Jupiter's true colors pop in new images from NASA's Juno mission

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By Tereza Pultarova
published

A new image captured by NASA's Jupiter explorer Juno reveals colorful details in the planet's atmosphere.
A new image captured by NASA's Jupiter explorer Juno reveals colorful details in the planet's atmosphere. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Björn Jónsson)

A new image captured by NASA's Juno Jupiter explorer reveals features in the turbulent atmosphere of the solar system's largest planet in the same colors a human observer would see them. 

Juno took the image on July 5, 2022, during its 43rd close flyby of Jupiter using its JunoCam instrument. The spacecraft was at a distance of 3,300 miles (5,300 kilometers) from the tops of the gas giant's clouds when the image was taken, zipping by at 130,000 mph (209,000 kph). 

Citizen scientist Björn Jónsson processed the raw data from Juno to create two images. The image on the left hand side shows the view as it would appear to a human observer in Juno's position. In the image on the right, Jónsson digitally enhanced color saturation and contrast, allowing the intricate structure of the planet's atmosphere to come to the fore.

Related: NASA spacecraft snaps gorgeous new photo of Jupiter's moons Io and Europa

The color differences in the enhanced image reflect variations in the chemical composition of different parts of Jupiter's atmosphere and reveal the three-dimensional nature of the powerful storms that swirl in the planet's clouds. The bright "pop-up" clouds in the higher atmosphere are also visible. The image captures a region at a latitude of about 50 degrees north. 

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— Jupiter's auroras look radiant in new James Webb Space Telescope images
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— A mystery in Jupiter's atmosphere sheds light on solar system's past 

Juno, launched in 2011, has been exploring the gas giant since 2016. Circling the planet in a highly elliptical orbit, the probe completes one lap every 43 days, making regular dips close to the planet's whirling clouds. At its closest, Juno dives down to about 3,100 miles (5,000 km) above the gas giant's clouds. 

Originally scheduled to retire in 2021, Juno will continue its work until at least 2025. JunoCam images are open to citizen scientists to explore, process and help categorize. The images are available on the JunoCam image processing website via the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, which built the instrument. 

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Tereza Pultarova
Tereza Pultarova
Senior Writer

Tereza is a London-based science and technology journalist, aspiring fiction writer and amateur gymnast. Originally from Prague, the Czech Republic, she spent the first seven years of her career working as a reporter, script-writer and presenter for various TV programmes of the Czech Public Service Television. She later took a career break to pursue further education and added a Master's in Science from the International Space University, France, to her Bachelor's in Journalism and Master's in Cultural Anthropology from Prague's Charles University. She worked as a reporter at the Engineering and Technology magazine, freelanced for a range of publications including Live Science, Space.com, Professional Engineering, Via Satellite and Space News and served as a maternity cover science editor at the European Space Agency.