NASA’s Juno spacecraft continues to beam again some eye-opening views of our bizarre photo voltaic system.
The area company lately launched(opens in a brand new tab) a vivid picture from the Jupiter-orbiting mission, exhibiting the glow from lightning inside a Jovian storm. Amid this swirling vortex, the flash occurred in clouds of an “ammonia-water resolution,” a bit completely different than our puffy water vapor clouds right here on Earth.
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The glow from a lightning bolt on Jupiter.
Credit score: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS // Picture processing by Kevin M. Gill
Juno snapped this picture on its thirty first journey across the gasoline large, a planet so huge it has almost 100 moons. The picture, initially captured in 2020, was processed final yr and simply launched by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which ceaselessly shares pictures of its robotic extraterrestrial missions, notably on Mars and Jupiter.
By now, Juno has swooped round Jupiter over 50 instances, lately capturing gorgeous imagery of the volcanic moon Io — which is essentially the most volcanically lively world in our photo voltaic system. Final yr, Juno additionally flew over the moon Europa, snapping wealthy views of the pure satellite tv for pc’s cracked, icy floor. NASA suspects this moon nearly definitely harbors a briny ocean. (The company is getting ready to ship a mission(opens in a brand new tab) there, too.)
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An illustration of the Juno spacecraft, and its giant photo voltaic panels, orbiting Jupiter.
Credit score: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Jupiter is famously stormy. Its large pink spot, a vortex that is larger than Earth, has spun for hundreds of years. The tempestuous clouds of water and ammonia swirl by way of a hydrogen and helium-dominated environment.
And NASA expects to see extra lightning in these storm clouds. “Within the coming months, Juno’s orbits will repeatedly take it near Jupiter because the spacecraft passes over the enormous planet’s night time facet, which is able to present much more alternatives for Juno’s suite of science devices to catch lightning within the act,” the company stated(opens in a brand new tab).
Additionally on the horizon is Juno’s closest-ever cross by Io, which is able to occur in late December after which once more in January 2024. The spacecraft will cross just a few 930 miles from the Jovian moon, and its erupting volcanoes.