On May 12, 2024, during its 61st flyby of Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft acquired a detailed image of Jupiter’s northern hemisphere, highlighting chaotic cloud structures and hurricane-like storms. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, image processing by Gary Eason © CC BY
Juno’s latest flyby captured changing images of Jupiter’s storms and cloud formations.
During its 61st close trip Thursday On May 12, 2024, NASAThe Juno spacecraft captured this color-enhanced view of the giant planet’s northern hemisphere. It provides a detailed view of turbulent clouds and cyclonic storms in what scientists know as the folded filament region. In these regions, the zonal jets that form the familiar banded patterns in Jupiter’s clouds break up, leading to turbulent patterns and cloud structures that form rapidly over a period of only a few days.
Citizen scientist Gary Eason took this image using raw data from the Juno cam instrument and applied digital processing techniques to enhance color and clarity.
At the time the original image was taken, the Juno spacecraft was about 18,000 miles (29,000 kilometers) from Jupiter’s cloud tops, at about 68 degrees north of the equator.
Source images from JunoGame are available to the public https://missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing. More information about NASA’s citizen science can be found here https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience And https://www.nasa.gov/solve/opportunities/citizenscience.
This illustration depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft soaring over Jupiter’s south pole. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Juno is a NASA spacecraft designed to study Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Launched on August 5, 2011, Juno’s mission is to better understand Jupiter’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. It also aims to search for clues about how the planet formed that could provide deeper insights into the early days of the solar system.
The spacecraft is part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, which is responsible for exploring the solar system with frequent, medium-scale missions. Juno is powered by solar panels, a significant feature because it operates farther from the Sun than previous solar-powered probes.
Juno entered Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016, and since then has been passing closely above the planet’s clouds to collect data. The probe uses a microwave radiometer to conduct its observations and a set of science instruments to peer beneath the dense cloud cover, including a set of cameras and sensors that map the planet’s magnetic and gravitational fields.
Juno’s discoveries have provided unprecedented views of Jupiter’s atmosphere, revealing complex structures in the composition of the planet’s storms, bands and its auroras. Juno’s mission, initially set to end in 2018, has been extended several times, allowing for continued exploration and discovery around Jupiter.
