← Home Postcards from Space
Jupiter's Clouds in High Definition from Juno

Jupiter's Clouds in High Definition from Juno

Credit & copyright: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS ; Processing & License : Thomas Thomopoulos

How complex is Jupiter? NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter is finding the Jovian giant to be more complicated than expected . Jupiter's magnetic field has been discovered to be much different from our Earth's simple dipole field , showing several poles embedded in a complicated network more convoluted in the north than the south. Further, Juno's radio measurements show that Jupiter's atmosphere shows structure well below the upper cloud deck -- even hundreds of kilometers deep. Jupiter 's newfound complexity is evident also in southern clouds, as shown in the texture and color enhanced featured image taken last month. There, planet-circling zones and belts that dominate near the equator decay into a complex miasma of continent-sized storm swirls. Juno continues in its looping elliptical orbit, swooping near the huge planet every month and exploring a slightly different sector each time around.

View the original NASA APOD

Want to receive these daily?

Sign up to get a beautiful NASA image delivered to your inbox every morning.

Subscribe Now →