The Thermal Structure and Composition of Jupiter's Great Red Spot From JWST/MIRI
Abstract Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) was mapped by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/Mid‐Infrared Instrument (4.9–27.9 m) in July and August 2022. These observations took place alongside a suite of visual and infrared observations from; Hubble, JWST/NIRCam, Very Large Telescope/VISIR and amateur observers which provided both spatial and temporal context across the jovian disc. The stratospheric temperature structure retrieved using the NEMESIS software revealed a series of hot‐spots above the GRS. These could be the consequence of GRS‐induced wave activity. In the troposphere, the temperature structure was used to derive the thermal wind structure of the GRS vortex. These winds were only consistent with the independently determined wind field by JWST/NIRCam at 240 mbar if the altitude of the Hubble‐derived winds were located around 1,200 mbar, considerably deeper than previously assumed. No enhancement in ammonia was found within the GRS but a link between elevated aerosol and phosphine abundances was observed within this region. North‐south asymmetries were observed in the retrieved temperature, ammonia, phosphine and aerosol structure, consistent with the GRS tilting in the north‐south direction. Finally, a small storm was captured north‐west of the GRS that displayed a considerable excess in retrieved phosphine abundance, suggestive of vigorous convection. Despite this, no ammonia ice was detected in this region. The novelty of JWST required us to develop custom‐made software to resolve challenges in calibration of the data. This involved the derivation of the “FLT‐5” wavelength calibration solution that has subsequently been integrated into the standard calibration pipeline.
Authors
- Oliver King (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6271-0062)
- Heidi B. Hammel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8751-3463)
- Agustín Sánchez-Lavega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7234-7634)
- R. Hueso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0169-123X)
- M. R. Showalter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8580-4053)
- Stefanie N. Milam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7694-4129)
- P. G. J. Irwin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6772-384X)
- Thierry Fouchet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9040-8285)
- Katherine de Kleer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9068-3428)
- Glenn S. Orton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7871-2823)
- Leigh N. Fletcher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5834-9588)
- Pablo Rodríguez‐Ovalle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2594-2128)
- P. M. Fry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7367-6541)
- Jake Harkett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1223-8752)
- Imke de Pater (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4278-3168)
- Michael H. Wong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-5086)
- Michael T. Roman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8206-2165)
- Henrik Melin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5971-2633)
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- University of the Basque Country (ES)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR)
- Integra (United States) (US)
- Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (FR)
- Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
- Published
- 2024-09-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008415
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.33
Funders
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council