Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere was recently observed by NASA’s Juno spacecraft and it looks like a swirly painting.
During its 23rd close flyby of the gas giant (perijove 23), Juno snapped a detailed view of the cyclonic storm above, which is approximately 1,200 miles wide. It’s located in a region of Jupiter dubbed the “north north north north temperate belt,” also known as NNNNTB, one of the planet’s many continuous cloud bands created by prevailing winds at different latitudes.
I’m now inbound for my next close pass by Jupiter! Current speed relative to the planet: 55,000 mph (89,000 kilometers per hour). At closest approach I’ll come within about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) of the cloud tops at speeds of about 130,000 mph (209,000 kph). pic.twitter.com/iogJH1DF9T
— NASA’s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) November 3, 2019
According to NASA, Jupiter is made of mostly hydrogen and helium, however, some of the colorful clouds may derive from plumes of phosphorus-containing gases and sulfur rising from the planet’s interior.
New #JunoCam raw images from my latest #Jupiter flyby are available now. 📸 Download, process + share: https://t.co/3VG1TGeVA9 See recent images processed by members of the public: https://t.co/0p4CNuWFTu pic.twitter.com/0hrGb90IaV
— NASA’s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) November 5, 2019
Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill developed this image by using data from Juno’s JunoCam imager. The image was taken by Juno on Nov. 3 at 2:08 p.m. PST (5:08 p.m. EST). During this time, Juno was roughly 5,300 miles from the gas giant’s cloud tops above a latitude of approximately 49 degrees.
Vortex view: I captured this detailed look at a cyclonic storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere during my latest close pass on Nov. 3. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill made this image from data sent by my JunoCam imager. See more at https://t.co/o5ADTL4u0c pic.twitter.com/SH40R7wKOu
— NASA’s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) November 8, 2019
Juno aims to reveal the origin and evolution of Jupiter and how the gas giant impacted the beginning years of our solar system. According to Juno’s website, the mission will determine how much water is in Jupiter’s atmosphere, examine Jupiter’s atmosphere to measure composition, cloud motions, and temperature, map Jupiter’s magnetic and gravity fields, and study Jupiter’s magnetosphere near its poles.
More on Geek.com:
- NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Spots Windy, Colorful Region on Jupiter
- NASA’s Juno Gets Ready to Jump Over Jupiter’s Shadow
- NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Detects Jupiter’s Striking Vista
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