Stunning Jupiter Image Shows 'Blue-Eyed Dragon' Among Colorful Swirling Clouds [PHOTO]
A new Jupiter image captured by NASA's Juno showed off the gas giant's colorful swirling clouds.
On its official Twitter page, NASA's Juno mission shared a stunning view of Jupiter captured by the spacecraft last month when it made a close flyby of the planet. The image specifically shows the gas giant's "stormy northern hemisphere" from a distance of between 11,600 miles (18,600 kilometers) and 5,400 miles (8,600 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloud tops.
The Juno mission team also pointed out some fascinating images hidden among Jupiter's colorful clouds, such as a blue-eyed dragon. Some of the clouds also seem to resemble "coffee creamer," the post claimed.
Check out the new Jupiter image below and see what objects and creatures you can spot within the turbulent atmosphere.
According to the photo description on the Juno website, four images were used to create an incredible new view of Jupiter. Kevin M. Gill, a citizen scientist, was responsible for producing the final color-enhanced image of Jupiter, as well as many other past photos of the gas giant.
The spacecraft obtained the images at around 12:52 a.m. PDT (3:52 a.m. EDT) and 1:03 a.m. PDT (4:03 a.m. EDT) on May 29 while making its 20th science pass of the gas giant.
To see the original photos the spacecraft obtained during its flyby, see the Juno mission website.
Meanwhile, NASA is currently preparing for another mission to Jupiter, specifically one of the gas giant's moons, Europa. The Europa Clipper is set to start its journey to the icy Jupiter moon in 2023, with the Europa Lander mission launching at a later date to help it obtain samples directly from the Jupiter moon's surface.
However, it's possible that the two upcoming missions may be pushed to a later date as an investigation conducted in May revealed that NASA has several issues to solve before the Europa Clipper can leave the ground.
Among the issues pointed out were the lack of staff to focus solely on the Europa Clipper mission and the SLS rocket possibly not being able to handle the launch for both spacecraft.
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