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Jupiter

SPACE: Water Vapor Detected on Ganymede

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Ganymede - NASA

In the wisp-thin sky of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the largest satellite in the solar system, astronomers have for the first time detected evidence of water vapor, a new study finds. The discovery could shed light on similar watery atmospheres that may envelop other icy bodies in the solar system and beyond, researchers said. Previous research suggested that Ganymede — which is larger than Mercury and Pluto, and only slightly smaller than Mars — may contain more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. However, the Jovian moon is so cold that water on its surface is frozen solid. Any liquid … Read more

SPACE: Ganymede Gets Its Close-Up

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Ganymede - Juno - NASA

Swooping low over Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, NASA’s Juno probe has snapped the first close-up photographs of the frozen giant in more than two decades — and they’re breathtaking. Juno zoomed as close as 645 miles (1,038 kilometers) from the icy surface of the solar system’s largest moon Monday (June 7), giving the spacecraft just a 25-minute window to snap photos — long enough for five exposures —— before it zipped away on its 33rd orbit of Jupiter. Two photos from the flyby released by NASA Tuesday (June 8) — one of Ganymede’s light, sun-facing side and the other of … Read more

space: Juno Orbiter Captures Mesmerizing Images of Jupiter Cyclones

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Jupiter Cyclones

Jupiter’s north pole is a swirling mass of cyclones, and their mesmerizing dance was recently captured in astonishing detail in images from JunoCam, the visible light camera/telescope on NASA’s Juno orbiter. The Juno mission, launched on Aug. 5, 2011, has been collecting data on Jupiter since 2016. Juno recently completed its 29th orbit of the gas giant, and its scientific instruments are revealing clues about Jupiter’s cyclone clusters.  They are also providing a glimpse into atmospheric zones that are warmer and drier than surrounding areas. These atmospheric hot spots fuel discharges of electricity and shape the formation of “mushballs” — … Read more

SPACE: Jupiter’s Red Spot Persists

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Jupiter - Yay Images

Despite the apparent shrinkage of clouds in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, the storm itself is still going strong, new research suggests. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot represents the most powerful storm in the solar system. While earlier studies have suggested that the storm has been shrinking since at least the 1800s, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, argued Nov. 25 at a conference of the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics that there is no evidence that the vortex that powers the cloud formation is changing. “I don’t think its fortunes were ever bad,” Philip Marcus, a professor of … Read more

SPACE: Jupiter for Trans Rights?

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What’s that up in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? It’s Jupiter saying, at the top of its gas-filled lungs, “trans rights!” The fifth planet from the sun has made the groundbreaking decision to come out in favour of trans rights. Jupiter was snapped in UV light by the Hubble Telescope late last year, but has gone viral again in a tweet from a trans activist who tagged a photo of the planet with: “Jupiter says trans rights.” Full Story From Pink News

SPACE: Jupiter Flies Its Bi Flag

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Bi Jupiter - NASA

Jupiter can be seen in a whole new light in a photo released by NASA showing the planet in the colours of the trans flag. The photo, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in February 2017 and posted on Tuesday (October 16) on the US government space agency’s Astronomy Picture of the Day page, shows the largest planet in our Solar System in near-ultraviolet light—leading to its white, pink and blue appearance.  “Jupiter appears different in near ultraviolet light, partly because the amount of sunlight reflected back is distinct, giving differing cloud heights and latitudes discrepant brightnesses,” NASA explains … Read more

SPACE: New Animation Captures the Cyclones of Jupiter’s North Pole

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Jupiter Storms

Using data from NASA’s Juno mission, researchers created a 3D flyover of the gas giant’s north pole in infrared. It shows the turbulent dynamics of the pole, which is topped by a huge cyclone about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) across. Ringing this monster atmospheric storm are eight other cyclones with diameters ranging from 2,500 to 2,900 miles (4,000 to 4,700 km). The Juno spacecraft launched on Aug. 5, 2011, and entered Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016, flying as low as 2,200 miles (3,500 km) over the highest cloud tops of the planet, according to NASA. The goal of the … Read more

SPACE: Pictures from that Jupiter Flyby

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Jupiter Red Spot

Images of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot reveal a tangle of dark, veinous clouds weaving their way through a massive crimson oval. The JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno mission snapped pics of the most iconic feature of the solar system’s largest planetary inhabitant during its Monday (July 10) flyby. The images of the Great Red Spot were downlinked from the spacecraft’s memory on Tuesday and placed on the mission’s JunoCam website Wednesday morning. “For hundreds of years scientists have been observing, wondering and theorizing about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot,” said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in … Read more

SPACE: NASA Craft Flies Over Jupiter’s Red Spot

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Cassini Jupiter

Scientists are about to get an up-close and personal look at the planet Jupiter’s most famous landmark, the Great Red Spot. NASA’s Juno spacecraft will be directly over the spot shortly after 10 p.m. ET Monday, July 10, about 5,600 miles above the gas giant’s cloud tops. That’s closer than any spacecraft has been before. The spot is actually a giant storm that has been blowing on Jupiter for centuries. It’s huge, larger than Earth in diameter. Not only will Juno’s camera be able to capture detailed images of the spot, but the probe also carries scientific instruments that can … Read more