You’ve probably heard the phrase “red hot” before. If you’ve ever watched a blacksmith heating metal, you may have see how it begins to glow a dull red, then brightens before turning yellow and finally white. These colors actually correspond to particular temperatures, which is why blacksmiths often work in the dark: it lets them see the color of the glowing metal better, and they can use that to gauge how hot it is.
Although Jupiter is not known for being hot by Earth standards, the Great Red Spot is actually very hot. It’s not hot enough to glow visibly, but it *is* hot enough to glow in the infrafed. That’s why it shows up so brightly on infrared cameras like the ones JWST uses.
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