A colossal asteroid, estimated to be 10 times larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, crashed into Jupiter’s moon Ganymede billions of years ago. This cataclysmic impact created the largest known impact crater in the solar system and shifted Ganymede’s axis, revealing insights into the moon’s formation and its potential subsurface ocean.
In a rare celestial event, Jupiter and Mars will appear to pass extremely close to each other in the early hours of Wednesday, August 14th. This conjunction, visible worldwide with clear skies, offers a unique opportunity to observe these planets and Jupiter’s moons with the naked eye or binoculars.
August offers a celestial spectacle with a close encounter between Jupiter and Mars, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, and the opportunity to observe the Lagoon Nebula. NASA provides tips for enjoying these celestial events, including ideal viewing times and locations.
A new image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveals vibrant, swirling clouds in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere. The photo, taken during the spacecraft’s 61st close flyby, highlights the planet’s turbulent atmosphere and the intricate patterns created by its strong winds.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured breathtaking new images of Jupiter’s northern hemisphere, showcasing the planet’s swirling storms and vibrant auroras. The images provide a glimpse into the turbulent atmosphere of the largest planet in our solar system.
NASA’s Juno mission, initially focused on Jupiter, has made an exciting discovery about the Jovian moon Io. Juno’s infrared instrument captured images revealing numerous lava lakes on Io’s surface, characterized by hot rings of lava surrounding a cooler crust. These findings provide new insights into the volcanic activity of Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have uncovered previously unseen structures and activity in Jupiter’s atmosphere above the Great Red Spot, caused by powerful atmospheric gravity waves. These findings challenge the previously held assumption that the region above the Great Red Spot was relatively uninteresting and offer insights into the complex dynamics of Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Using a cutting-edge camera installed on the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, scientists have captured unprecedentedly detailed images of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io. The images, taken by the SHARK-VIS (SHArp-imaging Kirkpatrick VISual) camera, reveal features on Io’s surface as small as 80 kilometers wide, a resolution previously only possible with spacecraft exploration. The images provide valuable insights into Io’s volcanic activity and its impact on the moon’s surface over billions of years.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured high-definition images of Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, revealing a landscape marked by fractures, ridges, bands, and surprisingly large pits. These features indicate that the icy crust of Europa is not locked in place but is floating atop a liquid water ocean, supporting the theory of true polar wander. Additionally, black-and-white images taken by the spacecraft’s Stellar Reference Unit have captured features on Europa’s nightside, suggesting the presence of active ice volcanoes and water plumes jetting from the subsurface ocean. The research, published in the Planetary Science Journal and JGR Planets, provides crucial insights for future missions to Europa, including NASA’s Europa Clipper and ESA’s Juice, which aim to search for signs of life on this intriguing moon.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured a rare view of Jupiter’s fifth moon, Amalthea, transiting the planet’s iconic Great Red Spot. Despite being Jupiter’s fifth-largest moon, Amalthea is a relatively small, potato-shaped satellite with a unique red surface. The spacecraft’s close flyby revealed Amalthea’s orbit, which is the third-shortest among Jupiter’s moons. Juno’s observations also shed light on Amalthea’s mysterious heat emissions and the potential role of Jupiter’s immense magnetic field and radiation belts in its energy balance.
