Unveiled on August 22 by NASA, new images of Jupiter once again demonstrate the effectiveness of the James Webb telescope… and the insolent beauty of the giant planet.
Successfully deployed in early January and patiently tuned in the following months until delivering, in mid-July, the first dreamlike images published by Joe Biden in person, the James Webb Space Telescope offers us two remarkable new shots. And this time, the planet Jupiter is in the spotlight.
When two images are enough to amaze us…
Shared on Twitter by NASA, the two images give us a breathtaking view of Jupiter, but also of its Great Red Spot (the giant planet’s iconic anticyclone, which appears here in white). Superb auroras, located at the poles of Jupiter, and the unavoidable rings that surround it are also visible, as well as small moons and elegant mists (in yellow and green). A stunning panorama that amazes even planetary scientists.
As NASA states on its blog, these two spectacular photos result from the same instrument of the James Webb telescope: the NIRCam infrared camera. However, this high-precision module is content to capture raw data which, once sent to earth, is subject to methodical processing in order to translate it into images.
Sources: Numerama, NASA-Blog
22