By Priyanka Deshpande
CNBC-TV18.com
Published July 30, 2024
NASA has released new images of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, which has been explored by nine spacecrafts—seven flybys and two orbiters. Take a look at 5 stunning images of Jupiter:
During its 61st close flyby of Jupiter on May 12, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured a color-enhanced view of chaotic clouds and cyclonic storms in the giant planet’s northern hemisphere.
1. Colorful and Chaotic Clouds of Jupiter
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope are studying Jupiter's auroras, vivid light shows at the planet's poles. These glows occur when high-energy particles enter the atmosphere near the magnetic poles and collide with gas atoms.
2. Jupiter with Aurorae
This photo, taken by Voyager 1 on February 5, 1979, shows Jupiter along with its Great Red Spot and three of its four largest satellites: Io, Europa, and Callisto, all visible against the planet's disk.
3. Jupiter and Three Galilean Satellites
Jupiter's zonal winds create eddies of all sizes, leading to storms in its atmosphere. At the highest level, "pop-up clouds" form at the edge of these fronts, likely due to air rising to an altitude where ammonia ice condenses.
4. Jupiter Swirling Storms
The Hubble Space Telescope image on the right shows Jupiter in visible light, with white cloudy zones and red-brown belts. The composite image on the left displays Jupiter's thermal energy in infrared light, where dark cloudy bands appear as silhouettes against the thermal glow.
5. Jupiter’s Bands