On July 4th, NASA’s Juno spacecraft — “a 400 pound box of reinforced titanium strapped to a 66 foot-long solar panel” — will make its way into orbit around Jupiter and finally give humanity a peek under the gas giant’s upper atmosphere. Juno’s year-and-a-half long mission includes mapping Jupiter’s magnetic field, studying its interaction with the solar wind, and determining the origin of these incredible auroras.
In 1979, the Voyager spacecraft first noticed Jupiter’s beautiful northern light display but scientists are saying that lately they’ve been more magnificent than usual. According to The Atlantic, “Researchers are matching up ultraviolet imagery taken by the Hubble telescope with data from spacecraft Juno, which is set to enter Jupiter’s orbit next week. Their goal is to better understand how the solar wind affects the planet’s auroras.” (video above)
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