Posted on 01/06/2026 12:47:23 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: How complex is Jupiter? NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter is finding the Jovian giant to be more complicated than expected. Jupiter's magnetic field has been discovered to be much different from our Earth's simple dipole field, showing several poles embedded in a complicated network more convoluted in the north than the south. Further, Juno's radio measurements show that Jupiter's atmosphere shows structure well below the upper cloud deck -- even hundreds of kilometers deep. Jupiter's newfound complexity is evident also in southern clouds, as shown in the texture and color enhanced featured image taken last month. There, planet-circling zones and belts that dominate near the equator decay into a complex miasma of continent-sized storm swirls. Juno continues in its looping elliptical orbit, swooping near the huge planet every month and exploring a slightly different sector each time around.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Pinging the APOD list
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Whoa.
Looks like something you would see while riding on ‘Further’ with The Merry Pranksters...
Thanks for these wonderful posts.
The Moon and Earth will transit the Sun from Jupiter this Saturday.
It would be cool if Juno has special filters to photograph it.
The Moon will be at its last quarter phase, so from Jupiter it is at a right angle from earth and its greatest elongation, so the Moon and Earth will each transit separately
God does the best abstract modern art.
A meteorologist nightmare. Earth’s weather looks simple by comparison!
Being a meteorologist would be the very worst job on Jupiter.
I’ve seen that dish ware at flea markets.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of those storms on Jupiter are several times larger than the entire size of the earth.
Quite the opposite, Storms last decades to centuries. Jupiter also has no tilt so no seasons. Weather also travels in bands rarely changing latitudes.
So Pretty much what ever weather you have today would be the same tomorrow (And days are only 10 hours long) and the next day, and the next......on and on for centuries.
The same storm would hit you over & over & over every 10 hours or so.
What intrigues me is that we can’t see whatever is underneath all those clouds. With all of the whirlpools and eddies and turbulence I’m thinking that there has to be some sort of solid surface underneath that influences all of that. I wonder if we’ll ever know.
Reminds me of a bowling ball.
The bands appear to be highly variable and complex.
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