You’ve Never Seen Jupiter Look So Much Like Cotton Candy
You probably know Jupiter, the rotund fifth planet from the Sun, as orange and tan with a big red splotch. But the Hubble Space Telescope recently imaged the gas giant in ultraviolet light, giving the world a very different look.
You probably know Jupiter, the rotund fifth planet from the Sun, as orange and tan with a big red splotch. But the Hubble Space Telescope recently imaged the gas giant in ultraviolet light, giving the world a very different look.
WatchFirst Full-Color Images From Webb Space Telescope CCShare SubtitlesOffEnglishThe planet’s Great Red Spotâ€â€a massive storm system in Jupiter’s midriffâ€â€appears a deep azure instead of its usual dark red. The spot looks darker because, as explained in a NASA release, haze in the loftier parts of Jupiter’s atmosphere absorb light at ultraviolet wavelengths.AdvertisementIt’s not the first time Jupiter’s gotten a makeover through the eyes of one of NASA’s space observatories. AdvertisementThe recent image was created from data taken by Hubble to study Jupiter’s superstorms, some particularly intense phenomena on what is already a very turbulent planet. But the ultraviolet image makes Jupiter look serene, like a sunset over calm waters. It puts a particularly surly planet in a new light.AdvertisementMore:
You probably know Jupiter, the rotund fifth planet from the Sun, as orange and tan with a big red splotch.
Based on reporting by gizmodo.com.