PIA24041: When Jupiter's Clouds Pop Up


When Jupiter’s Clouds Pop Up

Caption:

Click here for animation

This detailed, color-enhanced JunoCam image by NASA's Juno spacecraft reveals a complex topography in the cloud tops of Jupiter's northern mid-latitude region. Small, bright "pop-up" clouds in the center of the image rise above the surrounding features, standing out at the tops and edges of the swirling patterns; the darker areas nearby reveal greater depth. Clouds like these are thought to be the tops of the violent thunderstorms at the heart of the "shallow lighting" — high-altitude electrical storms originating where it is too cold for liquid-water clouds to exist — recently discovered by the Juno mission.

Background Info:

JunoCam's raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products at
https://missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/processing .

More information about Juno is at http://www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu .

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Jupiter
System Jupiter
Target Type Planet
Mission Juno
Instrument Host Juno
Host Type Orbiter
Instrument JunoCam
Detector
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Color, Storm, Visual, Water
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2020-08-05
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill © CC BY
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24041
Identifier PIA24041