Juno Captures Stunning Images of Superstorms, Preparing for More Flybys of Jupiter

NASA's solar-powered Juno orbiter, which has accomplished its 33^rd close flyby of Jupiter, has sent back a series of astonishing images of the gas giant.

Pictures snapped from Juno's two-megapixel visible light camera show unimaginable superstorms hitting the planet, as it further reveals the planet's turbulent atmosphere. Astronomers never fail to focus their eyes on the thick bands of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere that wrap around the giant. Now, with Juno's flyby, we can see the bewildering, tempestuous nature of Jupiter.

Cloud Patterns, Cyclones in Juno's Images

Juno's images show cloud patterns and cyclones in complex detail. Some of these violent storms eat up other storms to create a superstorm, as seen in the snaps, Good News Network reports.

We could also see in Juno's images the luscious colors in its equatorial belt.

In its mission, Juno will slightly alter its orbital path around the gas behemoth to take a closer look at its giant moon, Ganymede, in June.

Juno's mission, as it carries a host of science instruments, is to investigate the "existence of a solid planetary core and map Jupiter's magnetic fields," NASA said, as it would gauge the presence of ammonia and water in the atmosphere, which is said to cause the planet's violent storms and observe the planet's auroras.

The data will help scientists understand the formation of giant planets and their role in having the rest of the solar system in place.

Juno's Mission Extended with 42 More Flybys of Jupiter

Juno was planned to complete its mission, which started in 2011, during its 35^th flyby on July 30 and had been scheduled to make a death dive into the gas giant. However, with Juno's solar-powered explorer still working, NASA extended Juno's mission with extra flybys in three of Jupiter's biggest moons in the next four years. The spacecraft is set to orbit Jupiter 42 more times to carry out further flybys, Forbes revealed.

These include perijove or flybys of Ganymede this June 7, Europa on September 29, 2022, on December 30, 2023, and February 3, 2024, with the mission slated to finally end on September 2025.

The new mission will happen as Juno's elliptical orbits of Jupiter would shift further north. As such, the spacecraft would get nearer to Jupiter's auroras, which are seen in the polar regions, and snap awe-inspiring images.

Auroras, Comets-Juno Has Seen them All on Jupiter.

Findings from Juno's Ultraviolet Spectrograph revealed for the first time how auroral dawn storms form on Jupiter's nightside. Other NASA spacecraft, such as Voyager, Galileo, and Cassini on its Saturn trip, had been positioned quite far from the planet and unable to fly by Jupiter's polar regions.

Juno had been the talk of the town in the scientific world recently after it lay witness to a comet slamming into Jupiter in April last year. Juno observed a bright flash as an impact of the collision that lasted for a few milliseconds.

Check out more news and information on Jupiter on Science Times.