{"id":18577,"date":"2018-04-06T18:22:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T10:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/junos-new-gems-focus-on-jupiters-great-red-spot\/"},"modified":"2018-04-06T18:22:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T10:22:10","slug":"junos-new-gems-focus-on-jupiters-great-red-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/junos-new-gems-focus-on-jupiters-great-red-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Juno\u2019s new gems focus on Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jupiter
A picture from NASA\u2019s Juno orbiter highlights Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot. (NASA \/ SwRI \/ MSSS \/ Se\u00e1n Doran Photo \/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a fresh flowering of photos from NASA\u2019s Juno orbiter, and this time they\u2019re highlighting Jupiter\u2019s most famous feature, the Great Red Spot.<\/p>\n

The latest load comes from Juno\u2019s close encounter with the giant planet on April 1. It\u2019s known as Perijove 12, because it\u2019s the 12th close-up photo opportunity for the probe\u2019s science mission.<\/p>\n

Juno\u2019s main mission is to characterize Jupiter\u2019s magnetic field, gravity field and internal composition, but a camera was added to the scientific payload primarily for outreach purposes. After every perijove session, the raw imagery data is sent back to Earth for professional and amateur astronomers to process.<\/p>\n

The images are posted to the Juno mission\u2019s website, and to social-media accounts and Flickr photostreams as well.<\/p>\n

Juno\u2019s close encounters come every 54 days, which means Perijove 13 is set for May 24. The primary science mission is due to end in July with Perijove 14, but there\u2019s a chance that observations could continue as part of an extended mission.<\/p>\n

Any extension can go on only for so long, however. In 2021, the radiation-battered probe is due to fire its thrusters for a fatal plunge into Jupiter\u2019s cloud tops. That maneuver is part of NASA\u2019s plan to make sure Juno leaves no debris that could smash into Europa or other potential abodes for life in the Jovian system.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sampling of the goodies from Perijove 12:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/_TheSeaning\/status\/981953897664311296<\/p>\n