Scientists are constantly discovering unknown areas of the universe with the help of space probes and new telescopes. This time there are models of the storms on Jupiter for the first time.
Munich – How is the weather on Jupiter today? This question is usually not that easy to answer. But at least we now know what it could look like, because: A global team of amateur scientists has published impressive model images of the cloud cover over the planet. They were created from data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it flew 13,536 kilometers above the planet’s clouds.
Huge storms can be seen on the 3D renderings, as well as jagged cloud formations. How high the clouds are could be determined by measuring reflected light. The scientists worked with this and converted the data into 3D renderings. The measurements should also help to find out the chemical components of the cloud cover. In 2011, Juno launched into space to explore Jupiter. In 2016 she got there. The planet is the largest in our solar system.
German Scientist: “Wouldn’t be Possible with Earth-Based Telescopes”
Jupiter is almost 11 times the diameter of Earth and 88,846 miles (142,984 kilometers) wide. Despite being massive, Jupiter is invariably depicted as a smooth marble hanging against the darkness of space, but the video above gives the planet layers and depth.
The animation project was led by citizen scientist and space image processor Geral Eichstadt. The German mathematician regularly works on translating JunoCam data into spectacular images. “The Juno mission gives us the opportunity to observe Jupiter in a way that is essentially inaccessible with ground-based telescopic observations,” says Eichstadt.
“We can view the same cloud features from very different angles in a matter of minutes,” he said in a Europlanet statement. Eichstadt presented the results of the project at this week’s Europlanet Science Congress meeting. (cg)
It sounds like something out of a movie: Earth scientists shoot down asteroids. This has now become reality for the first time, even if it was “only” an asteroid moon.
