Jupiter’s Bands

Jupiter's banded appearance is created by the cloud-forming "weather layer." In this composite image, the image on the left show's Jupiter's thermal energy being emitted in infrared light, with dark cloudy bands appearing as silhouettes against Jupiter's thermal glow. The image on the right shows Jupiter's appearance in visible light, with white cloudy "zones" and the relatively cloud-free "belts" appearing as red-brown colors. The composite was created using infrared data collected by the Gemini North telescope (left) and a visible-light image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Both images were created from data captured on Jan. 11, 2017. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24818