NASAs Juno mission has actually caught a picture of a lightning bolt near Jupiters north pole, a sight most typically observed on the gas giant as compared to Earth, where lightning mostly occurs near the equator. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS, Image processing by Kevin M. Gill © CC BY
NASAs Juno spacecraft captured a lightning bolt at Jupiters north pole, likely originating from ammonia-water option clouds, unlike Earths water cloud-based lightning.
In this view of a vortex near Jupiters north pole, NASAs Juno objective observed the glow from a bolt of lightning. On Earth, lightning bolts stem from water clouds, and take place most frequently near the equator, while on Jupiter lightning most likely also occurs in clouds including an ammonia-water service, and can be seen most typically near the poles.
In the coming months, Junos orbits will repeatedly take it near to Jupiter as the spacecraft passes over the huge worlds night side, which will provide even more opportunities for Junos suite of science instruments to catch lightning in the act.
This distinct view was obtained during Junos 31st close flyby of Jupiter on December 30, 2020. Juno was roughly 19,900 miles above Jupiters cloud tops, approaching the world at a latitude of about 78 degrees. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS, Image processing by Kevin M. Gill © CC BY
Juno caught this deem Juno completed its 31st close flyby of Jupiter on December 30, 2020. In 2022, Citizen researcher Kevin M. Gill processed the image from raw information from the JunoCam instrument aboard the spacecraft. At the time the raw image was taken, Juno was about 19,900 miles (32,000 kilometers) above Jupiters cloud tops, at a latitude of about 78 degrees as it approached the planet.
JunoCams raw images are available for the general public to process and browse into image items at https://missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing. More details about NASA citizen science can be found at https://science.nasa.gov/citizenscience and https://www.nasa.gov/solve/opportunities/citizenscience.
This artists idea depicts NASAs Juno spacecraft above Jupiters north pole. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASAs Juno mission is a space expedition venture aimed at studying Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Released on August 5, 2011, Junos primary objective is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter.
Juno caught this view as Juno completed its 31st close flyby of Jupiter on December 30, 2020. At the time the raw image was taken, Juno was about 19,900 miles (32,000 kilometers) above Jupiters cloud tops, at a latitude of about 78 degrees as it approached the planet.
NASAs Juno objective is an area exploration endeavor aimed at studying Jupiter, the largest world in our solar system.
