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Incredible image of Jupiter 'solar eclipse': NASA scientist reveals the eerie shadow cast on the planet's swirling surface as its moon Io passes in front of the sun
- The image was captured by NASA's Juno satellite which is orbiting the giant gas
- NASA engineer Kevin Gill processed the image and posted it on Twitter
- Io's shadow is more defined than the moon during a solar eclipse on Earth
- This is because Jupiter is much more from the Sun than our planet is
An incredible image shows the eerie black shadow cast on the swirling surface Jupiter by its moon Io the last passes between the giant gas and the sun.
NASA software engineer Kevin Gill.
The image reveals what a solar eclipse on the gas giant might look like, if viewed from orbit around Jupiter.
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An incredible image shows the eerie black shadow cast on the swirling Jupiter by its moon
The shadow cast by Io on Jupiter is much more sharply defined by the moon on the Earth during a solar eclipse.
The reason for this, say experts, is to do with the distance between Jupiter and the sun.
'Then sun is clearly smaller as seen from Jupiter – hence shadows are much sharper,' wrote Mars photographer Doug Ellison on Twitter.
'Io is so big [and] It's more like the Sun (it appears 4x as big as the Sun from Jupiter's perspective), 'added Katie Mack astrophysicist of the North Carolina State University.
The shadow cast by Io on Jupiter is much more sharply-defined by the moon on the Earth during a solar eclipse
It's so close that the penumbra […] is super thin. '
A penumbra is the blurry edge that can form around the edge of some shadows.
Juno's mission is to study the composition of Jupiter, along with assessing it's polar magnetosphere, gravity field and magnetic field.
NASA plans for Juno to continue studying Jupiter from orbit until July 2021, at which point it will be guided into the gas giant's atmosphere to disintegrate.
The original images were captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting the gas giant since July 5, 2016.
Mr Gill, who has a reputation for stunning releasing images of the cosmos, sharpened it up. Jupiter, with its vast swirls and complex gaseous movements, is a prominent feature in his work. Pictured, an image he colored and enhanced last year
They were released last week and Mr Gill, who has a reputation for releasing stunning images of the cosmos, sharpened it up.
Jupiter, with its vast swirls and complex gaseous movements, is a prominent feature in his work.
Last year, he released a color enhanced version gigantic storms raging across the southern hemisphere of the planet.
At the time, Juno was about 44,300 miles (71,400 kilometers) from the planet's cloud tops, above at southern latitude of 71 degrees.
'This image captures swirling cloud belts and tumultuous vortices within Jupiter's northern hemisphere,' NASA said.
At the time, Juno was about 9,600 miles (15,500 kilometers) from the planet's cloud tops, above a northern latitude of 56 degrees.
NASA'S WHAT IS JUNO MISSION TO JUPITER?
The Juno probes Jupiter in 2016 after a five-year, 1.8 billion-mile journey from Earth
The Juno probe reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016, after a five-year, 1.8 billion-mile (2.8 miles) journey from Earth.
Following a successful braking maneuver, it entered into a long polar orbit flying within 3,100 miles (5,000 km) of the planet's swirling cloud tops.
The probe is just 2,600 miles away from the planet's clouds. Fortnight – too close to providing global coverage in a single image.
No previous spacecraft has orbited to Jupiter, but two others have been sent to their destruction through their atmosphere.
To complete its risky Juno mission survived a circuit-frying radiation storm generated by Jupiter's powerful magnetic field.
The maelstrom of high energy particles travels at nearly the speed of light in the Solar System.
To cope with the conditions, the spacecraft was protected with special radiation-hardened wiring and sensor shielding.
Its all-important 'brain' – the spacecraft is weighing almost 400 pounds (172kg).
The craft is expected to study the composition of the planet's atmosphere until 2021.
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