Early science results from NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter portray the largest planet in our solar system as a complex, gigantic, turbulent world, with Earth-sized polar cyclones, plunging storm systems that travel deep into the heart of the gas giant, and a mammoth, lumpy magnetic field that may indicate it was generated closer to the planet's surface than previously thought.
[...] Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, entering Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016. The findings from the first data-collection pass, which flew within about 2,600 miles (4,200 kilometers) of Jupiter's swirling cloud tops on Aug. 27, are being published this week in two papers in the journal Science, as well as 44 papers in Geophysical Research Letters.
[...] Among the findings that challenge assumptions are those provided by Juno's imager, JunoCam. The images show both of Jupiter's poles are covered in Earth-sized swirling storms that are densely clustered and rubbing together. "We're puzzled as to how they could be formed, how stable the configuration is, and why Jupiter's north pole doesn't look like the south pole," said Bolton. "We're questioning whether this is a dynamic system, and are we seeing just one stage, and over the next year, we're going to watch it disappear, or is this a stable configuration and these storms are circulating around one another?"
Another surprise comes from Juno's Microwave Radiometer (MWR), which samples the thermal microwave radiation from Jupiter's atmosphere, from the top of the ammonia clouds to deep within its atmosphere. The MWR data indicates that Jupiter's iconic belts and zones are mysterious, with the belt near the equator penetrating all the way down, while the belts and zones at other latitudes seem to evolve to other structures. The data suggest the ammonia is quite variable and continues to increase as far down as we can see with MWR, which is a few hundred miles or kilometers.
Prior to the Juno mission, it was known that Jupiter had the most intense magnetic field in the solar system. Measurements of the massive planet's magnetosphere, from Juno's magnetometer investigation (MAG), indicate that Jupiter's magnetic field is even stronger than models expected, and more irregular in shape. MAG data indicates the magnetic field greatly exceeded expectations at 7.766 Gauss, about 10 times stronger than the strongest magnetic field found on Earth.
DOIs not active yet, but here is some of it:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aal2108 (the other Science paper)
Geophysical Review Letters keyword search
Previously:
Juno's Fifth Science Orbit Completed, First In-Depth Papers on Thursday
Related Stories
NASA's Juno spacecraft has completed its fifth science flyby (sixth total) of Jupiter:
NASA's Juno mission accomplished a close flyby of Jupiter on May 19, successfully completing its fifth science orbit. All of Juno's science instruments and the spacecraft's JunoCam were operating during the flyby, collecting data that is now being returned to Earth. Juno's next close flyby of Jupiter will occur on July 11, 2017, taking it over Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
NASA will hold a teleconference at 6:00 PM UTC (2 PM EDT, 11 AM PDT) on May 25th to discuss several papers published in Science and Geophysical Research Letters.
NASA's New Frontiers program has included the Juno, New Horizons, and OSIRIS-Rex missions so far. NASA is currently evaluating 12 proposals for the next New Frontiers mission, encompassing six themes: Comet Surface Sample Return, Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return, Ocean Worlds (Titan and/or Enceladus), Saturn Probe, Trojan Tour and Rendezvous, and Venus In Situ Explorer. One or more will be selected for a Phase A study in November.
Also at Space.com and Spaceflight Now.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 29 2017, @01:49AM
Are there big black airships traveling the atmosphere transporting niggers across Jupiter?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 29 2017, @01:10PM
Here is the link to the Geophysical Research Letters special issue on Juno's results:
Early Results: Juno at Jupiter [wiley.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 29 2017, @02:20PM
Check out the photos with captions - pretty cool stuff.