A NASA apparatus has photographed an eerie face in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Photo
A space explorer noticed an unusual pattern resembling a bizarre face in thunderclouds on the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. The photo released gives the impression that the planet has a huge, creepy face.
The find was discovered by amateur astronomer Vladimir Tarasov in images from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. On a fancy face noticed and the US Space Agency.
“Just in time for Halloween, NASA’s Juno mission discovered a creepy ‘face’ on Jupiter,” NASA said in a statement.
The image was taken on September 7, 2023, when Juno was making its 54th close flyby of Jupiter. The photo shows an area in the northern region of the giant planet called Jet N7. The quirky face in the photo has clearly defined eyes, nose and mouth.
In reality, the image shows turbulent clouds and storms along Jupiter’s terminator, the line dividing the planet’s day and night sides. The special angle of sunlight allows you to see the complex topography of objects in this region. Scientists study it to better understand the processes occurring in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Face in Jupiter’s atmosphere
Of course, Jupiter does not have any face, and what our eyes perceive as such is simply a visual trick, which has a scientific name – pareidolia. This is an effect that causes observers to see a face or other patterns in largely random shapes.
Images of Jupiter often show the planet supposedly covered in smooth marble, although careful observers will see a mixture of turbulent clouds with peaks and troughs that look somewhat like mountain ranges.
Because of their swirling and ever-changing appearance, Jupiter’s clouds often create beautiful patterns and shapes, including strange faces.
When the image was taken, Juno was about 7,700 km above Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 69 degrees north.
Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting Jupiter. It was built by Lockheed Martin and operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft was launched in August 2011.
Juno studies Jupiter, its gravitational and magnetic fields, and its polar magnetosphere. He’s also looking for clues about how the planet formed, particularly whether it has a rocky core.
It is the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, following the nuclear-powered Galileo orbiter, which orbited the planet from 1995 to 2003.
Previously, OBOZ.UA told the story of the famous photo in which a face was discovered on Mars.
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