Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Canadians gathered Monday in cities and towns across the country to honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
NASA has released a new batch of images from the James Webb Space Telescope, this time, featuring Jupiter and some of its moons.
The images of our solar system’s biggest planet were taken using the telescope’s near infrared camera during instrument tests before official operations began on July 12. They come on the heels of NASA’s first batch of images from the James Webb Space Telescope, a set of deep field photos showing distant galaxies.
“Combined with the deep field images released the other day, these images of Jupiter demonstrate the full grasp of what Webb can observe, from the faintest, most distant observable galaxies to planets in our own cosmic backyard,†said Bryan Holler, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, in a issued Thursday.
The images show hot spots on Jupiter — like the Great Red Spot, a storm big enough to swallow the Earth — in bright yellow. Cooler spots appear in brown. Similarly, images taken with the telescope’s 2.12 micron filter show moons like Thebe and Metis in yellow, while Europa, which is encrusted in ice, appears dark in the centre. Europa’s shadow is also visible on the surface of Jupiter, to the left of the Great Red Spot.
“I couldn’t believe that we saw everything so clearly, and how bright they were,†said Stefanie Milam, Webb’s deputy project scientist for planetary science, in a media release on Thursday. “It’s really exciting to think of the capability and opportunity that we have for observing these kinds of objects in our solar system.â€
Phil Groff, is executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He said that while other satellites and probes like the Cassini and Juno spacecraft have taken detailed photos of Jupiter, these latest images are exciting because they demonstrate Webb’s ability to observe heat signatures not visible to the naked eye.
“Because we're looking at infrared and we're seeing heat patterns, we're able to see things in action that sometimes wouldn't be quite as visible,†Groff said. “So studying something like the Great Red Spot or studying something like any sort of active process using infrared gives us a chance to look at energy dynamics that are involved in a different way than you wouldn’t with just visible observation."
Left: Jupiter, center, and its moons Europa, Thebe, and Metis are seen through the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument 2.12 micron filter. Right: Jupiter and Europa, Thebe, and Metis are seen through NIRCam’s 3.23 micron filter. (Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, B. Holler and J. Stansberry)
For example, NASA scientists will attempt to see if they can capture images of plumes of material spewing out of moons like Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Enceladus, as well as the signatures of plumes depositing material on the surface of Europa, the agency said in a .
NASA’s scientists are particularly interested in learning more about Europa, due to the possibility that it may be in a vast liquid ocean beneath its icy crust.
Groff said anything scientists are able to learn about Europa and other objects in our solar system using Webb could further our understanding of the rest of the universe.
“It will give us a better sense of where there are large concentrations of water and other important chemicals in our system that might be signs for potential life… And also tell us more about how these things are distributed throughout the universe,†he said.
“If we assume our solar system isn't unique, taking a look at how our solar system functions â — and the chemical composition of it â — gives us a sense of what the rest of the universe might be like as well."
Canadians gathered Monday in cities and towns across the country to honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
Canada has announced changes to their visitor visa policies, effectively ending the automatic issuance of 10-year multiple-entry visas, according to new rules outlined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is naming longtime adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, to be the deputy chief of policy in his new administration.
Toy giant Mattel says it 'deeply' regrets an error on the packaging of its 'Wicked' movie-themed dolls, which mistakenly links toy buyers to a pornographic website.
If Earth's astronomical observatories were to pick up a signal from outer space, it would need an all-hands-on-deck effort to decipher the extraterrestrial message. A father-daughter team of citizen scientists recently deciphered the message. Its meaning, however, remains a mystery.
Business groups are raising concerns about the broad effects of another round of labour disruptions in the transport sector as Canada faces shutdowns at its two biggest ports.
A team of tornado experts is heading to Fergus, Ont. after a storm ripped through the area Sunday night.
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the ‘Gift-a-Family’ campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.