NASA Publishes Stunning New 'Jupiter Marble' Image Created By 'Citizen Scientist'

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NASA has published Jupiter using data from its Juno space probe, but the image itself was created by a volunteer citizen scientist.

Who created the 'Jupiter Marble' image?

Kevin Gill, a software engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles, is one of a team of volunteers downloading images from Juno's "outreach camera" and post-processing them to create stunning images. He also produced & nbsp;an incredible image of Jupiter's giant jet-stream& nbsp; last month. & nbsp;

What is NASA Juno doing at Jupiter?

Juno's scientific mission is to study the little-studied atmosphere and magnetosphere of Jupiter, with photography little more than an afterthought. Its "JunoCam" therefore does not have a science team. It's a 53-day polar orbit of the giant planet and spends most of its time taking measurements of the outer atmosphere and magnetosphere.

What is JunoCam?

JunoCam is the world's first "outreach camera", and aside from studies of its & nbsp;initial photos and its cyclones,& nbsp; few astronomers making any serious use of its images. Although it only occasionally makes a close pass of Jupiter (called a perijove), when it does so it shoots images, as it spins, using its basic two-megapixel, 58 & deg; field of view camera. & nbsp; Those raw images are then uploaded an online collaboration community, and quickly made available for anyone to download and process themselves.

What does the 'Jupiter Marble' image show?

Kevin Gill's latest image of Jupiter features its Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere. It's a color-enhanced composite of three images captured by JunoCam as Juno performed on close of the gas giant on Feb. 12, 2019, between 9:59 a.m. PST (12:59 p.m. EST) and 10:39 p.m. PST (1:39 p.m. EST). It was Juno's 17th science pass of Jupiter.

What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot?

The Great Red Spot is a 400-year old storm that's twice the size of Earth, and easily the biggest in the solar system. Its winds are as fast as 425 miles per hour. It's possible to "spot the spot"& nbsp; by pointing any 4-inch telescope at Jupiter. The giant planet will be "opposition" (and so on its brightest of 2019) on May 8. Any telescope will also make out Jupiter's kiln Ion, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which were first seen by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, in January 1610, though his homemade telescope .

Who are these 'citizen scientists'?

There have been plenty more impressive uploads from Gill, German mathematician Gerald Eichst & auml; dt, Icelandic software engineer Bj & ouml; rn J & oacute; nsson and London-based visual artist Se & aacute; n Doran.

Wishing you & clear skies and wide eyes

–

Follow me on Twitter & nbsp;@jamieacarter& Nbsp;@TheNextEclipse& nbsp; or read my other Forbes articles via & nbsp;my profile page. & Nbsp;

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NASA has published a survey of the planet Jupiter using data from its Juno space probe, but the image itself was created by a volunteer citizen scientist.

Who created the 'Jupiter Marble' image?

Kevin Gill, a software engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles, is one of a team of volunteers who has been downloading images from Juno's "outreach camera" and post-processing them to create stunning images. He also produced an incredible image of Jupiter's giant jet-stream last month.

What is NASA Juno doing at Jupiter?

Juno's scientific mission is to study the little-studied atmosphere and magnetosphere of Jupiter, with photography little more than an afterthought. Its "JunoCam" does not have a science team. It's a 53-day polar orbit of the giant planet and spends most of its time taking measurements of the outer atmosphere and magnetosphere.

What is JunoCam?

JunoCam is the world's first "outreach camera", and aside from studies of its initial photos and its cyclones, few astronomers making some serious use of its images. Although it only occasionally makes a close pass of Jupiter (called a perijove), when it does so it shoots images, as it spins, using its basic two-megapixel, 58 ° field of view camera. These raw images are then uploaded to an online collaboration community, and quickly made available for anyone to download and process themselves.

What does the 'Jupiter Marble' image show?

Kevin Gill's latest image of Jupiter features its Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere. It's a color-enhanced composite of three images captured by JunoCam as Juno performed on close of the gas giant on Feb. 12, 2019, between 9:59 a.m. PST (12:59 p.m. EST) and 10:39 p.m. PST (1:39 p.m. EST). It was Juno's 17th science pass of Jupiter.

What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot?

The Great Red Spot is a 400-year old storm that's twice the size of Earth, and easily the biggest in the solar system. Its winds are as fast as 425 miles per hour. It's possible to "spot the spot" by pointing any 4-inch telescope at Jupiter. The giant planet will be at "opposition" (and so at its brightest of 2019) on May 8. Any telescope will also make out Jupiter's oven, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which were first seen by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei , in January 1610, though his homemade telescope.

Who are these 'citizen scientists'?

There have been plenty more impressive uploads from Gill, German mathematician Gerald Eichstädt, Icelandic software engineer Björn Jónsson and London-based visual artist Seán Doran.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes

–

Follow me on Twitter @jamieacarter, @TheNextEclipse or read my other Forbes articles via my profile page.