Jupiters Clouds in High Definition from Juno

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2026-01-06 · NASA (public domain)

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Jupiters Clouds in High Definition from Juno — APOD for 2026-01-06

How complex is Jupiter? NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter is finding the Jovian giant to be more complicated than expected . Jupiter's magnetic field has been discovered to be much different from our Earth's simple dipole field , showing several poles embedded in a complicated network more convoluted in the north than the south. Further, Juno's radio measurements show that Jupiter's atmosphere shows structure well below the upper cloud deck -- even hundreds of kilometers deep. Jupiter 's newfound complexity is evident also in southern clouds, as shown in the texture and color enhanced featured image taken last month. There, planet-circling zones and belts that dominate near the equator decay into a complex miasma of continent-sized storm swirls. Juno continues in its looping elliptical orbit, swooping near the huge planet every month and exploring a slightly different sector each time around.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026-01-06 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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