Jupiter is one of the most mysterious planets that swarm through our solar system. In addition, it is also the largest, and with a composition so strange that it would be impossible for us to set foot on it. Today, Juno probe gives us new images of the beloved gas giantand they are awesome.
Just a few weeks ago, this same Juno probe was visiting Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons and which it was not photographed since the end of the last century. Now that we have new images of the natural satellite of said planet, the time has come to return, and he has taken the opportunity to capture its surface in detail.
The Juno probe was launched in 2011, and finally reached Jupiter in 2016. Since then, she has been orbiting the planet’s surface in a highly elliptical path, passing the polar regions every five weeks or so. It is at these specific times that Juno can send the captured images back to Earth.
Juno gives us views of Jupiter like never before
This November 6, the Juno probe flew by 46.a once in the orbit of Jupiter. Since then, began to transmit the images taken with its two-megapixel camera to Earth, via NASA’s Deep Space Network.
The Juno mission has its own website. From here, any enthusiastic scientist can download the images, process them, and then upload the results to their social networks. In fact, that is what Andrea Luck has done, who has posted on her account Twitter a video of Juno approaching Jupiter, and created from still images.
The future of studies on the Jovian planet and its satellites
These enthusiastic scientists have also been essential to the Juno missions. It is thanks to them that the badly affected images of the probe can be processed and offer the impressive results that we see all over the internet. However, NASA and ESA would be about to put an end to this practice, creating specialized scientific teams in processing the images of the future JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) missions.
His intellectual power and experience have provided a remarkable set of images.
There is very little difference between them and what would be obtained on the Voyager or New Horizons missions. They’ve changed the way we look at how planetary mission teams work, and it’s been a very, very successful experiment.
Jonathan Lunine, planetary scientist at Cornell University and Juno mission co-investigator
Europa Clipper will be the next probe bound for Jupiter’s icy moon. Once in its orbit, will take care of capturing high-resolution images of its surfaceas well as studying the composition of its atmosphere, although we will have to wait until 2024 to see its launch (and until 2027 to see its arrival).
In 2023, on the other hand, will be the launch of the JUICE probe, although it will not arrive until 2031 at its destination. His mission will be to study Europa, Ganymede and Callisto for three and a half years.