NASA's spacecraft Juno took some of the best photos in outer space. On June 7, it had a flyby on Jupiter's largest moon and snapped a dramatic close-up photo of Ganymede, showing the mammoth moon's surface and craters.
Juno still has a lot to offer! you can also follow Juno's flight trajectory and image gallery on live stream with some online trackers.
The spacecraft Juno officially launched from Earth's surface in August 2011. Since then, it has produced many amazing photographs and discoveries in outer space.
Juno's core mission is to explore Jupiter's atmosphere. It observes the water composition, temperature, cloud motions, and other similar properties of Jupiter's skies. Recent research also leads Juno to study Jupiter's magnetosphere, near the planet's poles, and how auroras have been created.
Juno brings back plenty of scientific data. Some of them, however, is stunningly beautiful scenes that could blow your mind.
First Photos of Ganymede Moon
A recent report from NASA said that that spacecraft flew close to Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede. This is the closest any spacecraft has ever traveled in more than two decades.
The report came with a detailed photograph of the moon. Although the picture is black and white, you could clearly see the craters, distinct dark and bright sections of terrain, as well as long structural features that could be linked to the planet's tectonic faults.
Scientists would have plenty of material to analyze this mammoth moon. They plan to get more data with the spacecraft's JunoCam, which uses a visible-light imager. Images taken from the spacecraft could be enhanced to an image resolution of around 1 kilometer per pixel!
Read also: NASA Cygnus Space Departure Live Stream: Where to Watch Spacecraft Self-Destructive Re-Entry
Juno Spacecraft Live Tracker
It's not too late to join in the fun of watching Juno's fantastic space activity!
Nasa consistently posts updates and activities of the spacecraft through its official Twitter account.
Nine years in space. 28 orbits of Jupiter. Textbooks rewritten. And I’m just getting started.
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) August 15, 2020
This account is combining with @NASASolarSystem – join me there for continuing updates from my mission to Jupiter, along with other expeditions to the worlds of our solar system. pic.twitter.com/6jlvowcOcd
An online simulation tool is also running streams for Juno's space activities. You can use this website to monitor the time, pan out of the space map, or zoom into Juno's spacecraft. The right toolbar column will help you manipulate the website, so you can stream it on HD or see the spacecraft in a "brighter" setting. You could also pause the live steam at any given second.
In the upper right corner of the site, you could speed up the stream by inputting your preferred speed (per second). On the bottom of the screen, you could swipe for the craft's previous activities.
By default, the link redirects you to Focus on spacecraft "Juno" and its trail relative to the planet "Jupiter." However, this online tool could also monitor different things like the moons IO, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. You could also zoom in to the planet Jupiter itself!
Juno undoubtedly plans to do more exciting research for the planet Jupiter. Keep an eye out on their newsfeed for more updates on NASA's official plans.
