A NASA probe has captured stunning new images of Jupiter, showing the gas giant in its ‘true colors’.
The Juno spacecraft observed the complex colors and swirling patterns of the planet’s clouds as it made its 43rd close flyby on July 5.
Raw images captured by the JunoCam instrument were released to the public, and then software engineer Björn Jónsson stepped in to process them.
Mr. Jónsson processed an image to represent the approximate colors the human eye would see from Juno’s point of view.
Then, using the same data, he created another with increased saturation and contrast, allowing for a clearer and more colorful view of Jupiter.
The Juno spacecraft observed the complex colors and swirling patterns of Jupiter’s clouds as it made its 43rd close flyby on July 5, 2022
A near true color and high contrast image of Jupiter processed by Björn Jónsson from the PJ44_46 raw image framelets created by NASA’s JunoCam instrument. north is up
An enhanced image of Jupiter processed by Björn Jónsson from the PJ43_41 raw image framelets created by NASA’s JunoCam. Contrast and color saturation have been increased and detailed features have been sharpened. Special processing was also used to reduce compression artifacts and noise in the image. north is up
At the time of the instrument’s flyby, it was about 3,300 miles (5,300 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops at a latitude of about 50 degrees.
The spacecraft was moving relative to the planet at about 209,000 kilometers per hour (130,000 mph).
Mr. Jónsson, a citizen scientist and self-proclaimed advanced amateur planetary image processor, managed to depict the structure of Jupiter’s clouds.
As he increased color saturation and contrast, small features were sharpened while compression artifacts and noise were reduced.
The variation in colors results from different chemical composition within the planet’s atmosphere.
Its processed images also show the three-dimensional nature of Jupiter’s large swirling vortices and the smaller, bright “pop-up” clouds that form in the higher parts of the atmosphere.
The Juno probe reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016 after a five-year journey of 1.8 billion miles (2.8 billion km) from Earth.
After a successful braking maneuver, it entered a long polar orbit, flying within 5,000 km (3,100 miles) of the planet’s swirling cloud cover.
The probe came within just 4,200 km (2,600 miles) of the planet’s clouds every two weeks — too close to provide global coverage in a single image.
No previous spacecraft has orbited so close to Jupiter, although two more have been sent through its atmosphere to destroy them.
The new images were promoted by NASA just days after the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured the stunning auroras glowing around Jupiter’s north and south poles.
As Jupiter spins, it drags its magnetic field with it, which is bombarded by solar wind particles, causing fluctuations that create auroras.
This is a similar process to how solar winds create the wonderful Aurora Borealis on Earth.
As Mr. Jónsson increased color saturation and contrast, small-scale features were sharpened while compression artifacts and noise were reduced
Along with the glowing poles, the images show incredible detail of the turbulent atmosphere, rings around the planet, and some of Jupiter’s 79 moons glowing around the giant planet.
Astronomers collaborating with JWST are equally surprised to see the stunning detail in the images, with astronomer Imke de Pater saying he and the team didn’t expect the results to be so good.
“It’s really remarkable that in one image we can see details of Jupiter along with its rings, tiny satellites and even galaxies,” said de Pater, who is also professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
The images were captured with the telescope’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam), which is capable of detecting infrared light from the earliest stars and galaxies.
The new images were promoted by NASA just days after the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured the stunning auroras glowing around Jupiter’s north and south poles. An image (shown) of Jupiter alone is a composite of multiple images and shows the auroras wafting in brilliant orange, yellow and green over Jupiter’s north and south poles
How NASA’s Juno probe to Jupiter will reveal the mysteries of the solar system’s largest planet
The Juno probe reached Jupiter in 2016 after a five-year journey of 1.8 billion miles from Earth
The Juno probe reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016 after a five-year journey of 1.8 billion miles (2.8 billion km) from Earth.
After a successful braking maneuver, it entered a long polar orbit, flying within 5,000 km (3,100 miles) of the planet’s swirling cloud cover.
The probe came within just 4,200 km (2,600 miles) of the planet’s clouds every two weeks — too close to provide global coverage in a single image.
No previous spacecraft has orbited so close to Jupiter, although two more have been sent through its atmosphere to destroy them.
To complete his perilous mission, Juno survived a circuit-damaging radiation storm created by Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field.
The vortex of high-energy particles traveling at nearly the speed of light is the harshest radiation environment in the solar system.
To cope with the conditions, the spacecraft was protected with special radiation-resistant wiring and sensor shielding.
Its all-important “brain” – the spacecraft’s flight computer – was housed in an armored titanium vault and weighed nearly 400 pounds (172 kg).
The ship is scheduled to study the composition of the planet’s atmosphere by 2025.
