Wednesday, 13 July 2016

First In-Orbit Jupiter Images Beamed To Earth


Scientists hope the mission will shed some light on how the planet was formed around four-and-a-half billion years ago.


The image of Jupiter was taken on Sunday 10 July
The image of Jupiter was taken on Sunday 10 July
The first in-orbit image of Jupiter has been taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft.
It is hoped the mission will give some insight into the origins of the biggest planet in the solar system and how it impacted the rise of life on Earth.
The image, which was taken on Sunday 10 July, shows atmospheric features on Jupiter, including the Great Red Spot, and three of the massive planet's four largest moons - Io, Europa and Ganymede.
The first high-resolution images of the planet are still a few weeks away.
Launched from Florida nearly five years ago, Juno needed to be precisely positioned, ignite its main engine at exactly the right time and keep it firing for 35 minutes to become only the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter.
The probe also will hunt for water in Jupiter's thick atmosphere, a key yardstick for figuring out how far away from the sun the gas giant formed.
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