An incredible image of glowing Jupiter has been produced by astronomers using a “lucky imaging” technique.
The shot is one of the sharpest observations of the huge planet ever captured by a telescope on Earth.
It was taken in infared by the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii.
The “lucky imaging” technique was used to scrub out the blurry effect that occurs when looking at an object through Earth’s turbulent atmosphere.
It involved taking multiple exposures of Jupiter and only keeping the least blurry shots.
These “lucky shots” are then pieced together to create a clear image.
Infrared imaging was also used to see past the haze and clouds we usually see at the top of Jupiter’s atmosphere.
This enabled researchers to see Jupiter’s glowing warmer areas much more clearly.
This could help scientists probe deeper into Jupiter’s internal workings, such as the reasons behind the planet’s great storms.
Jupiter is thought to have such powerful storms that they can last for decades or even centuries.
The study that produced this image was led by the University of California at Berkeley.
It involved observations from the Hubble and Juno spacecrafts.
Michael Wong of UC Berkeley, who led the research team, said: “These images rival the view from space.”
Credit: Source link
