The image of a storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere is an illustration not a picture by the James Webb telescope – FactCrescendo | The leading fact-checking website in India

The image of a storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere is an illustration, not a picture captured by the James Webb Telescope.

Fifth in line from the Sun, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. Recently an image of thunderstorm on Jupiter has gone viral on social media. Many users have shared the post claiming that it has been captured by the James Webb telescope. The picture shows dark grey clouds and small specks of light and the caption states “This is what a thunderstorm on Jupiter looks like. It was taken by the James Webb space telescope and is one of the clearest images ever produced of the planet”.

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Fact Check-

By conducting a reverse Image Search on Google we discovered an image titled: Shallow Lightning on Jupiter (Illustration) published on NASA‘s official website on 5 August, 2020. The image is identical to the viral image, and the caption states that it was created using data obtained by NASA’s Juno mission to represent high-altitude electrical storms on Jupiter. The illustration was credited to Gerald Eichstädt, a “citizen scientist” with NASA who contributes to the Juno mission.There is no mention of the James Webb telescope or the capturing of the image, anywhere in the description. 

In further search we came across an article on the website of India Times, dated 28 December, 2020, with a caption “Best Space Images Of 2020: Sand Dunes On Mars To Electrical Storms On Jupiter.  One of the pictures in the article matches with the viral image and the description, informing that it is an illustration from 5August, 2020, made from data received from NASA’s Juno mission.

NASA launched the infrared James Webb telescope in December 2021, describing it as the premiere space-science observatory of the next decade.The viral illustration pre-dates the launch. Therefore, it is not related to the James Webb telescope.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image is false. The image of a storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere is an illustration created using data from NASA’s Jupiter mission Juno. Not an image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Title:The image of a storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere is an illustration not a picture by the James Webb telescope

Written By: Usha Manoj 

Result: False