NASA’s Juno spacecraft took this image when it was passing over the cloud tops of the gas giant Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System, at an altitude of just 11,747 miles (18,905 km). Jupiter’s clouds are made of ammonia and water, and they float in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. With the glancing angle of the Sun, the higher whiter clouds are casting shadows on the darker ones below, hinting at the three-dimensional structure of Jupiter’s clouds. This is extraterrestrial abstract art.
This Cloud-a-Day was suggested by Terry and Eric Thorsos (Member 55,412).
Enhanced Image by Gerald Eichstädt and Sean Doran (CC BY-NC-SA) based on images provided Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
