The spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter’s largest moon than any other in more than two decades, offering dramatic glimpses of the icy orb.
The first two images from NASA Juno’s June 7, 2021, flyby of Jupiter’s giant moon Ganymede have been received on Earth. The photos – one from the Jupiter orbite
Kenneth Chang, The New York Times
Published: 09 Jun 2021 11:20 AM BdST
Updated: 09 Jun 2021 11:21 AM BdST A photo provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS shows an image of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede obtained by the Juno spacecraft during its flyby of the icy moon on Monday, June 7, 2021. Juno completed a close flyby of Ganymede, Jupiter’s biggest moon, as it transitions into a new phase of its mission. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS via The New York Times)
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On Monday, the NASA spacecraft Juno passed within 645 miles of Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter’s 79 known moons and indeed the largest moon in the entire solar system. It was the first up-close examination of Ganymede since an earlier NASA probe, Galileo, passed by in December 2000.
A picture of Ganymede s sunlit side shot using JunoCam NASA said that the sunlit picture released on Tuesday was captured using JunoCam paired with a green filter, the spacecraft s visible light imager. Once Juno relays home pictures it shot using the Red and Blue filters, NASA said imaging experts will be able to piece together a color portrait of the water-ice-encrusted moon. The pictures have a resolution of approximately one kilometer per pixel.
Dark side
Close-up image of Ganymede shot using Stellar Reference unit Additionally, the low-light optimized Stellar Reference Unit camera used by Juno to stay on course provided one black-and-white image of the dark side of Ganymede (the side opposite to the Sun).
NASA s Juno spacecraft sailed closer to Jupiter s largest moon, Ganymede, than any other spacecraft in more than 2 decades, providing spectacular views of the icy moon.