Last updated March 22, 2018 at 11:34 am
Juno captured this incredible image over the north pole of Jupiter, showing gigantic cyclones locked in an almost perfect octagon
Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM
This composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter, shows the central cyclone at the planet’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared, and the colours in this composite represent radiant heat: the yellow (thinner) clouds are about -13°Celsius in brightness temperature and the dark red (thickest) are around -118°Celsius.
JIRAM is able to collect images in the infrared wavelengths around 5 micrometers (µm) by measuring the intensity of the heat coming out of the planet. The heat from the planet is radiated to space and it is called radiance.
For more information, read Juno reveals continent-sized cyclones on Jupiter
More information about Juno is online at http://www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu.
<