APOD: Jupiter from the Stratosphere (2010 Jun 03)

[APOD Robot]

Jupiter from the Stratosphere

Explanation: SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, captured its "first light" images on May 26, from an altitude of 35,000 feet. While flying above most of planet Earth's infrared-absorbing water vapor, SOFIA's premier infrared views of the cosmos included this remarkable false-color image (right panel) of Jupiter. For comparison, on the left is a recent, ground-based visible light image. Both show our solar system's ruling gas giant without its dark southern equatorial belt (normally seen in the upper hemisphere in this orientation). That familiar feature faded from view early in May. But the bright white stripe in SOFIA's image is a region of Jupiter's clouds transparent to infrared light, offering a glimpse below the cloud tops.

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[bystander]

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... 36#p122536

[Beyond]

Here's definite for sure proof that if you want to see a good reflection of yourself - then you just have to buy a good mirror!

Apod says that the bright white strip is transparent to infared light and offers us a view below the cloud tops. Well, to me - the white strip looks like cloud tops!! So i guess we are seeing the bottom of the white cloudy strip. Whoopie

[yasgur]

I don't see anything useful in that image. Can anyone give a better explanation?

[zbvhs]

A billion bucks and that's the best resolution they can get? SOFIA needs to do better if people want to keep their jobs.

[orin stepanek]

Here's definite for sure proof that if you want to see a good reflection of yourself - then you just have to buy a good mirror!

Apod says that the bright white strip is transparent to infared light and offers us a view below the cloud tops. Well, to me - the white strip looks like cloud tops!! So i guess we are seeing the bottom of the white cloudy strip. Whoopie

I wasn't impressed with the picture either but I'm sure it has some scientific value. I like the usual pics of Jupiter better; but that's because I prefer beauty.

[neufer]

Apod says that the bright white strip is transparent to infared light and offers us a view below the cloud tops. Well, to me - the white strip looks like cloud tops!! So i guess we are seeing the bottom of the white cloudy strip. Whoopie

We associate white in the visible with clouds because they reflect the bright sunshine. However, clouds (especially frozen clouds) tend to be cold and to NOT radiate much in the infrared; ergo, they show up as darker. Infrared views of earth often are shown as a negative so that dark cirrus clouds show up as white again...but obviously that is NOT being done here.

[Tilt]

SOFIA has a Nice Ride…

[Beyond]

So that means that even though the infared is penetrating the white strip area, we are not seeing any reflections from beneath the white strip area because its too cold for the infared to be reflected back, or, the infared IS working and is telling us that its white under the surface that we normally see through a "regular" telescope

[HellCat]

I also wasn't impressed at first, but letting my eyes cross a bit got me to thinking. Did the stripes really line up?

I took a shot at some simple image overlay, and this is what I have to show.

Granted, the two photos don't coincide in terms of dates or rotation. I also had to enlarge the visible image 5% to get the sizes roughly equal, but did not change their orientation.

So why is the white stripe so far off from what shows up visibly? And what about the IR uniformity underlying the northern belts?

[Peter16]

I consider the APOD site to be the best on the web. This particular page could have been more meaningful if they had compared the "Stratospheric" IR camera with ground-based IR telescopes, such as the one located in Jelm Mountain, Wyoming--instead of the visible light spectrum version of Jupiter. This may have lent some credibility to the hypothesis that there is something to be gained by placing an IR scope on an airplane--which requires amazing (and expensive) motion correction.

[Ann]

As a true-color astronomy nerd, I find it a bit depressing that almost all major new astronomy projects seem to deal with infrared astronomy, which can only ever produce false-color images. Of course I, too, realize that infrared astronomy is incredibly important, because infrared telescopes can see things that must be forever hidden to telescopes like the Hubble.

But when I saw this infrared image of Jupiter taken by a telescope mounted on an airplane, I have to wonder if the infrared astronomy rage has not gone too far. The picture was infrared, indeed, but I have to question its scientific value.

I'm reminded of a little boy hanging upside down from a tree and shouting to his mom: Look mom, I can drink water when I'm upside down! And that telescope was sort of shouting to us all: Look everybody, I can take a picture of Jupiter when I'm riding an airplane!

The little boy in the tree probably spilled some of his water, which is not a big deal. But I have to question if that blurry image of Jupiter was worth the bucks it must have cost.

Ann

[Chris Peterson]

But when I saw this infrared image of Jupiter taken by a telescope mounted on an airplane, I have to wonder if the infrared astronomy rage has not gone too far. The picture was infrared, indeed, but I have to question its scientific value.

This instrument was not really intended for planetary IR imaging. But the caption notes that this is a first light image, and it is common for telescopes to be turned on easy, bright targets for their first test images.

[neufer]

Apod says that the bright white strip is transparent to infared light and offers us a view below the cloud tops. Well, to me - the white strip looks like cloud tops!! So i guess we are seeing the bottom of the white cloudy strip. Whoopie

We associate white in the visible with clouds because they reflect the bright sunshine. However, clouds (especially frozen clouds) tend to be cold and to NOT radiate much in the infrared; ergo, they show up as darker. Infrared views of earth often are shown as a negative so that dark cirrus clouds show up as white again...but obviously that is NOT being done here.

Or here: