Juno Delivered

Jupiter's North Pole vortex and circling cyclones (credit: Project JUNO, JPL)

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena keeps data and imagery captured by the JUNO space probe as it crossed Jupiter's poles and hemispheres. Jupiter's north polar region is stunning.

The composite polar image almost looks like a vast 'lava-lake' of storms. The image was created from data from Juno's infrared (IR) mapping instrument which shows the vortex at the center of the north pole. The cyclone is surrounded by eight additional swirling cyclones. The IR sensor collects temperature measurements representing different colors of radiant heat: yellow (thinner) clouds are about 9F in brightness temperature while dark red (thickest) clouds are nearly -180F. The JPL probe has completed its explorations and ended of its mission by plunging into the planet.

A year of Juno data has been analyzed and a summary of the probe's discoveries are presented in this animation.

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