Jupiter

A NASA probe is about to launch to an icy moon that could have life

4:41pm September 17, 2024

A NASA mission launching in October will send cameras and other scientific equipment to see, among other things, whether Jupiter's moon Europa could sustain life.

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New analysis has found a source of carbon within Europa, Jupiter's moon that is believed to hold massive amounts of liquid water. This view of the moon was created from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s.

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A source of carbon — a building block of life — is found on Jupiter's moon Europa

12:19pm September 22, 2023

by Bill Chappell

"The discovery signals a potentially habitable environment in the ocean of Europa," according to the Webb Space Telescope's website.

Venus and Jupiter, in a rare conjunction, seem close even though they are 400 million miles apart.

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Look up! Venus and Jupiter are going in for a nighttime kiss

9:58pm March 01, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The two brightest planets in Earth's night sky are millions of miles apart. But due to an astronomical quirk, they appear to be engaging in a cosmic dance tonight. Now that's a moment of awe.

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This composite was made with images from NASA's Juno mission and shows the shadow on Jupiter cast by Io, one of its many moons.

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Here's why Jupiter's tally of moons keeps going up and up

6:10am February 09, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The first astronomer to discover moons around Jupiter was Galileo, back in the year 1610, but astronomers are still finding more and more moons around this gas giant.

A new image of Jupiter taken from NASA's Webb Telescope and released on Monday is shown.

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NASA's James Webb telescope has taken new images of Jupiter's moons, rings and more

5:27am August 23, 2022

by Ayana Archie

The telescope uses a camera with filters that can make a color map out of infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye.

This new perspective of Jupiter from the south makes the Great Red Spot appear as though it is in northern territory. This view is unique to Juno.

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In Jupiter's swirling Great Red Spot, NASA spacecraft finds hidden depths

9:43am November 09, 2021

by Brendan Byrne

NASA's Juno spacecraft sweeps over Jupiter's Great Red Spot and makes a 3D map of the giant storm. The findings could shed light on gas giant exoplanets in distant solar systems.

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The solar system's largest moon, Ganymede, is pictured with Jupiter in a photo by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Dec. 3, 2000. NASA's Juno mission got close to Ganymede on Monday.

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NASA Spacecraft Made A Flyby Visit To The Largest Moon In The Solar System

2:34pm June 07, 2021

by Joe Palca

NASA's Juno spacecraft traveled to 645 miles above the surface of the solar system's largest moon, Ganymede, on Monday.

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Kuwaiti photographers follow the alignment in al-Salmi district, a desert area about 75 miles west of Kuwait City.

PHOTOS: Great Conjunction Dazzles Stargazers Around The World

11:52am December 22, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

On Monday evening, Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer to each other in the sky than they have for hundreds of years in what has become known as the Great Conjunction.

The planet Jupiter now has a total of 79 identified moons.

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Galileo Would Be Stunned: Jupiter Now Has 79 Moons

7:21pm July 17, 2018

by Joe Palca

Astronomers have found 12 more moons orbiting the planet Jupiter. These moons are all small — just 5 kilometers or less across — and one of them behaves very strangely.

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This is an artist's concept of a plume of water vapor thought to be ejected off of the frigid, icy surface of the Jovian moon Europa, located 500 million miles from the sun.

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Icy Moon Of Jupiter Spews Water Plumes Into Space

11:42am May 14, 2018

by Joe Palca

Researchers have evidence supporting the existence of plumes of water shooting up from the interior of Jupiter's icy moon Europa.