NASA’s Juno mission launched on August 5, 2011, traveled 1.74 billion miles (2.8 billion km) and entered Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016.
This new NASA ScienceCast video rounds up some of Juno’s coolest finds.
Juno’s mission is to measure Jupiter’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. It’s also searching for clues about how the planet formed, including whether it has a rocky core; how much water there is within the deep atmosphere; and Jupiter’s deep winds, which can reach speeds up to 384 miles per hour (618 km per hour).
Earth will pass between Jupiter and the sun this week! That means we’re now in the middle of the best time of year to see the planet. Learn more – including how to spot Jupiter – at EarthSky’s Tonight page.
Bottom line: NASA video describes the newest science from the Juno mission to Jupiter.