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NASA just gave us an amazing insight into the appearance of the northern hemisphere of Jupiter at about 9600 kilometers (15,500 kilometers). The improved color images taken during the 13th Juno spacecraft flyover on May 23 produced images of fierce turbulence raging in a certain area on the gas giant's surface, reports the Sun.
The breathtaking images were shot when NASA's Juno spacecraft flew over cloud tops at a latitude of 56 degrees. The images show us that the northern hemisphere of Jupiter is filled with tumultuous whirlpools and swirls of clouds.
NASA explained on its website that the material of the shining clouds is in a higher part of the Jupiter atmosphere, while the darker material is deeper. NASA scientists assume that bright clouds are probably made up of ammonia or a mixture of water and ammonia. Both possibilities could also contain a small amount of other unknown chemical compositions, according to the space agency.
NASA's Juno spacecraft allows us to virtually travel with it while visiting the largest planet in our solar system. And today, the satellite has allowed us to see fine scale an interesting structure in the chaotic weather system of Jupiter, which we call the "Great White Spot".
If you look, you can bring out the oval light and whirling white which is the big white spot at the bottom center of the image. On the other hand, if you were to look at this feature in a telescope on Earth, the color of the Great White Spot would appear to be only white in color and without discernible structures.
Seán Doran and Gerald Eichstädt, two citizen scientists, created the image below of the northern hemisphere of Jupiter which is shown on the NASA twitter page. The duo created the image using data from the JunoCam of the spacecraft.
Whirlwinds of swirling clouds and tumultuous whirlpools in the northern hemisphere of Jupiter are seen in this view from an overflight in May from the cloudy summits of the planet. @NASAJuno spatialship. Take a look at this chaotic and turbulent world: https://t.co/wx2kqaBKIx pic.twitter.com/nZtmuzgQtm
– NASA (@NASA) June 22, 2018
NASA added that there is not much significant movement seen in the center of the white spot. In addition, there is speculation that the winds inside the large white spot slow down considerably when they reach the inside, much like the large red spot of Jupiter.
The big red spot of Jupiter.
Kevin Gill
/
Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)
Juno, who has been around the gas giant since July 4, 2016, has helped us learn incredible things on the planet. For example, NASA reported that Juno had already solved a 39-year-old mystery behind Jupiter's lightning. The scientist had been thinking about what was behind Jovian lightning since NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft flew over the giant planet in 1979, confirming the existence of lightning.
The microwave radiometric instrument (MWR) of the Juno satellite, which records Jupiter's emissions, has been the key to solving the mystery. Scientists were able to determine using MWR that the lightning on Jupiter was very similar to terrestrial lightning on Earth. However, the areas where they blinked on both planets were quite different.
To clarify, much of Jupiter's flash is distributed near the poles, but there is none near the equator. The same is not true on Earth, where lightning is gathering near the equator. The answer lies in the amount of heat that both planets receive and Jupiter receives much less because it is a little further away from the sun.
The mission of NASA's Juno spacecraft was to understand how Jupiter was formed and how it evolved. The other objectives of the mission were to search for evidence of a solid planetary core, to measure ammonia and water in the deep atmosphere, to map the planet's magnetic field and to observe his aurorae.
We can not wait to see what Juno has to offer!
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