Jupiter (Planet) -- Photographs from space; Jupiter probes; Voyager Project
To measure the total energy radiated by a planet, it is necessary to
utilize infrared radiation at wavelengths more than one hundred times
longer than the wavelengths of visible light. Even when detectors were
developed that could measure such radiation, it was impossible to
observe celestial sources such as Jupiter because of the opacity of the
terrestrial atmosphere. Even a tiny amount of water vapor in our own
atmosphere can block our view of long-wave infrared. To make the
required measurements, it is necessary to carry a telescope to very high
altitudes, above all but a fraction of a percent of the offending water
vapor.
In the late 1960s a Lear-Jet airplane was equipped with a telescope and
made available by NASA to astronomers to carry out long-wave infrared
observations from above 99 percent of the terrestrial water vapor. In
1969 Frank Low of the University of Arizona and his colleagues used this
system to make a remarkable discovery: Jupiter was radiating more heat
than it received from the Sun! Repeated observations demonstrated that
between two and three times as much energy emanated from the planet as
was absorbed. Thus Jupiter must have an internal heat source; in effect,
it shines by its own power as well as by reflected sunlight. Theoretical
studies suggest that the heat is primordial, the remnant of an
incandescent proto-Jupiter that formed four and one-half billion years
ago.
[Illustration: Images of Jupiter in visible light (below) and
five-micrometer infrared light show the planet’s characteristic
belts and zones. The infrared image reveals areas that emit large
amounts of thermal energy. The source of the energy is thought to be
breaks in the Jovian cloud cover, which allow investigators a
glimpse of the deep regions of the atmosphere. One of the mysteries
of Jupiter concerns its heat balance: The planet appears to radiate
more heat than it receives from the Sun. [P-20957]]
[Illustration: Jupiter in visible light.]
At the same time that the internal heat source on Jupiter was being
revealed with long-wave airborne infrared telescopes, a new discovery
was being made from short-wave infrared observations. The clouds of
Jupiter are too cold to emit any detectable thermal radiation at a
wavelength of 5 micrometers (about ten times the wavelength of green
light). Nevertheless, images of Jupiter at 5 micrometers revealed a few
small spots where large amounts of thermal energy were being emitted.
The sources of the energy appeared to be holes or breaks in the clouds,
where it was possible to see deeper into hotter regions. The discovery
of these hot spots opened the possibility of probing deep regions of the
Jovian atmosphere that had previously been beyond the reach of direct
investigation.
The Jovian Magnetosphere
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