Ghostly Lightning in Jupiter Captured by NASA Juno Spacecraft; How Does the Space Probe Provide New Insights About the Gas Giant?

With the advancement of astronomical devices, astronomers seek to understand the many facets of the planets in our Solar System. Experts pay particular attention to Jupiter due to its amazing characteristics and behavior. As the largest planet in our Solar System, Jupiter is known for its massive storms and lightning-like atmospheric events.

Eerie Glow Spotted

NASA's Juno spacecraft arrived at Jupiter after traveling for almost five years. While completing its 31^st close flyby on December 30, 2020, the space probe captured the flashes of lightning on the planet's atmosphere. Using the JunoCam instrument aboard the vehicle, the green glow of lightning was seen in one of Jupiter's vortices. By the time the raw photo was taken, the space probe was approximately 32,000 kilometers above the clouds of Jupiter at a latitude of almost 78 degrees.

The raw images are posted in NASA's image processing gallery for the public to use. NASA encourages the viewers to download the raw images and upload the processed ones. It accepts cropped images highlighting specific atmospheric features and those with color enhancements and advanced reconstruction.

The raw data of the green lightning captured by JunoCam was processed by citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill, and the final photo was developed in 2022.

What makes these lightning bolts mysterious is the fact that they emerge from clouds containing ammonia-water solution. Here on Earth, flashes of lightning develop from clouds made purely of water. Unlike our version of lightning on Earth, which strikes near the equator, the lightning bolts in the gas giant frequently occur near its poles.

Juno's Space Mission

The spacecraft was inspired by the Roman mythological character Juno, the wife of the mighty god Jupiter, who tries to hide his mischievous actions with a cloak. Only the goddess can peer through the sheets and see Jupiter's true self.

Scientists believe that Jupiter is the oldest planet in our Solar System. Because of this, they try to investigate its origin and internal processes to understand the formation of the other planets.

On August 5, 2011, Juno was launched by the Atlas V rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After traveling 2 billion miles, it arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Its main goal is to gather information about the origin of Jupiter and how the gas giant has changed.

With the use of its susceptible instruments, it has provided us with new insights about Jupiter. For instance, Juno has captured a group of cyclones and anticyclones at the planet's north pole, suggesting evidence of Earth-seized storms. Its collected data suggests that the planet's core is larger and more diluted than previously thought. Moreover, the space probe also detected multiple types of lightning, suggesting that some of its weather systems are different from those on Earth.

Juno's main mission ended in July 2021, but it has been granted an extended mission to investigate more of Jupiter, such as its moons, atmosphere, and ring system. NASA announced that the space probe's mission will end in September 2025 or until the space probe can no longer function.