THE UNIVERSITY of Reading has announced that astronomers have discovered new featured of one of the most recognisable parts of our solar system.
Researchers have used the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space to explore a part of Jupiter previously considered “unremarkable.”
It follows the launch of the James Webb Telescope, with which a team, including a researcher from the University of Reading, was awarded usage time.
Dr James O’Donoghue was part of the team, which took advantage of the telescope’s infrared sensitivity to study the upper atmosphere of Jupiter.
There they discovered a number of intricate structures such as dark “arcs” and brighter spots above the planet’s famous Great Red Spot, following examinations of the region in “unprecedented” detail.
This is evidence of previously unknown natural activity, as explained in the publication of the team’s findings in Nature Astronomy.
Researchers propose that these structures are the result of atmospheric gravity waves created by windy weather layers underneath.
The atmospheric “waves” observed are also occasionally seen on Earth, though in a much weaker form.
Now the team is hoping to conduct further investigation using the James Webb Telescope to chart the movement of the waves
Dr James O’Donoghue, the University of Reading astronomer who contributed to the study, said: “Using the James Webb Space Telescope, we observed Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, focusing on regions high above the Great Red Spot.
“At altitudes more than a thousand miles above Jupiter’s clouds, we discovered remarkable, previously unseen details: bright emission spots and massive atmospheric bands comparable in size to the UK’s length and Russia’s width.”
He explained: “Our study argues these complex, overlapping structures are atmospheric gravity waves, propelled by extremely windy weather layers below.
“Previous observations lacked the resolution to detect these features, with pixels covering areas as large as Africa. Our breakthrough comes from achieving England-sized pixels, allowing us to study these waves for the first time and probe Jupiter’s upper atmospheric weather in unprecedented detail.”
Lead author, Henrik Melin of the University of Leicester, said: “We thought this region, perhaps naively, would be really boring.
“It is in fact just as interesting as the northern lights, if not more so. Jupiter never ceases to surprise.”
