NASA's Juno Spacecraft Captures 'Face' on Jupiter and Io's Volcanic Activity

NASA's Juno spacecraft captured an image of a 'face' on Jupiter during a close flyby on October 27, 2021.
The 'face' was spotted by citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill, who processed the image using data from Juno's JunoCam imager.
The image also shows Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system, with 266 active volcanic hotspots linked by a global magma ocean.

NASA's Juno spacecraft, during a close flyby of Jupiter, captured an image that appears to resemble a face. The image was taken on October 27, 2021, during Juno's 38th close flyby of the gas giant. The 'face' was spotted by a citizen scientist named Kevin M. Gill, who processed the image using data from the spacecraft's JunoCam imager. The image shows a large white oval, known as a 'white oval,' for the eye, and a string of storms shaped like a smile. The 'face' is located in Jupiter's South South Temperate Belt.

In addition to the 'face,' the image also shows one of Jupiter's moons, Io, in the background. Io is the most volcanically active body in our solar system, with 266 active volcanic hotspots. These hotspots are linked by a global magma ocean that lies about 50 kilometers beneath the moon's surface. The heat from this magma ocean is what drives the moon's intense volcanic activity.

The Juno spacecraft was launched by NASA in 2011 with the aim of studying Jupiter's atmosphere, magnetic field, and gravitational field. The spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter since July 2016 and has provided scientists with invaluable data about the gas giant and its moons.


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    Jupiter and Io

    Sky & Telescope Magazine Friday, 29 October 2021 12:00
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