Juno has been studying Jupiter for nearly a decade, after entering its orbit in 2016, following several years of flight to its destination. NASA has extended the spacecraft’s mission, and it continues to provide us with stunning images of the gas giant’s system and its many moons.
In the new image from the Juno probe we have the opportunity to admire clouds of a gas giant, which look very surreal in the image. You might feel like you’re looking at a painting by Vincent van Gogh. The view is certainly eye-catching, but what is actually visible in the photo below?
The image was captured by the Juno probe. during the flight on May 12, 2024. and it was already the 61st such mission of the NASA spacecraft when it approached to the planet’s clouds at a distance of about 29 thousand km. The formations seen in the image are located in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere and show massive storms persisting in the atmosphere.
The spacecraft captured raw data using the JunoCam instrument, a visible light camera. The image was then modified by Gary Easonwho used digital processing techniques to enhance the colors and clarity of clouds in Jupiter’s atmosphere. The final result can now be seen in the image.
The Juno probe has already made dozens of flybys of Jupiter, allowing it to collect a lot of valuable data about the gas giant. NASA is also using the spacecraft to study the planet’s moons, of which there are dozens. In this volcanic Io Whether icebound Europewhere there is a liquid ocean beneath a thick crust. Scientists say there may be some life there.
The probe’s mission was supposed to be much shorter, but NASA decided to extend it and made that decision a few years ago. Juno is not always very close to Jupiter, because the machine could be damaged by the planet’s radiation. That’s why missions involve approaching the gas giant, then performing a flyby and then moving away to a safe distance.
Source: geekweek.interia.pl
