Images of Jupiter obtained by the JWST False colour composition. Image obtained at a wavelength sensitive to the upper clouds. Image obtained at a wavelength sensitive to the lower clouds. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA and Jupiter Early Release Science team.
Structure of the zonal winds on Jupiter from observations at visible wavelengths and in different filters used in the study . The background image is a combination of JWST images sensitive to the upper clouds. Left-hand panel: General structure of the zonal winds. Right-hand panel: Equatorial region with the new jet stream observed in the upper clouds.
Thanks to the JWST’s features, a three-dimensional view of Jupiter’s weather systems could be obtained: higher clouds appear bright in these images, and deeper clouds appear as dark regions. The JWST observations were also designed to obtain a measurement of the movements of the atmosphere by taking two sets of images separated by a full rotation of the planet, thus enabling a detailed study to be made of the cloud movements.