Enhance! NASA eyes Jupiter's crazy multicolored clouds
An enhanced image from NASA's Juno spacecraft takes us up close and personal with the gas giant's bonkers collection of clouds.
NASA's Juno spacecraft is currently out cruising around Jupiter and sending back some outstanding views of the hulking gas giant. This image, taken at a distance of about 29,100 miles (46,900 kilometers), shows the south pole area and highlights the planet's exotic cloud formations.
Jupiter's atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen and helium gases. The oval white spots seen here are massive storms that are part of the planet's famous "string of pearls."
The clouds really pop out thanks to photographic enhancement work done by citizen-scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran. Doran took an image Eichstädt already worked on and improved it.
"I repaired registration marks, applied masks & edge filters, balanced levels & colors," Doran writes in his submission to the Juno mission website gallery.
Juno captured the raw image on May 19, and NASA featured the enhanced version in a post on Friday. Juno launched in 2011 and arrived at the fascinating planet in mid-2016. The mission is scheduled to last until February 2018.
