How Juno, NASA’s Jupiter satellite, show Poles have turbulent Ammonia and Water Storms

“What we’re finding is anything but that is the truth. It’s very different, very complex,”

Juno’s chief scientist Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute

Juno, NASA’s Jupiter orbiting satellite, has returned some very stunning images of the planet.

They show storms at the poles of the planet that are just a turbulent a those around the equatorial regions as reported in the article “Amazing pictures show cyclones swirling above Jupiter’s poles Jupiter”, published 26 May 2017 By Timothy Revell, New Scientist. 

You can check out the latest on the NASA Juno mission on their Twitter page @NASAJuno.  Also check out NASA Tumblr blog on the Juno Mission entitled “Incoming! We’ve Got Science from Jupiter!”

New science from Jupiter! Need a quick recap on the swirling clouds, huge magnetic field and more? Check this out: https://t.co/NDd7k3y3Z6 pic.twitter.com/S2gNl1ihrQ

— NASA (@NASA) May 25, 2017

Scientists now have to rethink Jupiter, as the poles were seen as being too calm to have cyclones, being as they are not pointed at the Sun. Thus they should be cooler and have no weather activity similar to other planets and out Earth.

Juno has spotted white ice caps on Jupiter made of ammonia and water and a surprisingly strong magnetic field. Not a nice place to light a match, as the resulting explosion would not go upwards but would smoulder and spread in a blast wave ripple across the surface.

Already some forty new papers have been published using the analysis of these images which reveal that the Gas giant is far from boring and uniform.

Juno - A mission four years in the making

Juno reached Jupiter on 4^th July 2016.

It orbits the Jupiter once every 53 days, taking 2 hours to complete a pass from North to South Pole and back again. 33 planned pole-to-pole circuits in all in a spacecraft built with 1/2 inch thick titanium vault to withstand the high radiation levels expected from the planet.

Juno’s aim of creating a comprehensive 3D map of the planet with the Great Red Spot, which is scheduled for July 2017.

I'm expecting more exciting thing from Juno by July 2017....so stay tuned to my blog!!