What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! Check out the latest results from June at Jupiter . Looks like another huge impact in the early solar system. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! I hope everyone had a GREAT Holiday get together. Mighty (and bright) Jupiter is visible in the hours before dawn in the eastern sky. NASA's Juno spacecraft continues to explore the 'King of the Planets' and the data continue to be received and analyzed. The Great Red Spot (GRS) of Jupiter  has been visible in telescopes , including backyard 'scopes for centuries. The GRS has been slowly shrinking and the color has faded. It has been the longest lasting storm in the solar system. I hope to get a pic of the GRS to share when the weather clears. But in the meantime enjoy flying into the Jovian maelstrom: Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! NASA's Juno spacecraft returned its first pic from Jovian orbit: Beautiful HALF PHASE Image Credit  Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Read More About It Here . Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Artist's Conception Of Juno at Jupiter NASA JPL Jupiter's gravity is now dominating the flight path of the Juno spacecraft. Get details here . Jupiter is high in the SW sky at dark, take a look and envision Juno enroute to the king of the planets in our solar system. Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! August 5th NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to lift off for Jupiter. The mission's goal is simple - find out what lies inside of Jupiter. The spacecraft will pass within 3,000 miles of Jupiter's cloudtops - the closest orbit ever. Juno will map the gravity of Jupiter and thereby give us the data to model the gas ginat's interior. Read More About It: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/29jul_juno2/

Hey Space Placers! NASA's next planetary mission to Jupiter, Juno, is securely mated to its powerful Atlas V 551 launch vehicle. Juno is slated for launch to the giant gas planet on Aug. 5th, 11:34 a.m. EDT. Juno will arrive at Jupiter in July 2016 and orbit the poles of Jupiter 33 times to learn about the interior of the planet and get the first detailed views ever of the poles. Read More About It: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-229 Sky Guy in VA                                Juno at Jupiter - Artwork from NASA JPL