Using six telescopes on Earth and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of scientists led by
astronomy professor emerita Imke de Pater, peered under the storms, swirling clouds, and bands of color wrapping Jupiter to capture views of the gas giant in visible light and radio waves. "ALMA enabled us to make a three-dimensional map of the distribution of ammonia gas below the clouds. And for the first time, we were able to study the atmosphere below the ammonia cloud layers after an energetic eruption on Jupiter," Professor de Pater says. The researchers found that the storms create plumes above the ammonia ice clouds, and they show up as bright points on the planet's colorful bands, and they can last for months or years. "If these plumes are vigorous and continue to have convective events, they may disturb one of these entire bands over time, though it may take a few months," Professor de Pater adds. "With these observations, we see one plume in progress and the aftereffects of the others." Link to video. For more on this, see our press release at
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