Jupiter and Ring in Infrared from Webb
Explanation:
Why does Jupiter have rings?
Jupiter's main ring was discovered in 1979 by NASA's passing
Voyager 1 spacecraft,
but its origin was then a mystery.
Data from NASA's
Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003,
however, confirmed the hypothesis that
this ring
was created by meteoroid impacts on small nearby moons.
As a small meteoroid strikes tiny
Metis, for example, it will bore into the moon,
vaporize, and explode dirt and dust off into a
Jovian orbit.
The featured image of Jupiter in
infrared light by the
James Webb Space Telescope
shows not only
Jupiter
and its clouds,
but this ring as well.
Also visible is Jupiter's
Great Red Spot (GRS) -- in comparatively light color
on the right, Jupiter's large moon Europa -- in the center of
diffraction spikes on the left, and
Europa's shadow -- next to the
GRS.
Several features in the image are
not yet well understood, including the
seemingly separated cloud layer on Jupiter's right limb.
Celestial Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
