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Jupiter Compass Image

A side-by-side image titled "Jupiter HST/WFC3/UVIS" shows opposite faces of Jupiter banded in brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream stripes, on the black background of space. Below the title is a color key with filters and colors used to create the images: "F395N" blue; "F502N" green, and "F631N" red. At bottom center is the label "January 5, 2024." At left is scale bar “34,000 mi over 55,000 km." Many large storms and white clouds punctuate the planet—The Great Red Spot is in the left bottom third of this view. On the right-hand image, centered at the bottom is the label "January 6, 2024." To the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation on the sky. The north arrow points towards 11 o'clock; the east arrow points toward 8 o'clock. On this side of the planet, at upper right center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of the image is Jupiter's tiny orange-colored moon Io.

A side-by-side image titled "Jupiter HST/WFC3/UVIS," shows opposite faces of Jupiter on the black background of space. Below the title is a color key with the filters and colors used to create the images – "F395N" blue; "F502N" green, and "F631N" red. Centered at the bottom is the label "January 5, 2024." To the left is a scale bar "34,000 mi over 55,000 km." Jupiter is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the left bottom third of this view. To its lower right is a smaller reddish anticyclone, Red Spot Jr. Another small red anticyclone appears near the top center of the image. On the right-hand image, centered at the bottom is the label "January 6, 2024." To the right are compass arrows indicating the orientation on the sky. The north arrow points towards the 11 o'clock direction. The east arrow points toward 8 o'clock. This other side of Jupiter is also banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream, with many large storms and small white clouds punctuating the planet. At upper right of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of the image is Jupiter's tiny moon Io. The variegated orange color is where volcanic outflow deposits are seen on Io's surface.

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    On January 5th and 6th, 2024 Jupiter was 4.56 AU from Earth (about 424 million miles or 682 million km).

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The HST observations include those from program 16995 (A. Simon). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    Jan. 5-6, 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F395N, F502N, F631N
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Jupiter
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Planet
  • Release Date
    March 14, 2024
  • Science Release
    Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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A side-by-side image titled "Jupiter HST/WFC3/UVIS" shows opposite faces of Jupiter banded in brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream stripes, on the black background of space. Below the title is a color key with filters and colors used to create the images: "F395N" blue; "F502N" green, and "F631N" red. At bottom center is the label "January 5, 2024." At left is scale bar “34,000 mi over 55,000 km." Many large storms and white clouds punctuate the planet—The Great Red Spot is in the left bottom third of this view. On the right-hand image, centered at the bottom is the label "January 6, 2024." To the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation on the sky. The north arrow points towards 11 o'clock; the east arrow points toward 8 o'clock. On this side of the planet, at upper right center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of the image is Jupiter's tiny orange-colored moon Io.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample medium wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F395N, Green: F502N, Red: F631N.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 10, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Science Credit

NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)

Image Processing Credit

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)