Probing Jupiter's atmosphere for the first time, the Hubble Space Telescope's new Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) provides a sharp glimpse of the planet's ring, moon, and high-altitude clouds. The presence of methane in Jupiter's hydrogen- and helium-...
Probing Jupiter's atmosphere for the first time, the Hubble telescope's infrared camera is providing a sharp glimpse of the planet's ring, moon, and high-altitude clouds.
The presence of methane in Jupiter's hydrogen- and helium-rich atmosphere has allowed Hubble to plumb Jupiter's atmosphere, revealing bands of high-altitude clouds. Visible-light observations cannot provide a clear view of these high clouds because the underlying clouds reflect so much visible light that the higher-level clouds are indistinguishable from the lower layer.
