Jupiters Great Red Spot is a hurricane-like storm about 10,200 miles (16,500km) wide and at least 150 years old. On July 10, the Juno spacecraft will complete the first ever up-close study of this storm, flying 5,600 miles (9,000km) above the Great Red Spot. In preparation for this landmark opportunity to observe some of our solar systems most extreme weather, the Gemini and Subaru Telescopes on Mauna Kea have taken some stunning images of Jupiter to supplement the data Juno is expected to obtain.
Why are Earth-based observations so important, when Juno is sitting in orbit around the giant planet? Observations with Earth's most powerful telescopes enhance the spacecraft's planned observations by providing three types of additional context, Juno science team member Glenn Orton of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory explained in a press release. We get spatial context from seeing the whole planet. We extend and fill in our temporal context from seeing features over a span of time. And we supplement with wavelengths not available from Juno. The combination of Earth-based and spacecraft observations is a powerful one-two punch in exploring Jupiter.
The infrared image obtained with the Gemini North Telescopes Near-InfraRed Imager (NIRI) on May 18 allowed astronomers to probe the uppermost regions of Jupiters atmosphere. As one of the highest-altitude features on the planet, the Great Red Spot appears as a bright white oval with narrow streaks on either side. These streaks are thought to be atmospheric features undergoing stretching by the storms high winds.
On the same night, the Subaru Telescope imaged Jupiter using its Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS). This data revealed structures further down inside the storm, such as its cold and cloudy interior increasing toward its center, with a periphery that was warmer and clearer, said Orton.
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NASA releases stunning views of Jupiter's Great Red Spot - Astronomy Magazine