                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2021 June 8

                  A Face in the Clouds of Jupiter from Juno
            Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Jason Major

   Explanation: What do you see in the clouds of Jupiter? On the largest
   scale, circling the planet, Jupiter has alternating light zones and
   reddish-brown belts. Rising zone gas, mostly hydrogen and helium,
   usually swirls around regions of high pressure. Conversely, falling
   belt gas usually whirls around regions of low pressure, like cyclones
   and hurricanes on Earth. Belt storms can form into large and
   long-lasting white ovals and elongated red spots. NASA's robotic Juno
   spacecraft captured most of these cloud features in 2017 during
   perijove 6, its sixth pass over the giant planet in its looping 2-month
   orbit. But it is surely not these clouds themselves that draws your
   attention to the displayed image, but rather their arrangement. The
   face that stands out, nicknamed Jovey McJupiterFace, lasted perhaps a
   few weeks before the neighboring storm clouds rotated away. Juno has
   now completed 33 orbits around Jupiter and just yesterday made a close
   pass near Ganymede, our Solar System's largest moon.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

