Juno Spacecraft in Orbit Around Jupiter

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Sends First In-orbit View

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The JunoCam camera aboard NASA's Juno mission is operational and sending down data after the spacecraft’s July 4 arrival at Jupiter. Juno’s visible-light camera was turned on six days after Juno fired its main engine and placed itself into orbit around the largest planetary inhabitant of our solar system. The first high-resolution images of the gas giant Jupiter are still a few weeks away.

"This scene from JunoCam indicates it survived its first pass through Jupiter's extreme radiation environment without any degradation and is ready to take on Jupiter," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "We can't wait to see the first view of Jupiter's poles." 

  Read More: NASA

 

[Merc14]

That is not only great news but absolutely beautiful.    My new desktop background!

 

Edited July 13, 2016 by Merc14

[seeder]

cant wait!! 

 

[Astra.]

Wow - well the wait has certainly been worth it. I can't wait until the other images start trickling through. I'd say we're definitely in for many more wondrous treats.

[jethrofloyd]

Juno snaps its first pic of Jupiter

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/juno-snaps-its-first-pic-jupiter?tgt=nr

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has sent back its first picture of Jupiter since arriving at the planet July 4 (SN: 7/23/16, p. 14). The image, taken July 10 when the spacecraft was 4.3 million kilometers from Jupiter, shows off the planet’s clouds, its Great Red Spot (a storm a bit wider than Earth) and three of its moons (Io, Europa and Ganymede).

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Five Years Post-Launch, Juno Is at a Turning Point

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Five years after departing Earth, and a month after slipping into orbit around Jupiter, NASA's Juno spacecraft is nearing a turning point. On July 31 at 12:41 p.m. PDT (3:41 p.m. EDT), Juno will reach the farthest point in its orbit of Jupiter for the first time, known as “apojove,” 5 million miles (8.1 million kilometers) from the giant planet. After that point, Jupiter's gravitational grip on Juno will cause the spacecraft to begin falling back toward the planet for another pass, this time with its scientific eyes wide open.

The spacecraft is currently executing the first of two long orbits prior to beginning its science mission. Each capture orbit is nearly two months long -- quite the wait for the mission's eager team of scientists -- but it's nothing compared to the long wait the team endured on the trek to Jupiter.

  Read more: NASA

 

[Merc14]

I didn't know that all the instruments have successfully completed their checks and are ready to go.   Great news!  The fall back to Jupiter should be fun to watch.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA's Juno to Soar Closest to Jupiter This Saturday

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This Saturday at 5:51 a.m. PDT, (8:51 a.m. EDT, 12:51 UTC) NASA's Juno spacecraft will get closer to the cloud tops of Jupiter than at any other time during its prime mission. At the moment of closest approach, Juno will be about 2,500 miles (4,200 kilometers) above Jupiter's swirling clouds and traveling at 130,000 mph (208,000 kilometers per hour) with respect to the planet. There are 35 more close flybys of Jupiter scheduled during its prime mission (scheduled to end in February of 2018). The Aug. 27 flyby will be the first time Juno will have its entire suite of science instruments activated and looking at the giant planet as the spacecraft zooms past.

  Read More: NASA

 

[Merc14]

26 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

NASA's Juno to Soar Closest to Jupiter This Saturday

 

Can't wait for these first close-up images of Jupiter.

[Myles]

44 minutes ago, Merc14 said:

Can't wait for these first close-up images of Jupiter.

I'm excited about the pics.  Not so much about all the people who will claim to see something made by aliens. 

[Merc14]

Just now, Myles said:

I'm excited about the pics.  Not so much about all the people who will claim to see something made by aliens. 

With that in mind, here is a great little article on pareidolia  http://earthsky.org/human-world/seeing-things-that-arent-there