Pictures of Jupiter offer a unique look at its rings and auroras

In between spotting distant galaxy clusters, busy star-forming regions and never-before-seen cosmic features, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has trained its eyes on a subject closer to home, capturing spectacular new views of auroras, giant storms and swirling clouds on Jupiter.

The images, released Monday by NASA, show our solar system's largest planet in stunning detail, providing a valuable glimpse of the inner workings of the gas giant.

Imke de Pater, an emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, said she was surprised by Webb's observations of Jupiter.

"We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest," de Pater, who led the observations of Jupiter with colleagues from the Paris Observatory, said in a statement.

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