Special Reports

NASA's Juno Probe Captured Stunning Cosmic Bling Over Jupiter; Pearls Counter Saturn's Jewels

By

A few days ago NASA's space probe Juno captured a different image of Jupiter. The probe recently transmitted the image and showed one of the planet's giant spinning storm, which looks like pearls on its atmosphere. These pearls are so breathtaking it can compete to Saturn's rings.

Stunning Cosmic Bling at Juno

NASA's Juno captured the image after its third close flyby on Jupiter's southern hemisphere, Daily Mail reported. There were eight of these pearls seen on the planet's surface, but these numbers vary from six up to nine since the "string of pearls" were first seen in 1986. The image of the "pearl" was taken 15,300 miles above Jupiter.

Jupiter's "pearl" is like a giant white oval from a far. But with Juno's closer look, it is clear that it is a massive storm rotating counter-clockwise in the gas planet, as described by NASA officials.

Jupiter's many pearls captured by NASA's probe

NASA launched space probe Juno to Jupiter on August, 5, 2011 to study the planet's atmosphere in a more detailed look, Space reported. NASA also intends to use Juno to have deeper knowledge on the planet's origin, magnetic field, atmosphere, and structure.

The flyby it did last Sunday was its third since it got to Jupiter on July 4. It made a 53-day orbit around the planet. The closest that Juno got to the planet was 2,580 miles at a speed of 129,000 mph. It will make another close flyby on February 2, 2017.

The space probe uses JunoCam to take photos. The camera is a visible-light color device that was especially made to snap images of Jupiter's clouds and poles.

According to NASA officials, JunoCam will provide a wider view and contextualize the rest of the space probe's equipment. The camera was installed in the spacecraft for public engagement. Its images may be a very big help for scientists, but the camera is actually not considered as one of the science instruments for the NASA's Jupiter mission.

© 2024 University Herald, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion
Real Time Analytics