BBC Sky at Night - UK (2021-08)

(Antfer) #1

Over the last four years Juno has revolutionised our view of Jupiter


JUNO’S


GREATEST HITS


THE GREAT BLUE SPOT


When the
Juno team
put together
their map of
the magnetic
ƅHOGWKH\
discovered
a dark spot
RIKLJKO\
concentrated
magnetism
near the
equator.
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WKHLUPDSŝVFRORXUVFKHPHŚKHQFHLWVQDPH


THE STORMS OF THE POLES
-XQRZDVDEOH
to get the
ƅUVWHYHUORRN
at Jupiter’s
poles from
DERYHƅQGLQJ
WKH\ZHUH
VZDUPHGE\
storms. The
north pole
has a single
central storm,
surrounded
E\HLJKWFRPSDQLRQVUDQJLQJIURPNPWRNPLQ
VL]HZKLFKKDYHUHPDLQHGVWDEOHWKURXJKRXW-XQRŝVPLVVLRQ

JUPITER HAS WATER


Juno found
that Jupiter
has three times
PRUHZDWHU
than the Sun,
putting to bed
a decades-old
P\VWHU\,Q
WKH*DOLOHR
spacecraft’s
measurements
indicated that
WKHSODQHWZDV
IDUPRUHDULGZKLFKVXJJHVWHGWKDWWKHHDUO\6RODU6\VWHP
KDGDORWOHVVZDWHUWKDQZHVHHWRGD\


JUPITER’S BELTS RUN DEEP NEAR THE EQUATOR


7KHVSDFHFUDIWZDVDEOHWRORRNGHHSGRZQLQWRWKHVWULSHVRI
ZLQGDQGFORXGNQRZQDVEHOWVDQG]RQHV1HDUWKHHTXDWRU
WKHUHJLRQVJRGRZQNPEHFRPLQJVKDOORZHUWRZDUGV
the poles before blending into the polar storms.

SUPERCHARGED AURORAE


The electrical
ƅHOGDURXQG
Jupiter’s
SROHVZKLFK
helps create
the aurorae,
is around
WLPHV
more charged
than Earth’s.
Juno also
discovered
DQHZ
ULQJVKDSHGIHDWXUHWKDWJORZVLQWKHXOWUDYLROHWDQGZKLFK
H[SDQGVRXWDWDURXQGNPV


THE GREAT RED SPOT – IN 3D
'XULQJWKHƅUVWSDUW
of its mission, Juno
got a good look at
the Great Red Spot,
a giant maelstrom
ZKLFKKDVEHHQ
raging for centuries.
The spacecraft
measured that the
VWRUPUHDFKHVGRZQ
NPLQWR-XSLWHUŝV
DWPRVSKHUHŚRYHU
WLPHVGHHSHUWKDQ
the deepest point
of Earth’s oceans.

August 2021 BBC Sky at Night Magazine 63

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