A multitude of magnificent, swirling clouds in Jupiter's dynamic North North Temperate Belt is captured in this image from NASA's Juno spacecraft. Appearing in the scene are several bright-white "pop-up" clouds as well as an anticyclonic storm, known as a white oval. This color-enhanced image was taken at 1:58 p.m. PDT on Oct. 29, 2018 (4:58 p.m. EDT) as the spacecraft performed its 16th close flyby of Jupiter. At the time, Juno was about 4,400 miles (7,000 kilometers) from the planet's cloud tops, at a latitude of approximately 40 degrees north.
Look at these stunning images of Jupiter
00:53 - Source: CNN
Space 16 videos
A multitude of magnificent, swirling clouds in Jupiter's dynamic North North Temperate Belt is captured in this image from NASA's Juno spacecraft. Appearing in the scene are several bright-white "pop-up" clouds as well as an anticyclonic storm, known as a white oval. This color-enhanced image was taken at 1:58 p.m. PDT on Oct. 29, 2018 (4:58 p.m. EDT) as the spacecraft performed its 16th close flyby of Jupiter. At the time, Juno was about 4,400 miles (7,000 kilometers) from the planet's cloud tops, at a latitude of approximately 40 degrees north.
Look at these stunning images of Jupiter
00:53
Now playing
- Source: CNN
Artemis Flyby Thumbnail
See Artemis I brush past the moon
00:45
Now playing
- Source: CNN
TOPSHOT - Spectators watch as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from launch pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 16, 2022. - NASA's Artemis 1 mission is a 25-and-a-half day voyage beyond the far side of the Moon and back. The meticulously choreographed uncrewed flight should yield spectacular images as well as valuable scientific data. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
See Artemis I rocket launch
01:29
Now playing
- Source: CNN Business
nasa ufo navy vpx
NASA launches study on 'unidentified aerial phenomena'
02:51
Now playing
- Source: CNN
The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of colour in the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming -- or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form. Protostars are the scene-stealers in this Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image. These are the bright red orbs that sometimes appear with eight diffraction spikes. When knots with sufficient mass form within the pillars, they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually begin shining brightly. Along the edges of the pillars are wavy lines that look like lava. These are ejections from stars that are still forming. Young stars periodically shoot out jets that can interact within clouds of material, like these thick pillars of gas and dust. This sometimes also results in bow shocks, which can form wavy patterns like a boat does as it moves through water. These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old, and will continue to form for millions of years. Although it may appear that near-infrared light has allowed Webb to "pierce through" the background to reveal great cosmic distances beyond the pillars, the interstellar medium stands in the way, like a drawn curtain. This is also the reason why there are no distant galaxies in this view. This translucent layer of gas blocks our view of the deeper universe. Plus, dust is lit up by the collective light from the packed "party" of stars that have burst free from the pillars. It's like standing in a well-lit room looking out a window -- the interior light reflects on the pane, obscuring the scene outside and, in turn, illuminating the activity at the party inside. Webb's new view of the Pillars of Creation will help researchers revamp models of star formation.
A giant hand? A galloping horse? See stunning image captured by James Webb Telescope
01:31
Now playing
- Source: CNN
Swift's X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system. Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)
Scientists dub latest telescope sighting 'the BOAT' or 'the Brightest of All Time'
02:17
Now playing
- Source: CNN
bluShift Aerospace 03
Watch this rocket ignite using fuel that you can eat
05:10
Now playing
- Source: CNN Business
A view of Dimorphos as the DART spacecraft hurtled towards it on Monday, September 26.
'We have impact': DART successfully alters orbit of asteroid
01:09
Now playing
- Source: CNN Business
Commander Nicole Mann greets her family while departing crew quarters for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Watch: SpaceX mission brings first Native American woman to space
01:40
Now playing
- Source: CNN Business
screengrab space barbie
See female astronaut take young girls' questions with her lookalike Barbie
01:39
Now playing
- Source: CNN
DART
'Streaks of rocks and debris': New image captures DART asteroid crash
01:24
Now playing
- Source: CNN
Sample Collection and Rock Analysis at 'Wildcat Ridge' (https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/26988/sample-collection-and-rock-analysis-at-wildcat-ridge/)
This is where Perseverance found more organic matter than ever on Mars
01:29
Now playing
- Source: CNN Business
blue origin rocket launch fail DT thumb vpx
See moment Blue Origin rocket catches fire during launch
02:05
Now playing
- Source: CNN
1962: US statesman John F Kennedy, 35th president of the USA, making a speech. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)
Here's what's been accomplished since JFK's 'moonshot' speech
01:58
Now playing
- Source: CNN Business
kristin fisher artemis i second launch scrub 09 03 2022
Why NASA canceled launch of massive new rocket
02:50
Now playing
- Source: CNN
black hole audio nasa new day
Eerie audio is what a black hole sounds like, NASA says
01:54
Now playing
- Source: CNN
CNN  — 

The largest moon in our solar system is preparing for its first close-up in more than 20 years on Monday.

NASA’s Juno mission has been observing Jupiter and its moons since July 2016, and now Juno will come within 645 miles (1,038 kilometers) of Ganymede’s surface.

It’s the closest a spacecraft has been to the moon since the Galileo spacecraft made its approach in May 2000. At 3,270 miles across (5,262.4 kilometers), this giant moon is larger than the planet Mercury.

Cameras aboard Juno will capture images of Ganymede while other instruments can gather data that help scientists learn more about the moon’s composition, including its ice shell.

The mosaic (left) and geologic maps of Ganymede were created using imagery from NASA's Voyager and Galileo missions.
The mosaic (left) and geologic maps of Ganymede were created using imagery from NASA's Voyager and Galileo missions.
USGS Astrogeology Science Center/Wheaton/JPL-Caltech/NASA

“Juno carries a suite of sensitive instruments capable of seeing Ganymede in ways never before possible,” said Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, in a statement.

“By flying so close, we will bring the exploration of Ganymede into the 21st century, both complementing future missions with our unique sensors and helping prepare for the next generation of missions to the Jovian system – NASA’s Europa Clipper and ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission.”

The moon is named for a cupbearer to the ancient Greek gods. In addition to being the largest natural satellite in our solar system, Ganymede is also the only moon to have a magnetic field. This causes auroras to glow around the moon’s north and south poles.

This ultraviolet image of Jupiter was created from data captured on 11 January 2017 using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. The Great Red Spot and Red Spot Jr. (also known as Oval BA) absorb ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and therefore appear dark in this view.
This ultraviolet image of Jupiter was created from data captured on 11 January 2017 using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. The Great Red Spot and Red Spot Jr. (also known as Oval BA) absorb ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and therefore appear dark in this view.
M.H. Wong/I. de Pater (UC Berkeley) et al./M. Zamani/AURA/NSF/NOIRLab/ESA/NASA

New images of Jupiter reveal some of the planet's mysterious features

Ganymede has an iron core covered by a layer of rock that is topped off with a thick ice shell. It’s possible that there is a subsurface ocean and astronomers discovered evidence of a thin oxygen atmosphere on the moon in 1996 using the Hubble Space Telescope. This atmosphere is too thin to support life.

Bright regions dot the lunar surface. These ridges appear like scars, suggesting dramatic change over the course of Ganymede’s history.

“Ganymede’s ice shell has some light and dark regions, suggesting that some areas may be pure ice while other areas contain dirty ice,” Bolton said. Juno’s Microwave Radiometer “will provide the first in-depth investigation of how the composition and structure of the ice varies with depth, leading to a better understanding of how the ice shell forms and the ongoing processes that resurface the ice over time.”

The ESA’s JUICE mission, which will be the first spacecraft to orbit a moon other than Earth’s when it arrives in 2032, will study Ganymede’s ice shell as well.

The lightning phenomenon known as a sprite depicted at Jupiter in this illustration. Jupiter's hydrogen-rich atmosphere would likely make them appear blue. In Earth's upper atmosphere, the presence of nitrogen gives them a reddish color.
The lightning phenomenon known as a sprite depicted at Jupiter in this illustration. Jupiter's hydrogen-rich atmosphere would likely make them appear blue. In Earth's upper atmosphere, the presence of nitrogen gives them a reddish color.
SwRI/JPL-Caltech/NASA

Juno mission observes 'sprites' dancing in Jupiter's atmosphere

On Monday, Juno will use three cameras, including its navigation camera, to capture as much as possible during the flyby, including the highly energetic radiation around Ganymede.

The flyby will be quick, so there won’t be time to gather many images. But the ones collected during this flyby can be used in comparison with those taken by the Voyager and Galileo missions.

“Things usually happen pretty quick in the world of flybys, and we have two back-to-back next week. So literally every second counts,” said Matt Johnson, Juno mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in a statement.

“On Monday, we are going to race past Ganymede at almost 12 miles per second (19 kilometers per second). Less than 24 hours later we’re performing our 33rd science pass of Jupiter – screaming low over the cloud tops, at about 36 miles per second (58 kilometers per second). It is going to be a wild ride.”