Photobolog showcasing some amazing images of Jupiter taken by JunoCam in 2020
Enjoy these images showing what a fantastic world Jupiter is!
NASA’s Juno spacecraft was launched in 2011 and has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016 to “understand origin and evolution of Jupiter, look for solid planetary core, map magnetic field, measure water and ammonia in deep atmosphere, observe auroras”. The mission is scheduled to end in July 2021.
Polar cyclones on Jupiter. IMAGE DATA: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SWRI/MSSS. IMAGE PROCESSING: GERALD EICHSTÄDT © CC BY
Juno is in 53-day orbits rather than 14-day orbits as initially planned because of a concern about valves on the spacecraft’s fuel system. This longer orbit means that it takes more time to collect the needed science data.
HIGH ALTITUDE ELECTRICAL STORM. Image: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SWRI/MSSSProcessing: GERALD EICHSTÄDT
During its orbit, Juno also gets to the nearest point to the planet’s centre, called perijove. It has now completed its 31st perijove.
Jupiter as seen on 2020-08-20, and processed by citizen scientists Kevin M Gill. NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SWRI/MSSS/KEVIN M GILL
Roses on Jupiter. Image from February 17, 2020 processed by citizen scientist Rita Najm shows Jupiter from an altitude of about 7,900 miles 12,700 kilometers above the planets cloud tops. Image Data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWRI/MSSS.
On board is the JunoCam, a camera that provides closes up raw images of the gas giant, which are then made available to the public and processed by citizen scientists.
Another view of Jupiter’s polar cyclones. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Processing: GERALD EICHSTADT
Amateur astrophotographers also upload their own images on NASA’s Juno website. These provide context for new JunoCam images.
THREE VIEWS OF CLOUD TOPS. IMAGE DATA: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SWRI/MSS. IMAGE PROCESSING: BRIAN SWIFT
The many storms of Jupiter. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Processing Brian Swift, John Rogers
Showing the Great Red Storm from an altitude of 15,429 km on 30-12-2020. Image Date: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Processing: Brian Swift
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html
Saima Baig
I am a Chartered Environmentalist from the Royal Society for the Environment, UK and co-owner of DoLocal Digital Marketing Agency Ltd, with a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, an MBA in Finance, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics. I am passionate about science, history and environment and love to create content on these topics.
