Jupiterian Lightening

Scientists have recorded lightning on Jupiter in radio observations. Recently, however, a historic event occurred when the Juno space probe took the first-ever photograph of a Jupiterian lightning bolt.

Here's What We Know

A NASA freelancer accidentally discovered the lightning photo in the raw data collected by the spacecraft. The image was taken on December 30, 2020, when the probe flew close to the gas giant's north pole for the 31st time.

The lucky recipient of the photo is Kevin M. Gill. In 2022, he completed processing the data from the JunoCam. It is known that the picture was taken from an altitude of about 32,000 km.

In the near future, scientists will be able to get more photos of Jupiterian thunderstorms. This is because the spacecraft will regularly fly over the night side of the planet for several months.

Source: ScienceDaily

A Change in Jupiter's Orbit

A shift in Jupiter's orbit could make Earth's surface even more hospitable to life than it already is, new research suggests.

University of California-Riverside (UCR) scientists simulated alternative arrangements of our solar system, finding that when Jupiter's orbit was more flattened  —  or 'eccentric'  —  it would cause major changes in our planet's orbit too.

And this change caused by the orbit of Jupiter  —  the solar system's most massive planet by far  —  could impact Earth's ability to support life for the better.  READ MORE...