Ancient mythology has been at the forefront of storytelling for ages and continues to be in the narrative of today’s blockbuster hits. While Zeus and the other Greek Gods tend to be the focus of Marvel’s Universe, his Roman counterpart is equally as notable.

Jupiter is known as the ruler of the vast sky and thunder in ancient Roman mythology, often veiling himself in clouds to hide his mischievous side and using lightning bolts as weapons to rule. Like the planet, Jupiter is the most powerful of them all and it is the unknown that creates a sense of intrigue, both in awe and in and in fear.

Jupiter’s vibrant bands of light belts and dark regions appear primed for their close-up during our Juno spacecraft’s 10th flyby on Feb. 7. This flyby was a gravity science positioned pass. During orbits that highlight gravity experiments, Juno is positioned toward Earth in a way that allows both transmitters to downlink data in real-time to one of the antennas of our Deep Space Network. All of Juno’s science instruments and the spacecraft’s JunoCam were in operation during the flyby, collecting data that is now being returned to Earth. The science behind this beautifully choreographed image will help us understand the origin and structure of the planet beneath those lush, swirling clouds. Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. All of JunoCam’s raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products! Just visitwww.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt #nasa #juno #jupiter #space #deepspacenetwork #junocam #redspot #clouds #storms #orbit #planets #celestial #gasgiantplanet #picoftheday

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Juno was launched into orbit in August of 2011 in an effort to look past Jupiter’s blanket of cloud cover and gain a better understanding of the giant planet’s origin and evolution. Nasa’s hope is to placate the looming and unanswered questions that have piqued curiosities for centuries. Knowledge is the antithesis of fear and understanding how Jupiter functions can shed light on its place in the universe as well as its impact on the rest of the solar system.

Mind-bending, color-enhanced swirls of Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere can be seen in this Juno spacecraft (@NASAJuno) image of the planet. Juno captured this picture of colorful, textured clouds in Jupiter’s northern hemisphere on Dec. 16, 2017 at a distance of about 8,292 miles above the cloud tops. Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. All of JunoCam’s raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products! Just visit www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam. Our Juno spacecraft arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016 with a goal to understand the origin and evolution of the planet, look for a solid planetary core, map Jupiter’s magnetic field, measure water and ammonia in the atmosphere and observe the planet’s auroras. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran #nasa #space #juno #junocam #spacecraft #jupiter #planet #solarsystem #aurora #clouds #storm #swirls #turbulent #atmosphere #pictureoftheday #beautiful #textured #explore #discover #science #northern #hemisphere

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Since its arrival in July of 2016, Jupiter has been orbiting the planet, collecting data and capturing mesmerizing photographs of colossal proportions. Juno is funded to continue its epic mission until July of 2018 and we can continue reaping its benefits by getting lost in the sea of spectacular photographs.

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Below is a trailer highlighting Nasa’s mission to Jupiter with Juno. You can also view more of the behemoth planet’s image gallery and read more about the mission on Nasa’s website as well as Instagram.