Dettagli sorprendenti di Giove emergono dalle nuove immagini ultra nitide catturate dal telescopio spaziale James Webb di Nasa, Agenzia spaziale europea (Esa) e canadese (Csa): nel "primo piano" del pianeta gigante è possibile vedere le aurore brillanti sopra i due poli e le alte foschie, mentre in un'altra immagine a campo più largo si possono riconoscere anche gli anelli di Giove e due sue piccole lune, che si stagliano su uno sfondo di galassie.
Le immagini sono state catturate lo scorso 27 luglio, grazie ai tre filtri a infrarossi della Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), e sono state poi rielaborate con il contributo di una giovane appassionata di astronomia, Judy Schmidt, che in passato (grazie a un progetto dell'Esa) aveva già partecipato a progetti di "citizen science" per l'elaborazione automatica di immagini del telescopio Hubble.
"Non abbiamo mai visto Giove in questo modo: è tutto così incredibile", commenta l'astronoma Imke de Pater, dell'Università della California a Berkeley, che ha guidato le osservazioni scientifiche insieme a Thierry Fouchet, dell'Osservatorio di Parigi.
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