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Juno Mission unveils the depth and structure of planet’s shrinking red spot and colourful bands
Dr. Leigh Fletcher, Participating Scientist for the NASA’s Juno mission, reports on latest discoveries revealing the 3D structure of Jupiter’s deep atmosphere, in an article recently published on TheConversation. Further information can be found in press releases from JPL and from Leicester. Nasa’s Juno mission, the solar-powered robotic explorer of Jupiter, has completed its five-year prime mission to […]
Monitoring Jupiter’s Atmospheric Heartbeat over Three Decades
Long-term infrared monitoring of Jupiter’s equatorial stratosphere over three decades revealed a natural cycle of variable winds and temperatures. New research in Nature Astronomy by Antuñano et al. (2020, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1165-5) has found that this stratospheric cycle can be spectacularly disrupted by global upheavals happening far below. Jupiter, the largest planet of our Solar System, […]
Chasing shadows at Jupiter
On July 17th, 11am-4pm, Leicester planetary scientists Dr. Tom Stallard and Dr. Henrik Melin were live-streaming observations of Ganymede as it passed over the face of Jupiter, using telescopes on the summit of Maunakea, Hawaii. This observation is expected to give us vital new insights into how Jupiter’s extreme upper atmosphere changes as the […]
“New views of Jupiter” showcases swirling clouds on giant planet
Members of NASA’s Juno mission team, some of the world’s leading observers of Jupiter, and citizen scientists from across the globe are attending a workshop ‘New Views of Jupiter: Pro-Am Collaborations during and beyond the NASA Juno Mission’ at the Royal Astronomical Society in London on 10-11 May. JunoCam images presented at the meeting by […]
Farewell to Cassini
Seven days left until we say farewell to @CassiniSaturn @CassiniNooo pic.twitter.com/Sx7ACHeKDa — Leigh Fletcher (@LeighFletcher) September 8, 2017 After almost twenty years in space, the Cassini spacecraft is now just seven days away from its final encounter with the giant planet, ending humankind’s first detailed exploration of the ringed planet. Cassini’s Grand Finale is the […]
Ten Facts about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
In honour of Juno’s close encounter with Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) on July 11th 2017, here are some quick facts about the Solar System’s most famous storm system: The Great Red Spot is a very long-lived spinning vortex: drawings show the GRS in the Victorian era, but it might have persisted for even […]
Earth-based observations prepare Juno for the Great Red Spot Encounter
In just a few days time, on July 11th 2017, NASA’s Juno spacecraft will perform the closest-ever views of the swirling maelstrom known as Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. It was always hoped that the pre-planned polar orbit and close perijove passes would take the spacecraft over the storm, but the slow and somewhat unpredictable westward […]
Juno’s first observations of Jupiter are revealing a giant world that is defying our expectations
[This is an extended version of an article that first appeared on the Conversation] Last month, planetary scientists from around the world met at the European Geophysical Union (EGU) conference in Vienna, and were treated to the first glimpse of long-awaited results from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The atmosphere was one of surprise, excitement, and […]
First Juno science results supported by University of Leicester’s Jupiter ‘forecast’
Astronomers publish predictions of planetary phenomena on Jupiter that informed spacecraft’s arrival. New observations about the extreme conditions of Jupiter’s weather and magnetic fields by University of Leicester astronomers have contributed to the revelations and insights coming from the first close passes of Jupiter by NASA’s Juno mission, announced today (25 May). The astronomers from […]
The First 150 Days of Juno
Back in July, there was much fanfare surrounding the successful arrival of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. A near-perfect engine firing had placed the solar-powered spacecraft into just the right orbit, with the promise of great things to come. Juno’s science goals are fourfold: explore the origins, interior structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere of this […]
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