{"id":23668,"date":"2021-03-18T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=23668"},"modified":"2021-03-25T11:53:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T15:53:10","slug":"23668","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=23668","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Powerful stratospheric winds on Jupiter measured with ground based array"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report from ESO (European Southern Observatory)<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Powerful stratospheric winds measured on Jupiter for the first time<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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This image shows an artist\u2019s impression of winds in Jupiter\u2019s stratosphere near the planet\u2019s south pole, with the blue lines representing wind speeds. These lines are superimposed on a real image of Jupiter, taken by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA\u2019s Juno spacecraft. Jupiter\u2019s famous bands of clouds are located in the lower atmosphere, where winds have previously been measured. But tracking winds right above this atmospheric layer, in the stratosphere, is much harder since no clouds exist there. By analysing the aftermath of a comet collision from the 1990s and using the ALMA telescope, in which ESO is a partner, researchers have been able to reveal incredibly powerful stratospheric winds, with speeds of up to 1450 kilometres an hour, near Jupiter\u2019s poles. Credits: ESO<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, a team of astronomers have directly measured winds in Jupiter\u2019s middle atmosphere for the first time. By analysing the aftermath of a comet collision from the 1990s, the researchers have revealed incredibly powerful winds, with speeds of up to 1450 kilometres an hour, near Jupiter\u2019s poles. They could represent what the team have described as a \u201cunique meteorological beast in our Solar System<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jupiter is famous for its distinctive red and white bands: swirling clouds of moving gas that astronomers traditionally use to track winds in Jupiter\u2019s lower atmosphere. Astronomers have also seen, near Jupiter’s poles, the vivid glows known as aurorae, which appear to be associated with strong winds in the planet\u2019s upper atmosphere. But until now, researchers had never been able to directly measure wind patterns in between these two atmospheric layers, in the stratosphere.<\/p>\n