The first Juno picture of Jupiter from orbit
The Juno science team have released the first image since the spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter. I have posted a cropped version on the right, showing only the moon Io. The full image shows Europa and Ganymede as well.
The image was taken from almost 3 million miles away, which accounts for its fuzziness. Expect much better pictures when the spacecraft dips down close in late August.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The Juno science team have released the first image since the spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter. I have posted a cropped version on the right, showing only the moon Io. The full image shows Europa and Ganymede as well.
The image was taken from almost 3 million miles away, which accounts for its fuzziness. Expect much better pictures when the spacecraft dips down close in late August.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Great! Galileo took this image of the Great Red Spot from about 1,500,000 km distance:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/planetary/jupiter/gal_redspot_960822.jpg
Juno will get 300 times closer!
Io is the same size as our Moon, and at the same distance from Jupiter. We could see volcanic eruptions on the Moon with our naked eyes. I read somewhere that imaging of Io is planned. To me it is the visually most fantastic object in the Solar system. A yellow moon with constantly active sulfur volcanoes. It’s sad that no mission to it is even ever mentioned.
Juno is at present 3.3 million miles away from Jupiter and will go out to 5 million miles before returning on its ellipse to Jupiter. S/C is “beneath” orbital planes of large moons and looks back from below. Its velocity is 8,990 miles/hour relative to Jupiter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWKlZRqXTkY
Galileo had 0.5 degrees field of view while Junocam has something like 18 degrees. But 300 times closer still beats that. And with 20 years newer imaging technology. The great spot will look greater than ever.
Can’t say it enough times, the animated gifs should be amazing.