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No matter how many images we see of our solar system, we never get tired of looking in space, and the latest images of Jupiter are enough to knock down the jaws of the most seasoned cosmic observers.
In the image above, you see a new radio wave image made with the Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope group, providing a rare glimpse of what's going on under the clouds Colorful and swirling ammonia that we know better. see when Jupiter is photographed.
Radio waves allow us to observe weather conditions after one of Jupiter's storms, about 50 kilometers below ammonia.
The images are not only breathtaking, but they also provide valuable information on the evolution of Jupiter's weather systems. They also suggest that storms disrupt the colored bands on the upper layer of the gas giant's surface.
"ALMA has allowed us to draw a three-dimensional map of the distribution of ammonia gas under clouds," said Imke de Pater, of the University of California at Berkeley.
"And for the first time, we were able to study the atmosphere beneath the layers of ammonia clouds after an energetic eruption on Jupiter."
These energetic eruptions are similar to thunderstorms on Earth and often involve lightning. They are in the form of small luminous plumes on the visible cloud layer of Jupiter, but researchers have been able to look deeper.
Two bright white feathers (center) on Jupiter, with a larger disturbance downstream to their right. (Pater's Imke, Robert Sault, Chris Moeckel, Michael Wong and Leigh Fletcher)
The radio wave images obtained from ALMA and other telescopes show high concentrations of ammonia gas, and the observations correspond to a current assumption on the formation of white plumes, namely that 's. they are triggered by moist convection currents at the base of the deeper water clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. .
It appears that these eruptions are sufficient to push the ammonia gases well above the main cloud bridge until the tropopause – the coldest part of the atmosphere – where they spread a little like the thundering clouds of cumulonimbus thundering here on Earth, causing visible white plumes as they freeze.
ALMA and Hubble images compared. (ALMA (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO), I. de Pater et al., NRAO / AUI NSF, S. Dagnello, NASA / Hubble)
The researchers followed up on these images after Australian amateur astronomer Phil Miles noticed a disruptive plume on Jupiter's visible cloud belt.
They compared the ALMA radio wave images with photos captured by the Hubble telescope and average infrared distance images, all of the same period.
This is a fine example of the community of amateur astronomers and scientists from many observatories and agencies working together to create something truly special: another beautiful (and very useful) look at the largest planet in our solar system .
"If these plumes are vigorous and continue to have convective events, they can disrupt one of these bands over time, although it may take a few months," said de Pater.
"With these observations, we see an ongoing plume and the after-effects of others."
The search was accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal and is available for reading on the pre-print server arXiv.org.
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