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And now, a word from Juno at Jupiter

Posted by
Deborah Byrd
and
Eleanor Imster
and
March 6, 2020
Blue ball with white swirls.
Jupiter at mid-northern latitudes as seen by Juno during Perijove 25. The small, round, swirly spots are storms in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Kevin M. Gill.

The Juno mission to Jupiter has been orbiting the giant planet since 2016, and NASA has made the raw images from Juno’s camera available to the public for processing. Click here if you want to help. Juno has a 53-day orbit around Jupiter, and close passes of the planet are called perijoves, from the Greek word peri meaning near. Images are now coming in from Juno’s most recent close sweep past the planet, Perijove 25, on February 17, 2020. We’ve also included some images on this page from the next-to-last sweep past Jupiter (Perijove 24) on December 26, 2019.

A half Jupiter, partial view of round planet with a broad white band around it.
Jupiter as seen from the south, also from Perijove 25. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Kevin M. Gill.

Brian Swift processed the video below, using imagery from the JunoCam instrument during Perijove 25.

The best place to see the latest processed images from Juno is probably Twitter. Follow the three people below, who are active in image processing.

More than 40 slice-like partial images of Jupiter.
Here’s a mosaic of images of Jupiter, processed and assembled by Brian Swift from Perijove 24. He labeled this as a “collage [with] exaggerated contrast/color.” Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Brian Swift.

And here’s a cool image to end on, processed by citizen scientist Tanya Oleksuik and released by NASA on March 2, 2020. It’s from the second-to-last close sweep past Jupiter by Juno, in December 2019 (Perijove 24). Tanya created this color-enhanced image using data from the JunoCam camera.

Partial orbital view of Jupiter with two relatively small white ovals overlapping.
See the 2 white ovals merging, within the orange-colored band? NASA’s Juno spacecraft caught these 2 storms in the act of merging on December 26, 2019, a few days after a close flyby of the planet (Perijove 24). The 2 merging white ovals are anticyclones; they rotate counter-clockwise. The larger of the ovals has been tracked for many years, as it grew in size through mergers with other anticyclonic white ovals on Jupiter. Read more about this image. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Tanya Oleksuik.

Bottom line: Newly processed images from the days around the Juno spacecraft’s most recent low pass over the planet – called a “perijove” – on December 17, 2019.

Read a recent story from Forbes about science results from Juno: Is Jupiter A Water World? NASA Finds ‘Abundance’ As New Images Show Giant Planet As A ‘Blue Marble’

Posted 
March 6, 2020
 in 
Space

Deborah Byrd

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About the Author:
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.

Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:
Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.

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