The Planets

New Jupiter photo from NASA’s Juno spacecraft is utterly gorgeous
Mike Wehner  @MikeWehner
February 26th, 2019 at 5:33 PM

Our Solar System is full of planets and moons that are quite interesting, varying from dusty rock worlds like Mars to frigid collections of methane lakes like on Saturn’s moon Titan. But of all the objects orbiting the Sun, Jupiter has to be the most interesting to look at. There’s just so much going on in its swirling clouds that you could stare forever and never get bored.

NASA’s Juno orbiter has been doing some fantastic work as it orbits the gas giant, sending back stunning images of the planet in greater detail than anyone has ever seen. NASA choose to showcase one such image this week, and boy is it pretty.

“Dramatic atmospheric features in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere are captured in this view from NASA’s Juno spacecraft,” NASA explains in a new blog post. “The new perspective shows swirling clouds that surround a circular feature within a jet stream region called ‘Jet N6.'”

NASA says the image was snapped back on February 12th, 2019, and was taken during Juno’s 18th flyby of Jupiter. The spacecraft was some 8,000 miles from the tops of the swirling vortex you see here, but that’s still close enough to capture some remarkable detail.

Jupiter is covered in massive storms that stretch for hundreds of miles into the planet. In terms of overall size, some of the storms — like the iconic Great Red Spot — could swallow Earth many times over. Understanding how the storms are born, live, and die, as well as what powers them, is something NASA’s Juno team has been working on for a long time now.

Much of Jupiter is still a mystery to scientists, as we have very little idea what the huge storm clouds are hiding deep within the planet. What factors determine the colors of the various clouds is also something researchers are still trying to figure out, and images like this one are eye candy for science fans.


Image Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

And I thought that what had been done to Uranus was over the top!!

Lemon wrote:

And I thought that what had been done to Uranus was over the top!!  

A photo of Pluto, 25 years apart (1994-2019)

However...

True Colors of Pluto
Color image of Pluto showing a brownish hue.
Source: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker
Published: July 23, 2018

This is the most accurate natural color images of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft in 2015.




These natural-color images result from refined calibration of data gathered by New Horizons' color Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The processing creates images that would approximate the colors that the human eye would perceive, bringing them closer to “true color” than the images released near the encounter.

This image was taken as New Horizons zipped toward Pluto and its moons on July 14, 2015, from a range of 22,025 miles (35,445) kilometers. This single color MVIC scan includes no data from other New Horizons imagers or instruments added. The striking features on Pluto are clearly visible, including the bright expanse of Pluto's icy, nitrogen-and-methane rich "heart," Sputnik Planitia.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/933/true-colors-of-pluto/

06/05/2019 05:33 am ET
Jupiter Is About To Come So Close You Can See Its Moons With Binoculars
You won’t need a telescope to get some incredible views of our solar system’s largest planet.
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By Ed Mazza

Keep an eye on the sky. There’s quite a show in store as Jupiter and Earth will reach their closest point later this month.

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, will appear bright to the naked eye in the night sky, even in cities. With nothing more than a pair of binoculars, you’ll be able to see several of its moons.

With even a small telescope, you’ll be able to make out the planet’s cloudy bands. Depending on the telescope’s power, you might see its famous (and shrinking) Great Red Spot.

NASA explains how ―and previews this month’s other sky highlights ― here:

https://twitter.com/NASASolarSystem/status/1135567548697665537

Another video here:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jupiter-binoculars-moons_n_5cf76f5ae4b0747b8c5e730d

Published 41 mins ago
NASA discovers 'extreme' alien planet that's shaped like a football
By Chris Ciaccia | Fox News


And just in time for the start of football season.

Using NASA's Hubble Telescope, researchers have discovered a football-shaped exoplanet 900 light-years from Earth that is being described as "hotter than hot."

Known as WASP-121 b, this "hot Jupiter" is so close to its star that the temperature in its upper atmosphere reaches a blazing 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit. Astronomers were able to figure out the temperature due to heavy metals, such as iron and magnesium, escaping the planet's atmosphere instead of condensing into clouds, according to a statement announcing the find.


(Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Olmsted (STScI))

"Heavy metals have been seen in other hot Jupiters before, but only in the lower atmosphere," explained lead researcher David Sing in the statement. "So you don't know if they are escaping or not. With WASP-121b, we see magnesium and iron gas so far away from the planet that they're not gravitationally bound."

The study was published in The Astronomical Journal.

In addition to being sizzling, WASP-121b is so close to its star that "it is on the cusp of being ripped apart," which is likely causing its football shape.

"We thought we had a chance of seeing heavier elements escaping," Sing added. "It's so hot and so favorable to observe, it's the best shot at finding the presence of heavy metals. We were mainly looking for magnesium, but there have been hints of iron in the atmospheres of other exoplanets. It was a surprise, though, to see it so clearly in the data and at such great altitudes so far away from the planet. The heavy metals are escaping partly because the planet is so big and puffy that its gravity is relatively weak. This is a planet being actively stripped of its atmosphere."

Most "hot Jupiters" exoplanets are made up of hydrogen, with Sing adding that these types of exoplanets lose the gas "relatively easy." However, the hydrogen and helium gas on WASP-121b is outflowing, akin to a river, dragging the metals with them, Sing continued. "It's a very efficient mechanism for mass loss."

Further research of the planet will happen once the James Webb Space Telescope, which is replacing the Hubble, is up and running after its scheduled launch in March 2021.