[NTD Times, Beijing time, July 01, 2023]Recently, NASA released a picture of Jupiter, which captured the green lightning in the atmospheric vortex of Jupiter’s north pole, which aroused people’s interest.
NASA pointed out that this is a lightning shot taken by the JunoCam probe during its 31st flyby of Jupiter on December 31, 2020. At the time, Juno was about 32,000 kilometers above Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 78 degrees.
Scientist Kevin M. Gill found and processed the photo from the raw data sent back by the probe.
Juno has observed multiple lightning strikes on Jupiter, helping scientists identify similarities between Jupiter’s lightning and Earth’s, as well as key differences.
NASA experts pointed out: “On Earth, lightning occurs in charged clouds and is most common near the equator. On Jupiter, lightning may occur in clouds containing ammonia solutions, often found near its poles.”
The Juno probe has been orbiting Jupiter in an elliptical orbit since July 2016. 52 close flybys of Jupiter have been completed so far. It is expected to extend its service life to September 2025. The mission is to take a broader view of the entire Jupiter system, including Jupiter, its rings and numerous moons.
Jupiter is a giant planet with a mass one-thousandth that of the sun, but 2.5 times the mass of the other planets in the solar system combined. Jupiter orbits the ecliptic for about 12 years, so it is called “Sui Xing” or “Fu Xing” in Chinese culture. Scientists call Jupiter the vacuum cleaner of the solar system. Its presence protects the planets in the solar system from comet bombardment.
NTDTV reporter Luo Jie comprehensive report
