NASA has unveiled an extraordinary new perspective of Jupiter, offering a glimpse of the gas giant in ultraviolet light, a view rarely seen before. Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the image showcases Jupiter in a dazzling false-color composite, with its iconic Great Red Spot appearing in a vivid shade of blue rather than its typical crimson hue.
How Ultraviolet Light Unveils a Hidden Jupiter
Ultraviolet (UV) light is a form of electromagnetic radiation positioned between visible light and X-rays on the electromagnetic spectrum. While invisible to the human eye, certain animals, like bees, can detect it. To make the UV details comprehensible to us, the image was processed using filters that mapped ultraviolet wavelengths into visible colors, creating the striking false-color composite.
The Great Red Spot, a colossal storm system on Jupiter, is a standout feature in this image. Spanning about 10,000 miles (roughly 16,000 kilometers)—or 1.3 times the diameter of Earth—the storm has been a prominent feature of the planet for centuries. Although its exact origins are unclear, records suggest its presence since at least the 1600s. Interestingly, the storm has gradually been shrinking in recent decades.
According to NASA, the winds within the Great Red Spot reach astonishing speeds of up to 400 mph (644 km/h), vastly exceeding any terrestrial storm. Despite extensive studies, scientists are still uncertain about the chemical interactions responsible for the storm’s reddish appearance. Possible contributors include ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.
Why This Image Is So Special
This groundbreaking image was released to commemorate Jupiter’s recent opposition—a celestial alignment where the Earth sits directly between the gas giant and the sun. This event brings Jupiter to its closest approach to Earth, approximately 367 million miles (590 million kilometers) away, making the planet appear particularly bright in the night sky.
Opposition occurs every 13 months as Earth and Jupiter complete their respective orbits around the sun. This year’s event coincided with a “planetary parade,” where Jupiter joined Venus, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in a rare alignment visible from Earth. While Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn are visible to the naked eye, Uranus and Neptune require telescopes due to their immense distance from our planet.
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