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NASA's Juno spacecraft has taken an improved color image of swirling clouds and tumultuous whirlpools in the northern hemisphere of the planet Jupiter.
Image processed by citizen scientists
Juno took the picture on May 23 as he was making his 13th close flyby of the gas giant. Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran used data from Juno's JunoCam imager to create a color image of what looks like an astonishing oil painting.
The US Space Agency publishes raw images taken by the JunoCam camera and encourages the public to download and process the images, as well as to share these images.
"Creativity and curiosity in the scientific spirit and adventure of space exploration are strongly encouraged and we look forward to seeing Jupiter through the eyes of JunoCam, but also yours." NASA said.
Beautiful oil painting picture of chaotic clouds of Jupiter
The image that NASA shared on June 22 shows a resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night" of 1889, which depicts a scene of swirling clouds and stars, and a bright yellow moon.
"At the time, Juno was about 9,500 miles (15,500 kilometers) from the cloudy peaks of the planet, above a 56 degree north latitude" m said.
The image shows a chaotic and turbulent region of various swirling cloud formations. The darker blue-green spirals represent cloud materials that are deeper in the Jovian atmosphere. The bright hues represent clouds that are high and are probably made of ammonia, or ammonia and water that are mixed with unknown chemical ingredients.
A shiny oval in the lower center appears uniformly white in the telescope on the ground. NASA said that the JunoCam imager embarked on the Jump spacecraft showed the fine scale structure of this weather system, which includes other structures within.
Juno Mission
The Juno spacecraft was launched in August 2011 and came into orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. The mission is to study the gravitational and magnetic fields, and the thick atmosphere of the largest planet in the solar system.
Earlier this month, the US Space Agency said the Juno mission is being extended for three years as a result of an assessment that the probe is still capable of collecting scientific data. NASA has updated the scientific operations of the mission until July 2021.
"NASA has now funded Juno until the year 2022. The end of the main operations is now scheduled for July 2021, with data analysis and mission closure activities continuing in 2022, "NASA said.
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