The astronomers spied a high-speed jet stream in Jupiter’s lower stratosphere, an atmospheric layer about 25 miles (40 kilometers) above the clouds. “What we have always seen as blurred hazes in Jupiter’s atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet’s fast rotation,” he said. Jet stream revelationsResearchers compared winds detected by Webb at high altitudes with those within the lower layers picked up by Hubble and tracked changes in wind speed. Both space observatories were necessary to detect the jet stream, as Webb spotted small cloud features and Hubble provided a look at the equatorial atmosphere, including storms not related to the jet. Future observations of Jupiter using the Webb telescope may uncover more insights into the jet stream, such as whether its speed and altitude shift over time, as well as other surprises.

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Persons: James Webb, Webb, ”, Ricardo Hueso, Cassini, Imke de Pater, Hubble, Michael Wong, “, Leigh Fletcher, — it’ll Organizations: CNN, James Webb Space, University of, Hubble, University of California, University of Leicester Locations: Basque, Bilbao, Spain, Berkeley, United Kingdom