Io, as seen by JunoCam on NASA’s Juno spacecraft on April 9, 2024. Picture processing by Ted Stryk.
NASA’s Juno has accomplished it once more. Within the wake of its sixtieth orbit of Jupiter, the college bus-sized spacecraft has transmitted one other tranche of knowledge throughout the photo voltaic system that has been remodeled into spectacular pictures.
They arrive from a crew of citizen scientists on Earth, who every month obtain the uncooked information from JunoCam, a two-megapixel “outreach” digicam that takes pictures because it spins whereas touring at 127,000 mph. The ensuing information is then stitched collectively, processed and colorized to supply the great pictures you see right here.
Io and Europa, as seen by JunoCam on NASA’s Juno spacecraft on April 9, 2024. Picture processing by … [+]
Juno at present completes an orbit of Jupiter each 34 days. Nonetheless, it’s an elliptical orbit, which means it solely will get near Jupiter itself for just a few hours in every orbit. This era is named a perijove, and it’s when JunoCam is switched on.
Simply earlier than its newest perijove on April 9, JunoCam was switched on early to take pictures of two of Jupiter’s moons, Io and Europa. Io is probably the most volcanic world within the photo voltaic system, with eruptions orders of magnitude larger than something related on Earth.
Jupiter, as seen by JunoCam on NASA’s Juno spacecraft on April 9, 2024. Picture processing by Kevin … [+]
In December and January, Juno had super-close encounters with Io, reaching simply 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the moon’s floor. It was the closest cross since NASA’s Galileo probe imaged the volcanic moon in October 2001.
The pictures of Io are, this time, taken from a lot farther away however nonetheless have a lot scientific worth. The elevated distance additionally allowed JunoCam to take pictures of each Io and Europa in the identical discipline of view.
Io, as seen by JunoCam on NASA’s Juno spacecraft on April 9, 2024. Picture processing by Gerald … [+]
Juno has been exploring Jupiter since 2016, and it has flown very shut—and imaged—to a few moons, Ganymede, Europa and Io. The pictures of Io are notably necessary as a result of the subsequent two spacecraft due at Jupiter—NASA’s Europa Clipper in April 2030 and ESA’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) in 2031—will focus solely on Europa, Callisto and Ganymede, not Io.
It’s not sure how lengthy JunoCam will final for. In each December and January, the digicam suffered radiation injury, with an engineering problem which means that solely 44 of a deliberate 214 pictures had been taken throughout a perijove in January. It seems that the digicam overheated.
Jupiter, as seen by JunoCam on NASA’s Juno spacecraft on April 9, 2024. Picture processing by Kevin … [+]
JunoCam was initially designed to function in Jupiter’s high-energy particle setting for at the least seven orbits, however has survived far longer than hoped. The $1.1 billion solar-powered spacecraft was launched on August 5, 2011 and started to orbit Jupiter on July 4, 2016.
Juno’s subsequent perijove will happen on Might 12. Orbital mechanics are making every orbit migrate slowly northward. This has given scientists a primary glimpse of the polls of Jupiter up shut. Its mission will likely be full on September 15, 2025, when Juno will carry out a “loss of life dive” into the fuel large throughout its 76th perijove.
Wishing you clear skies and broad eyes.
