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Will Juno’s Instruments Observe the Moons of Jupiter?
Posted by Candice Hansen on 2016/08/30 10:38 CDT | 2 comments
It is not easy to observe Jupiter’s moons as more than points of light with Juno, because Juno will never get very close to any of the moons, but as its orbit shifts there will be opportunities to collect data on some of the moons.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2016/07/05 01:14 CDT | 7 comments
For a second time, NASA has placed a spacecraft into orbit at Jupiter. The spacecraft operated exactly according to plan, and Juno successfully entered orbit today, July 5, 2016, UTC
A peek at the JunoCam approach movie
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2016/07/04 09:36 CDT | 2 comments
We're now just about 12 hours away from Juno's Jupiter orbit insertion. As anticipation ramps up, NASA has released this sneak peek at JunoCam's approach movie, made of views of Jupiter and its largest moons shot during the final approach, up until about five days ago.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2015/04/08 01:27 CDT | 10 comments
What is the solar system moon with the densest atmosphere? Most space fans know that the answer is Titan. A few of you might know that Triton's is the next densest. But what's the third? Fourth? Do any other moons even have atmospheres? In fact, they do; and one such atmosphere has just been discovered.
Posted by Van Kane on 2015/01/13 02:03 CST | 7 comments
Europe's JUICE spacecraft will provide us with a detailed regional study of this icy moon of Jupiter.
Intro Astronomy 2014. Class 8: Icy Galilean Satellites, Saturn System
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2014/04/11 02:28 CDT
Explore the icy moons of the Jupiter System and tour the Saturnian system in this video of class 8 of Bruce Betts' Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy class.
Intro Astronomy Class 1: Tour of the Solar System
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2014/02/11 05:53 CST | 1 comments
Take a tour of the Solar System in the video of class 1 of Bruce Betts' Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy class.
Scale comparisons of the solar system's major moons
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/07/10 06:05 CDT | 15 comments
A few presentation slides with pretty pictures, sized to scale, of the large moons of the solar system.
Posted by Jim Bell on 2013/06/03 03:53 CDT | 6 comments
I'm absolutely floored when I stop to think that our beautiful blue ocean is only one of perhaps a half dozen or more oceans on other worlds in our solar system, and only one of probably millions (or more) oceans on other Earth-like planets in our galaxy. Oceans abound!
Instruments for the JUICE Jovian Mission
Posted by Van Kane on 2013/03/07 12:20 CST | 6 comments
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced the list of instruments selected for its JUICE mission to explore the Jovian system for three years starting in the 2030 following a 2022 launch.
Book Review: Atlas of the Galilean Satellites, by Paul Schenk
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/11/18 12:59 CST
Not many subjects remain for which it is possible to assemble everything that we know about it in one book. Even for those subjects for which our knowledge is limited, knowledge seems always to be expanding exponentially. This is not true, however, for the Galilean satellites of Jupiter.
Scale solar system presentation slide, a provisional version for you to review
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/09/15 02:18 CDT
I'm preparing a talk for the Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show here in Pasadena on Sunday afternoon at 1:45. I have spent the morning putting together a slide that I have long wanted to have for presentations.
Update: Phobos and Jupiter and its moons!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/06/20 03:53 CDT
Remember that neat picture and movie of Phobos passing by Jupiter that I posted last week? Several people asked me where Jupiter's moons were, and I just assumed that they weren't visible. I was wrong; Mars Express spotted Jupiter's moons along with the planet and Mars' moon!
Spotting Jupiter's Moons...with a Solar Telescope!?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/04/06 12:27 CDT
I was astounded to learn this morning that SOHO can not only see Jupiter, it can actually resolve Jupiter's moons (at least its two outer ones) as points of light separate from their planet!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2011/03/17 06:15 CDT
As I wait for the MESSENGER Mercury Orbit Insertion webcast to start, I thought I'd fiddle with some images to point out that Mercury is a bridge between the scales of planets and the scales of moons.
Door 22 in the 2010 advent calendar
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2010/12/22 03:32 CST
Time to open the twenty-second door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system are these degraded craters?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2010/03/22 04:34 CDT
Here's a lovely amateur-produced color image of Jupiter's moon Callisto, or, as its artist Daniel Macháček calls it, "Titan without weather."
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2010/03/16 05:18 CDT | 2 comments
It's the second time I've posted with this provocative title. This time, it's in response to a new paper published last week in Science.
LPSC: Why Ganymede and Callisto are so different
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2010/03/01 08:59 CST
The first talk I attended at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston was my one icy satellite talk for the day.
400 Years of the Galilean Satellites
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2010/01/07 03:34 CST
It was 400 years ago today that Galileo discovered smaller planets attending the planet Jupiter.
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