{"id":118140,"date":"2020-05-12T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T21:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=118140"},"modified":"2020-05-12T13:12:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T23:12:00","slug":"jupiters-jack-o-lantern-glow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/05\/12\/jupiters-jack-o-lantern-glow\/","title":{"rendered":"Jupiter\u2019s &lsquo;jack-o-lantern&rsquo; glow captured with <abbr>UH<\/abbr>-built instrument"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_77037\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_wk64GRVf9M?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Time lapse images of Jupiter captured on Maunakea\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"small-text\">Credit, International Gemini Observatory\/NOIRLab\/<abbr>NSF\/AURA<\/abbr><abbr>, M.H. Wong (<\/abbr><abbr>UC<\/abbr> Berkeley)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>A team of researchers recently released some of the sharpest images of Jupiter ever taken from the ground. Images captured with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gemini.edu\/\">Gemini North<\/a> telescope on Maunakea help reveal how the planet\u2019s massive storms form and confirm dark spots in its famous Great Red Spot are gaps not a variation in cloud color.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the most key observations in the study were obtained with the Near Infrared Imager (<abbr>NIRI<\/abbr>), an instrument that the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ifa.hawaii.edu\/\">Institute for Astronomy<\/a> (<abbr>IfA<\/abbr>) built for Gemini more than two decades ago. Researchers used a technique with <abbr>NIRI<\/abbr> called lucky imaging, in which a large number of short exposure images are taken and only the sharpest ones are kept.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This trick works so well only because of the exceptional quality of observing conditions on Maunakea. At inferior sites, you might not get any sharp images,&rdquo; said <abbr>IfA<\/abbr> Astronomer <strong>Klaus Hodapp<\/strong> who led the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> team that built <abbr>NIRI<\/abbr> for Gemini. &ldquo;<abbr>NIRI<\/abbr>\u2019s success is a testament to <abbr>IfA<\/abbr>\u2019s expertise in detector technology, optics and cryo-mechanical engineering.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Jupiter\u2019s &ldquo;jack-o-lantern&rdquo; glow<\/h2>\n<p><abbr>NIRI<\/abbr> enabled researchers to look deeply into Jupiter\u2019s massive storms which exposed images that create a &ldquo;jack-o-lantern&rdquo; effect. Because infrared radiation passes through thin haze but is blocked by thicker clouds, deep layers of the planet\u2019s atmosphere glow through gaps in Jupiter\u2019s thick cloud cover.<\/p>\n<p>Observations from Gemini were combined with imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope in support of NASA\u2019s Juno mission. The joint observing program has given scientists a better understanding of Jupiter\u2019s wind patterns, atmospheric waves and cyclones.<\/p>\n<p>The research team\u2019s results published in <a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/journal\/0067-0049\"><em>The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series<\/em><\/a> show lightning flashes on the gas giant planet are up to three times more powerful than Earth\u2019s largest bolts. Lightning strikes are formed in gigantic convective cells five times taller than similar cells on Earth.<\/p>\n<p>The newly-released imagery will be used by scientists to track weather patterns on Jupiter.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_118152\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118152\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/manoa-ifa-jupiter-image.jpg\" alt=\"Jupiter\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/manoa-ifa-jupiter-image.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/manoa-ifa-jupiter-image-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/manoa-ifa-jupiter-image-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118152\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: International Gemini Observatory\/NOIRLab\/<abbr>NSF\/AURA<\/abbr> M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A telescope instrument built by <abbr>IfA<\/abbr> for the Gemini North Observatory on Maunakea helps researchers capture never-before-seen images of Jupiter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[34,35,659,9],"class_list":["post-118140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-astronomy","tag-institute-for-astronomy","tag-maunakea","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118140"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118173,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118140\/revisions\/118173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}