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Jupiter’s Atmosphere (Illustration)

A portion of the graphic that displays wind speeds on Jupiter at different altitudes. The portion of this graphic shows the ends of three arrows that travel across the graphic from the left to the right. The top most arrow (colored in sky blue) extends the farthest right to about 3/4 the way across the graphic, the middle arrow (colored in periwinkle) extends to a little less than halfway across the graphic, and the bottom arrow (colored in light grey) extends to about 1/4 the way across the graphic. Extending out below each arrow is a cone of the same color to indicate the +/- error margin. There is Webb's image of Jupiter in the background of the graphic.

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a high-speed jet stream traveling over Jupiter’s equator above the main cloud decks. The jet is traveling 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour). It is located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) in altitude, in Jupiter’s lower stratosphere, just above the tropospheric hazes next to the boundary between the layers.

Jupiter has a layered atmosphere, and this illustration displays how Webb is uniquely capable of collecting information from higher layers of the altitude than before. Scientists were able to use Webb to identify wind speeds at different layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere in order to isolate the high-speed jet. The observations of Jupiter were taken 10 hours apart, or one Jupiter day, in three different filters, noted here, each uniquely able to detect changes in small features at different altitudes of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

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Image Alt Text

A portion of the graphic that displays wind speeds on Jupiter at different altitudes. The portion of this graphic shows the ends of three arrows that travel across the graphic from the left to the right. The top most arrow (colored in sky blue) extends the farthest right to about 3/4 the way across the graphic, the middle arrow (colored in periwinkle) extends to a little less than halfway across the graphic, and the bottom arrow (colored in light grey) extends to about 1/4 the way across the graphic. Extending out below each arrow is a cone of the same color to indicate the +/- error margin. There is Webb's image of Jupiter in the background of the graphic.

  • Release Date
    October 19, 2023
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Discovers New Feature in Jupiter’s Atmosphere
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ricardo Hueso (UPV), Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley), Thierry Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Michael Wong (UC Berkeley); Illustration: Andi James (STScI)

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Jupiter (NIRCam Image)

This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In this image, brightness indicates high altitude. The numerous bright white "spots" and "streaks" are likely very...

The infographic shows Webb’s image of Jupiter at the left. The planet is striated with swirling horizontal stripes of neon turquoise, periwinkle, and cream. Below the planet, the NIRCam filters and their respective colors assigned are listed – F164N in blue, F212N in green, and F360M in red. On the right side of the infographic, there are 8 separate images. Two of those images are horizontal and span the entire right half of the infographic. The top horizontal image is labeled F212N 10:52 UT and the bottom is labeled F212N 20:55 UT. They are zoomed-in pullouts from a section of Jupiter’s equator—outlined in a white box on the image of the planet on the left. Both of these images are white and grey with horizontal wispy clouds. There are 6 smaller boxes in between the two horizontal images—3 rows of 2. The first column of the boxes is outlined in orange, the second column purple and the third yellow. Each of the smaller images correspond to orange, purple, and yellow boxes placed along the horizontal images.

Jupiter Jet Pullouts (NIRCam Image)

Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) have discovered a high-speed jet stream sitting over Jupiter’s equator, above the main cloud decks. At a wavelength of 2.12 microns, which observes between altitudes of about 12-21 miles (20-35...

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Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ricardo Hueso (UPV), Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley), Thierry Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Michael Wong (UC Berkeley)

Illustration Credit

Andi James (STScI)

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