Latest Exploration of Jupiter Stories
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The European Space Agency (ESA) says it has unraveled the mystery as to the origin of water observed in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. ESA's Herschel space observatory found evidence that the water in this part of Jupiter's atmosphere was delivered by the dramatic impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in July 1994. During this collision, a string of 21 comet fragments pounded into the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, leaving dark scars...
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected key contributions to a 2022 European Space Agency (ESA) mission that will study Jupiter and three of its largest moons in unprecedented detail. The moons are thought to harbor vast water oceans beneath their icy surfaces. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO ) NASA's contribution will consist of one U.S.-led science instrument and hardware for two European instruments to fly on ESA's...
A new study finds that the pattern of heat coming from volcanoes on Io's surface disposes of the generally-accepted model of internal heating. The heat pouring out of Io's hundreds of erupting volcanoes indicates a complex, multi-layer source. These results come from data collected by NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes and appear in the June issue of the journal Icarus. A map of hot spots, classified by the amount of heat being emitted, shows the global distribution and wide...
In England it is known as the "Plough," in Germany the "Great Cart," and in Malaysia the "Seven Ploughs." Since humanity first turned its eyes skyward, the seven northern hemisphere stars that compose the "Big Dipper" have been a welcome and familiar introduction to the heavens. "I can recall as a kid making an imaginary line from the two stars that make up the right side of the Big Dipper's bowl and extending it upward to find the North Star," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of...
Lee Rannals for RedOrbit.com The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected a Jupiter probe to be its next "large class" space endeavor after a five-year-long competition. The JUpiter Icy moon Explorer (JUICE) has been approved at a meeting of member state delegations in Paris. The probe would be built in time for launch in 2022, and will take eight years to reach the Jovian system. JUICE is a nearly five-ton satellite that aims to orbit Jupiter's moon Ganymede, as well as make...
New images from Cassini are giving scientists and amateur astronomers new insight into the jet streams of Jupiter. The team pieced together images taken from Cassini in 2000 to create a video, animating the wave that is disturbing Jupiter’s jet waves. These findings are part of an in-depth study that was published in the April 2012 issue of Icarus. Amy Simon-Miller is leading the research. “This is the first time anyone has actually seen direct wave motion in one of Jupiter’s jet...
New movies of Jupiter are the first to catch an invisible wave shaking up one of the giant planet's jet streams, an interaction that also takes place in Earth's atmosphere and influences the weather. The movies, made from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft when it flew by Jupiter in 2000, are part of an in-depth study conducted by a team of scientists and amateur astronomers led by Amy Simon-Miller at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and published in the April 2012...
Two spacecraft set to study the moon will enter our celestial neighbor's orbit over New Year's weekend. NASA's twin lunar Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) probes have been independently traveling to their destination since launching in September and will arrive 24 hours apart from each other. The paths of the spacecrafts are right on target, making it unnecessary for engineers to move them into position. "Both spacecraft have performed essentially flawlessly since...
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Data from a NASA planetary mission have provided scientists evidence of what appears to be a body of liquid water, equal in volume to the North American Great Lakes, beneath the icy surface of Jupiter's moon, Europa. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The data suggest there is significant exchange between Europa's icy shell and the ocean beneath. This information could bolster arguments that Europa's global...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online [ Watch the Video ] Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin said they have discovered a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes inside one of Jupiter's moons. The team said that the water could represent a potential habitat for life, and many more lakes might exist throughout the shallow regions of Europa's shell. The lake is covered by floating ice shelves that appear to be collapsing, which...
Latest Exploration of Jupiter Reference Libraries
Galileo Probe -- The Galileo probe was an unmanned probe sent by NASA to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. Named after the astronomer Galileo Galilei, it was launched on October 18 1989 by the Space Shuttle Atlantis and arrived at Jupiter on December 7 1995. Galileo's launch had been significantly delayed by the hiatus in Space Shuttle launches that occurred after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and new safety protocols that were implemented as a result forced Galileo to use...
Jupiter's Moon Europa -- Europa is a puzzle. The sixth largest moon in our Solar System, Europa confounds and intrigues scientists. Few bodies in the Solar System have attracted as much scientific attention as this moon of Jupiter because of its possible subsurface ocean of water. The more we learn about this icy moon, the more questions we have. Because the nature of science is to ask questions, we cannot resist the mystery of Europa and its potential for possessing an ocean. Early...
