If you need an interplanetary pick-me-up, this picture of Jupiter from NASA’s Juno orbiter could be just the ticket.
The picture was captured by the probe’s JunoCam imager during a close flyby on Dec. 11. At lower left, you can see a giant storm known as the Little Red Spot (a.k.a. NN-LRS-1). Here’s what NASA said about the spot in today’s image advisory:
“This storm is the third largest anticyclonic reddish oval on the planet, which Earth-based observers have tracked for the last 23 years. An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon with large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure. They rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.”
JunoCam is a noteworthy instrument in that its primary purpose is to provide public outreach rather than scientific data. Anyone can propose targets for the camera, and vote for which targets are selected. The resulting raw imagery is made available via the JunoCam website for members of the public to peruse and process as they see fit.
This image was processed by citizen scientists Gerald Eichstaedt and John Rogers. Feel free to feast your eyes on more pictures from the December flyby in JunoCam’s gallery.
Voting just ended for the next flyby, and the top choice is the second largest anticyclone on Jupiter, known as Oval BA or Red Spot Jr.
The primary science objectives for Juno’s $1.1 billion mission are to study Jupiter’s magnetic and gravitational fields, and to determine its interior composition. Juno is due to keep swinging around the planet for the next year, and when it’s done, the probe will be sent down to its doom amid Jupiter’s tumultuous cloud tops.
