

Image Processing

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

About The Object
Object Name Jupiter
Object Description Planet
Distance On Nov. 12, 2022 Jupiter was 4.26 AU from Earth (about 396 million miles). On Jan. 06, 2023 Jupiter was 5.07 AU from Earth (about 472 million miles).
About The Data
Data Description The HST observations include those from program (A. Simon)
Instrument WFC3/UVIS
Exposure Dates 12 Nov. 2022, 06 Jan. 2023
Filters F395N, F502N, F631N
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample medium wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F395N, Green: F502N, Red: F631N
Compass Image Two views of Jupiter appear side-by-side for comparison. At the top, left corner of the left image is the label Jupiter. Centered at the bottom is the label Nov 2022. The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. White and cream colored ovals punctuate the planet. About one-third from the top, what appears to be a band of brownish orange, swirling waves traverses Jupiter’s face. The relatively small, variegated orange moon Io is just above the bottom third of the planet’s face and slightly right of center. Io casts a black shadow that appears at Jupiter’s far left. In the right image, centered at the bottom is the label Jan 2023. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is the most prominent feature, centered on the bottom third of this view. The icy moon Ganymede appears as a gray, mottled orb crossing Jupiter’s face slightly below and to the right of the Great Red Spot. In this view, Jupiter is somewhat farther away, so it appears slightly smaller than on the left.
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Image Credit The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content.
Publication Date The date and time the release content became public.
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Orientation The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere.

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